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B. Kirk
Professor Lee Hobbs
Literature Course

Question: Gender Roles
4) The Women’s language is important (see how the men react to it): how do you feel about the gender roles exhibited through language in this play?

In my opinion the women are portrayed as beneath the men in this play, so therefore their language differs greatly. When the men talk they use important language and facts, to make what they are doing seem so significant. On the other hand the women talk very simply and don’t reveal all they know to the men, since they feel the men won’t listen and believe them. In conclusion, I feel that the language determines the gender roles and portrays the women as unimportant when in fact they solved the whole mystery; right under the men’s noses.

M. Dollar
Professor Lee Hobbs
Literature Course

2. Conflict. In the play, women are pitted against their husbands and other men. How are male characters in the play portrayed? What are their values or beliefs? Are they portrayed in a positive or negative way?
In Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, the male characters are portrayed as being the more logical, all-knowing gender. It is the men in the play who hold the highest positions, such as the county attorney and sheriff. They value finding the quickest answer to Mr. Wright’s murder. They do not want to waste any time in trying to solve the mystery, and so they overlook important details such as the messy kitchen. They assume that it is more important to evaluate the room where Mr. Wright was killed than to analyze how Mrs. Wright kept her house or the couple’s relationship. In the very beginning of the play, the County Attorney suggests that we “talk about [feelings] later, Mr. Hale” (838).
The men are portrayed in a more negative manner than the women. Because the women hold back information from the men, it is indicated to the audience that the men do not really care what the women think or how much information they know. Trifles is an attempt by Glaspell to show how women deserve more accreditation from men.
Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. “Trifles.” Kennedy 837-848.
Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 5th Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2007.

K Olijnyk
Professor Lee Hobbs
Literature Course

Contrast the male characters’ attitudes towards the crime and the proper way to solve it with the female characters’ attitudes. How do the men and women perceive “justice” at the beginning of the play? At the end?

The men in this play want to solve the crime quickly. The evidence they put together is all of the obvious things. They do not look into the real meaning of any of the evidence and ignore things that can help them solve the crime. The women on the other hand recognize the small details, for example, the house was left a mess and a quilt was left unfinished. They know more than the men do. The men perceive justice as the murderer getting punished. The women appear to think differently. As for the fact that, they think Mrs. Peters has committed this crime, they try to protect her. I believe they are trying to protect her because men are commonly thought of as superior and women are not treated equal. Mrs. Peters did not have a happy life, and her husband had pushed her to her limit and I believe they all understood that feeling. Justice, in their eyes, was letting Mrs. Peters go free.

Lindsay M.
Professor Lee Hobbs
Literature Course

8.) Ethics. Why do you think the women conceal evidence? Are they right (legally and morally) to do so? This play leaves the audience with an ethical dilemma. Is murder ever justified?

-The women concealed the evidence, the dead canary, because after looking at the situation and seeing certain small details in the house, they thought that the husband probably killed the bird, so Mrs. Wright probably killed him. This is legally and morally wrong, because they didn't know what actually happened, just what they thought happened. Murder is never justified, but this play makes it seem like it could be.

J Betz
Professor Lee Hobbs
Literature Course

8.) Ethics. Why do you think the women conceal evidence? Are they right (legally and morally) to do so? This play leaves the audience with an ethical dilemma. Is murder ever justified?

The women concealed the evidence (the dead bird) because they think that Mrs. Wright would be accused of hanging her husband if the men saw the strangled bird. Legally and morally, it isn't right because the women didn't know what really happened. Killing is never justified.

J Conrad
Professor Hobbs
ENGL 104.F Introduction to Literature
28 November 2007

What is the significance of the cage and the bird? What is the significance of Mrs. Hale finishing the stitching?

In the play “Trifles” the damaged cage was a hint that something happened to the bird. The bird was found strangled. Similarly Mrs. Wright’s husband was found strangled with a noose that was knotted in the same way that she knits. Judging from the fact that the husband was strangled just like the bird, one could conclude that Mrs. Wright killed her husband. When the characters come to investigate the murder of Mr. Wright, Mrs. Hale finishes the stitching to try and cover up evidence. The quilt that Mrs. Wright had been working on started off nice and neat but toward the end the quilt started to become careless. Fixing the quilt took away any question about why the pattern in the quilt changed.

