Women In Susan Glaspell's A Jury Of Her Peers

In the short story “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell a man, Mr John Wright has been murdered in his bed; the most likely suspect is his wife. The majority of the story is played out in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wright as two women, Mrs. Peters, who is the Sheriff’s wife, and Mrs. Hale, the wife of the farmer and neighbor of the Wrights who discovered Mr. Wright’s body, wait together as their husbands look for clues to the motive and circumstances of the murder. As they wait for their husbands, the two women begin to commune in Mrs. Wright’s kitchen and living room. The first time the reader can see more of the deeper connection that the women have as women can be seen when the county attorney opens the cupboard and Mrs. Peters sees the …show more content…
Wright’s dead pet bird neatly placed in a box and realize that it’s neck had been broken, their eyes connect again and a real connection and understanding passed between them. Mrs. Peters shares a story of when she was a child and a boy killed her kitten, her feelings of wanting to hurt the boy or even kill him an dindentifying with how Mrs. Wright most likely felt when her husband broke the bird’s neck. The act of killing the bird was an act of control, a husband attempting to retain dominance through fear and violence. The two women make a true connection when Mrs. Hale says “it would be awful – still – after the bird was still” an unseen communion cocurs between them, Mrs. Peters states “I know what stillness is,” she goes on to share that her two year old child had died years before (679). Mrs. Hale points out that all women have similar experiences in different ways that connect them, “if it weren’t – why do you and I understand? Why do we know what we know – what we know this minute?” she says to Mrs. Peters. The communion that occurs through this short story is not only a communion of the two women present but a communion of three, including the woman that isn’t present, but speaks through her …show more content…
In the story, the Das family commune with their tour guide, Mr. Kapasi, as they spend the day together. But the true commune occurs between Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das after she learns Mr. Kapasi not only works as a tour guide, but also as an interpretor for a doctor. As Mr. Kapasi shares stories with Mrs. Das of working with the doctor their conversation seems to become more private as “The children were quiet, intent on spotting more monkeys in the trees, and Mr. Das was absorbed by his tour book,” (454) it went on this way for some time. At the point they arrive at a road side stand to eat Mr. Kapasi was disappointed that their conversation must end. But to his surprise, Mrs. Das invited him to eat with the family and they communed, “And so, together, they had bottled mango juice and sandwiches and plates of onions and potatoes deep fried in a graham-flour batter.” (455) After eating, the children go back to look at monkeys and Mr. Das takes a picture of Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das, who then asks for his address so she can send him a copy, this flatters Mr.

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