Paige Blakesslee
Professor Ball
English 101-07
5/11/17
The idea of “separate spheres” was used to describe the difference between men and women. Women belonged to the private sphere which consisted of taking care of the house and family, while men were a part of the social sphere which consisted of a career and involvement in politics. “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell exemplifies how the different roles between women and men affects the investigation of the husband’s murder. In the short story the misunderstanding between the roles of men and women make the key point that a woman’s role and work should be valued.
The beginning of the story consists of Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale going along with their husbands to the crime scene of John Wrights murder. The wife of John Wright, Minnie, was suspected of the murder and put into custody while the investigation was taking place. When the wives and their husbands walk into the house the first thing that is described about the house is how it was a mess, the kitchen specifically. The men associated the kitchen being messy with Minnie being a bad housekeeper. “Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?” (160). This shows that they believed that women had the duty of getting every chore done and that it was not hard work. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters immediately stood up for Minnie’s messy housework. They explained how it is hard to do every task when you live on a farm because it is so much work. They also made a remark about how towels get dirty quick due to men’s hands being dirty. The women realize the significance of the house being messy while the men just see it as a flaw that Minnie has. The kitchen being messy and having chores half done makes Mrs. Hale think that something was going on that made Minnie suddenly stop what she was doing.
The kitchen plays an important factor in the story because it solidifies the role of women and how they were contained to the kitchen. The kitchen was a part of the private sphere of women’s lives. “You’re convinced there was nothing important here?” was asked by Mr. Hale to the Sheriff. The sheriff replied with “Nothing here but kitchen things” while laughing (159). This is important because the men see it as Minnie being a bad wife and insignificant to the murder but Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale see it as evidence. The laugh of the sheriff represents how men viewed the kitchen as so insignificant that the thought of the kitchen playing a role as important evidence was a joke to them that they found humorous. Every time the men laughed when making remarks about the kitchen, it was like they were laughing at a woman’s life and their work. They believed that the things that women did were of very little significance and at one point referred to things that women worry about as “trifles”. The ironic thing is that these “trifles” exhibit why the murder took place and that Minnie was responsible. If the men would have given more attention to the small details, like the women did, then the murder would have been solved.
The women then began to investigate the kitchen on their own while the men went to look over the crime scene. The women found multiple important pieces of evidence which were all of what the men considered insignificant and “trifles”. The women finding clues was not only ironic because they were considered “trifles” but also because the men clearly thought that the women were incapable of finding clues. It was explicitly stated by the men when they said “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” (161). One of the clues was the worn and patched clothes they found to give to Minnie. The clothes showed a shift in Minnie’s life. Before her marriage, she always dressed nice and had beautiful clothing. The most important clue that was found was a strangled bird. Both Mr. Peters and Mr. Hale underestimated the women and the life of women. The men only had one point of view which was their own. The suspect, Minnie, is a woman therefore they should have been investigating through the point of view of woman. If they would have paid more attention and gave more credit to the women then the murder of Mr. Wright would not have been covered up.
While Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are investigating, they come across a dead canary that was wrapped in silk. The women assume that Mr. Wright is responsible for the bird’s death. The strangled canary symbolizes Minnie. The bird, just like Minnie, was once beautiful before the involvement of Mr. Wright. Minnie’s happiness and freedom was ended by her husband just like the birds life. The mangled canary could also be interpreted as domestic violence that Minnie may have endured from her husband. The bird was one of the only things that made her happy which, her husband took away. The women believe that that was the final point in time where Minnie ended up deciding to strangle Mr. Wright. Minnie strangled her husband just like he strangled her canary. Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale sympathized with Minnie. All of the little “trifles” added up leading to the death of Mr. Wright. Mr. Wright was also a murderer just like Minnie. He murdered the bird and he symbolically murdered, Minnie Foster, the person that Minnie was before their marriage. Minnie Foster was beautiful and a great singer just like a canary. Mrs. Hale knew Minnie before her marriage so she is able to identify to the shift in Minnie’s personality.
During the story the reference of a quilt was brought up multiple times. The women were sitting discussing the deceased canary when Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters entered the room. They hid the canary and were sitting with the quilt that Minnie was working on. The attorney asked “have you decided whether she was going to quilt it or knot it?” (169). The wives responded saying that she was going to knot the quilt. The men believed that the women were talking about insignificant duties of women when in reality that is how they found the bird. At the very end the knotting of the quilt is brought up again. The county attorney mocked the women when saying “At least we found out that she not going to quilt it. She was going to – what is it you call it, ladies?” (173). Mrs. Hale responded with “We call it – knot it, Mr. Henderson.” (173). The knotting of the quilt symbolizes how the pieces of the evidence were coming together like the patches of the quilt. The men are referring to the quilt as something insignificant when the double sided meaning of the quilt is the evidence coming together that the women find.
Throughout the story, both Mr. Peters and Mr. Hale belittle their wives and the value of the roles they play in society. The mockingly laugh and make comments about the capability of the women. The laughing and comments has a deeper meaning that exemplifies that they consider the house work that women do as a joke with little to no significance. The men do not recognize the importance to it. They do not recognize the importance of it to the point that they overlook critical pieces of evidence that contribute to the murder of Mr. Wright by Minnie. Ironically the women solve the murder case. The work of the women was significant and all of the “trifles” were actually pieces of key evidence. If the men would have valued the role of women and paid more attention to the things that the women were saying, then they would have solved the murder. Although they solved the murder case, they did not let the men know and covered it up due to the sympathy they felt towards Minnie. The sympathy felt by Mrs. Hale is also from guilt because she feels like she never stepped in to do anything. Also the cover up is a way for the women to stand up against the men because they were able to relate to the way Minnie felt. In a way the murder of Mr. Wright was his punishment for the murder of the bird and the symbolic murder of Minnie.
Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” Great Shorts Stories by American Women. New York: Dover Publications, 1996. 154-73. Print.