L. George
English 104.H
“Character-- Review the discussion of character as discussed by Kennedy and friends. Think about flat characters verses three dimensional characters. Who are more developed, the two women, or the three men? Which female character develops in the play? How?”
The two women are more fully developed within the play Trifles. At the beginning, the women were sticking up for the wife. Later, with the evidence of the dead bird, the women were able to assume Mrs. Wright was the murder. Of the female characters, Mrs. Hale was the most developed because she destroys the stitching in the quilt, she finds the canary, she thought of the idea that there was a cat that killed the bird, and she was smart enough to hide the evidence from the men. I feel she was the most developed because she was the first exposed and first acted upon new situations.

C.Carley
ENGL 104F Intro to Literature
GENDER ROLE: The women's language is important (see how men react to it); how do you feel about the gender roles exibited through language in this play?

The sheriff and the county attorney overheard the women talking about Mrs. Writes quilt. They laughed at the two women when the women wondered aloud if Millie was going to quilt or knot the quilt. Mr. Write had been murdered and the two women were curious as to how Millie was going to finish her quilt rather than focusing on a motive for the crime. The manner in which the women spoke lead the men to see them as simple minded, unable to worry about things other than sewing and "trifles." Little did the men know that by observing the “little things” such as a stitch in a quilt the women had solved the crime Millie had committed.

Chris Murawski
Mr. Lee Hobbs
English 104.H Introduction to Literature
24 November 2007

What is the view of woman compared to men in this time period? What are their values and beliefs? Are women portrayed positively or negatively?

In the story "Trifles," the men are shown more superior then woman around that time period. In the story the men even state that all woman are use to worrying over trifles ( ). Also, during the solving of the case, the woman kept to their selfs and solved the crime on their own. When the men came back into the house, the woman did not even bother to tell them or show them the evidence. This just shows that woman really did not have any say in things back then, because even if the woman told the men who did it, and showed them the evidence; the men probably would not believe them. Another clear illustration would be when the men even said that woman are housekeepers ( ). This would show the common role of a woman back then. Therefore, the portray of woman back then would be a negative view, however, if you lived back then, than it would most likely be positive.

As for values and beliefs of the woman in the story, the woman may hide that they knew who the killer was to protect their own kind. This could be because they feel as though they need to get back at the men for the way they have been treated woman over the years. they view it more as revenge then by doing the right thing and turning the lady in.

Works Cited
Kennedy, X.j, and Dana Gioa. Literature an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 837-848.

Power consider the first scene:the other the people enter and speak,the actions ascribed to them by Glaspell, what hierarchies are established?

There are two different hierarchies established throughout the play, the obvious one is the men before the women. The men enter before the women. Within the men it is the Attorney, Hale, and the Sheriff. The second hierarchies that is hidden in the play is the women and then the men, because the women know more than the men do and are in charge of this whole murder. The actions ascribed to them by Glaspell are simply the women seem to lack confidence and seem to be scared,and are always standing together. As the men are confident and trying to take control of the situation.

J. Cowan
Mr. Lee Hobbs
ENGL104.F

Character- Review the discussion of character as discussed by Kennedy and friends. Think about flat characters versus three-dimensional characters. Who are more fully developed, the two women, or the three men? Which female character develops in the play? How?

I believe the two women are more fully developed because they can actually relate to Mrs. Wright, the suspect, and sympathize with her. The three men tend to only look at the concept of murder and logically accuse Mrs. Wright.

Mrs. Peters has developed more entirely throughout the play than any other character. This is because she follows the rule of justice, "innocent until proven guilty," rather than letting herself accuse Mrs. Wright of murder the way Mrs. Hale and the three men do.

R. Rugani
Introduction to Literature Engl 104: Section F

“Trifles” 6. Significance- What is the significance of the cage and the bird? What is the significance of Mrs. Hale fixing the stitching?

The significance of the cage is how Mrs. Wright had a love for the bird and how it sang. The bird was something she loved dearly. When the bird cage is broken that is a significance how Mrs. Wright’s love is broken. Her joy is no longer in existence. The bird represents the happy part of Mrs. Wright and when the bird was strangled that meant her happiness was gone also. The significance of Mrs. Hale fixing the stitching is trying to mend the broken. Obviously she cannot because the same stitching Mrs. Wright used went along with the same stitching of the rope around Mr. Wright’s neck. All together, Mrs. Hale was trying to fix the stitching but in turn cannot because the damage was already done to the couple and Mr. Wright was dead.

L. Cicerchi

Mr. Lee Hobbs

English 104H: Introduction to Literature

30 November 2007

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

#3 In the play women are pitted against their husbands and other men. How are the female characters in the play portrayed? What are their values or beliefs? Are they portrayed in a positive or negative way?

I think the women in this play are definitely portrayed in a negative way. The women seem to know more about the case but since the men just brush them off, they decide not to speak up about their findings. In the one section of the play, Hale says "women are used to worring over trifles". This makes it sound like any problem the men might have is far more important than anything the women would be worrying about. The men treat the women as inferiors which is a bad impression to impose on people.

A.Tercek

Mr. Lee Hobbs

ENGL104F Introduction to Literature

28 November 2007

“Glaspell was a clever author/playwright and clearly manipulates her readers/audience with her language. Indicate several ways Susan Glaspell conditions the audience to accept the final decision.”

I believe Susan Glaspell used the women in this play to downplay the murder. Usually at the end of a play such as this, the reader is often left in awe when they find out who committed the crime. Yet Glaspell used the women that were assisting the men in the investigation to emit a sense of sympathy towards Mrs. Wright (the wife of the victim) for going through what supposedly went through. By creating this sense, Glaspell went on to give a background of Mrs. Wright and how both of the women could have personally changed the outcome. The author also made it seem that only the women knew what life must have been like for Mrs. Wright, and by doing that she downplayed the fact that Mrs. Wright murdered her husband. Near the very end of the play, the women found the bird that was most likely strangled to death by her husband, and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Mrs. Wright couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. When the men finally returned from the searching the barn for evidence, the women hid the bird so that they themselves couldn’t piece the puzzle together. If the two women in the story were on Mrs. Wright’s side, why not the reader?...

J. Carter
English 104 (F) Writing About Literature

In the play (Trifles), woman are pitted against their husbands and other men. How are the female characters portrayed? What are their values and beliefs? Are they portrayed in a positive or negative way?

The female characters in Trifles are portrayed as dumb and incompetent. The men in this play believed that the women were looking at little details that were not needed in order to solve the murder. Instead of using concrete evidence, the women used their emotions to solve the case. The women looked at small details such as the quilt stitching to ultimately solve the murder case.

I’m sure the women felt that murder was definitely a bad thing, but they tried to justify the situation with their beliefs and values. They sympathized with Mrs. Wright’s situation of being stuck in the home and felt bad for the spot she was put into. Although these women were portrayed in somewhat of a negative way, underneath the surface, the women’s observations allowed the case to be solved once and for all and for this, they were ultimately a positive influence in the story.

Perspective-Contrast the male characters' attitudes toward the crime and the proper way to solve it with the females characters' attitudes. How do the women and the men perceive "justice" at the beginning of the play? At the end?

They women go and look for the moral evidence while the men look for hard evidence. The women's views change because they believe the women are pure and that they wouldn't commit such a crime, but they were wrong. They got evidence when they found the dead canary

Brooke Z.
Mr. Lee Hobbs
ENGL 104H

Theme- Review the meaning of theme as discussed by Kennedy. What are some of the themes of this play? How does the physical location of the characters help develop the theme?

I found various themes in this play that included death, revenge, and murder. I think the overall theme of the play is revenge. I think her husband killed the bird by strangling it, and then she killed her husband by strangling him to get revenge because the bird was her only real friend.

The physical location of the characters helped develop the theme in a way, the messy house could be one characteristic. The house was very messy and I think this reflected her personality because was sad all of the time and did not want to or have the desire to clean the house. She was somewhat a "mess" just like the house.

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*NOTE* The deadline for this assignment has now passed. Comments are no longer being accepted for this exercise/assignment.

Teresa Wineland
Professor Lee Hobbs
American Literature
30 April 2008
Stepping Out of the Shadows
The Enlightenment of Women in “A Jury of Her Peers”
An intermingling of personalities is anticipated in any relationship between a man and woman, and within these characteristics is dominance. One individual in a relationship takes on the dominant role or controls the issues within the relationship. In particular conditions, such as abusive relationships, a dominant individual can often have much influence over the other so much so that the spouse conjures a false persona to please the abuser or dominant spouse. For instance, if the dominant spouse is a man and the abused spouse is a woman, the woman may live life with the false persona she has created. All the while she is putting her true opinions and beliefs aside, and assuming the values and morals of the man. In time, the woman will have lost sight of who she truly is and what she truly believes in. She will be a mere reflection of her dominant partner.
If this particular woman’s values and beliefs were put to the test, she would have a difficult time deciding what her true and real values and beliefs are. Ultimately, she would be determining her reality, deciding what is true and what is untrue. Her circumstances are similar to the prisoners in Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”, in Book VII of The Republic. The prisoners believe that the truth is what has been presented to them during their existence in the cave. When the freed prisoner, who has ventured out of the cave, returns to tell them that their reality is a lie, they are in disbelief. It is easier to continue to believe what they have always been shown, just as it is easier for the abused woman to remain her husband’s follower. Both of these places are retreats of safety and comfort, whether literal or symbolic. However, venturing out in the unknown, though frightening, may prove to be the ultimate enlightenment to change their circumstances.
A perfect example of this is offered in Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”, when Mrs. Peters, a dedicated and dutiful Sheriff’s wife is forced to look past her husband’s badge and test her true feelings. Mrs. Peters is portrayed as a woman who stands by her husband and acts in his best interest, carrying a high regard for him and her duties as his wife. She represents a woman who puts her true opinions and values aside in order to abide by her husband’s beliefs and the law.
However, Mrs. Peters is put in a precarious situation when her heart and womanly compassion are pulled by certain circumstances presented to her. When Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale discover Minnie Foster’s deceased songbird wrapped elegantly in a beautiful box, they begin to mend together a series of events leading to Mr. Wright’s murder. The women have what seems like only moments to decide Minnie’s fate when the men approach the house, knowing all the while that this evidence would surely convict her of the murder.
Surprisingly, Mrs. Peters conceals the evidence in her coat pocket, hiding it from her husband and the town attorney, doing so without hesitation. Perhaps Mrs. Peters could empathize with Minnie Foster, knowing what it is like to live a life as your husband’s property. Mrs. Peters, if only for that moment, abandoned her persona and judged the situation, not as a Sheriff’s wife, but as a woman with respect for what another had possibly endured.
Here, Mrs. Peters is like the individual who was freed in “The Allegory of the Cave”. The freed prisoner was forced to see something that would change his perspective completely. Mrs. Peters was forced from her own symbolic cave of programmed reactions into a world where the truth became what she made it. The physical pain the freed prisoner felt when he looked upon the fire and the sun for the first time is similar to the emotional pain and anguish that Mrs. Peters must have felt by leaving her duties behind and turning her back on her husband.
When Susan Glaspell wrote “A Jury of Her Peers”, which was a short version of her play Trifles, she based the story upon an actual homicide case from December 1, 1900 in Indianola, Iowa (“Justifiable”). The man who was murdered, John Hossack, was believed to have been abusive to his wife, which led her to murder him in his sleep. Since Glaspell based her story on these events, the reader can assume that Mr. Wright is a representation of John Hossack, and was therefore abusive to Minnie Foster.
Psychologically, Minnie was a people-pleaser and easily manipulated and influenced by her husband and his dominant nature. Since she lived so far from the rest of the community, she had no close friends or relatives to confide in on a regular basis. Therefore, leaving Minnie little choice but to suppress her feelings and emotions and keep the same buried deep within her, carrying that great burden daily and adding regularly to the heap.
She probably didn’t have much interest in life and merely accepted her unhappy situation knowing that she had nowhere else to go. During the time period, women who talked negatively of their husbands were frowned upon (“Justifiable”). Therefore, Minnie probably kept quiet to keep from causing trouble.
At some point, Minnie got a songbird and made a deep connection with this lovely animal, finally bringing life and happiness into her home. The bird must have been an annoyance to Mr. Wright singing all day long and stealing all of Minnie’s attention and devotion. Mr. Wright’s annoyance and possible jealously led him to kill the songbird.
Upon the bird’s death, Minnie, who had lost the only friend she had and the only thing that brought her joy, became plagued with anger. Since she had previously suppressed all of her sadness and hurt, she had much anger brewing inside her. Her suppressed feelings were forced up into an overflow of uncontrollable feelings and unmanageable thoughts. This is what led Minnie to murder her husband in his sleep. He took her life and she took his in return.
Mr. Wright must have felt quite content in knowing that he had much control over his wife and took pleasure in dominating her. He would never have thought that his wife would seek revenge for his actions or suspected that she would actually be successful.
Sometimes what we believe to be true is actually not the truth at all. Socrates, in “The Allegory of the Cave” states that “the truth would be nothing but the shadows of the images.” When in actuality, stepping out of the cave proves that the shadows are not the true reality and that the image only causes the shadow, therefore the image is the real reality.
Mr. Wright’s belief that he could impose upon Minnie any form of abuse or cruelty represents the shadow. Mr. Wright represents the prisoner believing that the shadow is reality. Minnie, therefore, represents the actual image, the reality, whereas she broke free of her cave by proving the shadow wrong.
In addition, Minnie became comfortable with her unpleasant life in a sense because it was all that she knew and had. Similarly, the individuals in the cave were comfortable with the belief that the shadows were reality because that is all they knew. Leaving the cave was a fearful and unplanned experience, just as the murder of Minnie’s husband was fearful and unforeseen terrain.
It is not surprising that Minnie would have felt so betrayed by her husband for killing the songbird and that she would have hurt him from an overwhelming flow of uncontrollable emotion. She experienced great trauma forcing her to have a strong outburst of anger in retaliation. The combination of this anger and the low self-worth that Minnie probably acquired from the years of abuse, combined with the loss of her songbird and her depression could have easily forced her to lose control of her emotions and lose sight of right and wrong.
In “A Jury of Her Peers” it is no secret that the men have an unvarying impression of the women. They make a comment about the women worrying over trifles and that the women would never even know evidence if they found it. The men speak condescendingly to the women throughout the story as if the business of a homicide investigation is far beyond their intellectual reach.
Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, however, prove the men wrong by not only discovering evidence but by making a logical conclusion of the events that led up to the murder. They take their intellect one step further by deciding to conceal the evidence from the men, knowing that it would surely convict Minnie Foster of her husband’s murder.
The men, too quick to judge the intellectual capacity of their spouses, make them similar to the individuals in the cave choosing to continue to believe that the delusion before them is truth and by refusing to journey to the outside. This ignorance will lead the characters in both stories to follow a delusion and see only what they choose to see, not wanting to experience or even try another road for fear that it will be too much for them to handle. In another sense, the women, by concealing the evidence, choose to leave the cave and explore a different domain unknown to them even with fear of the unknown. After all, “the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort,” said Socrates.
The connection between “The Allegory of the Cave” and “A Jury of Her Peers” is represented by the ability of the individuals in both stories to ultimately choose their reality. The dominance in “A Jury of Her Peers” is represented by the male characters and “The Allegory of the Cave” by the shackles that hold the prisoners in place and the dishonesty of the men parading the shadows before them. In “A Jury of Her Peers” this dominance is overcome by the women who choose to step out of their caves, dismissing the shadows as lies and embracing the truth. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” though the freed prisoner encourages the others to see the real truth, they decline. They are similar to the men in Glaspell’s story choosing to believe what has been taught to them and dismiss all possibility.
Dominance can have a profound affect on the holder of such power, making them ignorant of the truth as both stories have shown. In addition, it can have a deep impact on the individual being dominated. They must decide whether to live in another’s reality according to their rules and values, succumbing to the darkness of the cave. If they choose to abandon the cave; however, their journey of enlightenment is sure to begin.

Work Cited
Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” 1929. A Jury of Her Peers (Short Stories). Hadley, MA: Creative Education, 1992.
“Justifiable Homicide or Willful Murder.” Anamosa State Penitentiary. 5 Oct 2002. 28 Mar 2008
Plato. “The Allegory of the Cave.” The Republic. Book VII. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 11 Apr 2008

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I have submitted my term paper to this blog because it is based upon Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" and the relationship between the men and the women in this story.

Chera Pupi
April 23, 2008
EL267
Dr. Hobbs
“I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better”: Examining Gender Inequality in “A Jury of Her Peers” and The Sun Also Rises
It has become quite clear to me throughout my study of literature that authors write about events and situations occurring in the time period in which they are writing or in which their writing takes place. In both Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers,” and Earnest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, this is inherently evident through the realistic portrayals of the main characters and their experiences. Gender inequality plays a large role in both of these works in some form or another, reflecting the surrounding historical and societal events of the time periods they are set in. Although the two works are similar in that they both contain gender inequalities, they differ in the genders that are portrayed as or referred to as unequal. Through the character’s actions and dialogue, it is quite clear that women in “A Jury of Her Peers,” and men in The Sun Also Rises, are indeed unequal to the opposite gender within the individual stories, and are somehow inferior.
The men in “A Jury of Her Peers” constantly degrade the women’s livelihood and intelligence. From the first paragraph of “A Jury of Her Peers,” it is very obvious that for the women in the story, housekeeping duties and home-life are their primary concerns. Mrs. Hale, for example, is constantly worrying about leaving her kitchen work “half done,” and the importance becomes much clearer as the story progresses with the kitchen as the primary setting. The men’s degrading comments also become more prevalent as the story goes on. Both the sheriff and the county attorney make numerous remarks about the “insignificance of kitchen things,” and the attorney even goes as far as insulting Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping abilities: “Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?” (Glaspell 6). It never once crosses his mind that the dirty towels may be a result of the man he sent earlier to build the fire; when Mrs. Hale tries to stand up to him, he shuts her down quickly remarking and laughing, ”Ah, loyal to your sex, I see” (Glaspell 6). He does not value her personal opinion at all or see her as an individual, instead, he sees her as a generic figure representing a gender.
Other evidence of women’s inferiority in “A Jury of Her Peers” is the fact that the women do not have their own identities. For the majority of the story, the women are referred to as “Mrs. [husband’s last name]” indicating that they are no one without their husbands. The fact that they only refer to their own husbands as “Mr.…” suggests a sense formality and distance between the husbands and wives, emphasizing their inequality and inferiority. Similarly, Mrs. Hale informs the audience that Minnie Foster was a totally different person before she married John Wright: “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively—when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls, singing in the choir” (Glaspell 9). She had her own identity until she married John, becoming nothing more than Mrs. Wright.
The women’s inferiority to their husbands is apparent through their husbands’ treating them as property. They order the women around as though they are dogs. “‘Martha!’ now came her husband’s impatient voice. ‘Don’t keep folks waiting out here in the cold’” (Glaspell 1). Likewise, John Wright kept Minnie secluded and refused to allow her any contact with the outside world through a telephone; he stopped her from singing and provided her with no suitable clothing. It is assumed that Minnie enjoyed her bird because it was the only source of company she had. “‘No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird,’ she said after that—“a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too” (Glaspell 16). He not only killed the bird, but he also killed Minnie Foster—the person she used to be, in turn for making her who he wanted her to be.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence of the inequality of women to men is the fact that every single instance in which the men and women are together in a scene, the men are making fun of the women. The men are sure to never let the women forget that they are not equals. In what is possibly one of the most famous lines from the story, Mr. Hale shows his superiority to the women: “‘Oh well,’ said Mrs. Hale’s husband, with good-natured superiority, ‘women are used to worrying over trifles’” (Glaspell 6). He again degrades their livelihood and undermines their intelligence by implying that anything they are concerned about is insignificant. Similarly, Mr. Hale undermines the women’s intelligence by commenting, “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” (Glaspell 7). Ironically, it is the women who find the only clue that would provide the desperately needed motive for John Wright’s murder.
Although the women in “A Jury of Her Peers” are unequal to the men, it is the men in The Sun Also Rises who are the unequal sex. The only instance in which a man is superior to the novel’s main female character, Brett, is in the description of her husband and his poor treatment of her; as a result of his unequal treatment, Bret strives to never again allow a man that superiority. Through an odd role reversal, Brett takes on many “masculine” qualities, and eventually turns to treating men as unequals. She is totally in control of all of the men in her life at every point in the novel, and she uses them accordingly.
Brett is the only female character that the readers get to know in depth; therefore, she is the primary representation of the female gender. She has absolutely no regards for the basic humanity of the men who surround her. She goes from man to man, using them for whatever material or sexual need she has at that moment. “‘Yes, I’ll send him away…You stay here. He’s mad about me, I tell you…sent him for champagne’” (Hemingway 61-62). In the same way, she cheats on her men in front of each other, and causes problems between friends. The drama between the friends slowly progresses to escalation in the last few chapters of the book. For example, in Chapter XVI, this tension finally erupts: “‘Do you think you amount to something, Cohn? Do you think you belong here among us?...Do you think Brett wants you here?...Why don’t you see when you’re not wanted, Cohn? Go away. Go away, for God’s sake…’” (Hemingway 181). Similarly, she causes a fistfight between Cohn and Jake, who called themselves best friends and had no friendship problems before Brett got involved; yet she has no concern whatsoever for the problems she is causing.
Brett does whatever she wants. She never has to concern herself with justifying her actions or proving herself. When Romero questions her “femininity,” and asks her to grow her hair to become more “womanly,” she sends him away replying, “‘I won’t be one of those bitches’” (Hemingway 247). She simply refuses to change herself for a man, regardless of how she feels about him. The men, on the other hand, are constantly concerned with proving their masculinity. This is apparent through Jake’s obvious discomfort and response when Brett comes into the bar with a group of homosexuals. “Somehow they always made me angry. I know they are supposed to be amusing, and you should be tolerant, but I wanted to swing on one, any one, anything to shatter that superior, simpering composure” (Hemingway 28). Jake, particularly because of his impotence, continuously tries to make himself and everyone around him, aware of his masculinity to avoid being grouped in with homosexuals and their feminine qualities. Brett simply does not have to worry about defending her femininity, and she uses her sexuality freely as she pleases, proving that she is the superior gender in this novel.
Jakes inequality to Brett is exceedingly evident in their relationship. She manipulates him and degrades him time and time again. She keeps him close enough and claims that she loves him, yet refuses to be with him because of his impotence; sex is more important than her love for Jake, and she does not hesitate to let him know. For example, when Jake asks, “‘Couldn’t we live together, Brett? Couldn’t we just live together?’” Brett replies, “‘I don’t think so. I’d just tromper you with everybody. You couldn’t stand it’” (Hemingway 62). She does not hesitate or think about Jake’s emotions or needs; rather, she freely asserts her superiority over him by refusing his offer of love, choosing a life of promiscuity and sexual freedom instead—a freedom that no man in the novel possesses.
In both “A Jury of Her Peers” and The Sun Also Rises, gender inequality is not only blatantly apparent, but it also plays a large role in the relationships formed between characters. Through depicting gender inequalities in their works, Glaspell and Hemingway reflect the societal issues related to gender during the time periods in which their works are written and set; as a result, a sense of reality is created for readers making the characters appear as humanlike and relatable as possible, and allowing readers to analyze and compare the characters’ histories to the traits they exemplify. This reality, in addition to the authors’ talent and keen insight into human nature, greatly contributes to the timelessness which eludes these works and allows us to study and understand them all these years after the original publication.

Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” 1929. A Jury of Her Peers (Short Stories).
Hadley, MA: Creative Education, 1992.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954.

Chera Pupi
April 30, 2008
EL267
Dr. Hobbs
“I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better”: Examining Gender Inequality in “A Jury of Her Peers” and The Sun Also Rises
It has become quite clear to me throughout my study of literature that authors write about events and situations occurring in the time period in which they are writing or in which their writing takes place. In both Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers,” and Earnest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, this is inherently evident through the realistic portrayals of the main characters and their experiences. Gender inequality plays a large role in both of these works in some form or another, reflecting the surrounding historical and societal events of the time periods they are set in. Although the two works are similar in that they both contain gender inequalities, they differ in the genders that are portrayed as or referred to as unequal. Through the character’s actions and dialogue, it is quite clear that women in “A Jury of Her Peers,” and men in The Sun Also Rises, are indeed unequal to the opposite gender within the individual stories, and are somehow inferior.
The men in “A Jury of Her Peers” constantly degrade the women’s livelihood and intelligence. From the first paragraph of “A Jury of Her Peers,” it is very obvious that for the women in the story, housekeeping duties and home-life are their primary concerns. Mrs. Hale, for example, is constantly worrying about leaving her kitchen work “half done,” and the importance becomes much clearer as the story progresses with the kitchen as the primary setting. The men’s degrading comments also become more prevalent as the story goes on. Both the sheriff and the county attorney make numerous remarks about the “insignificance of kitchen things,” and the attorney even goes as far as insulting Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping abilities: “Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say ladies?” (Glaspell 6). It never once crosses his mind that the dirty towels may be a result of the man he sent earlier to build the fire; when Mrs. Hale tries to stand up to him, he shuts her down quickly remarking and laughing, ”Ah, loyal to your sex, I see” (Glaspell 6). He does not value her personal opinion at all or see her as an individual, instead, he sees her as a generic figure representing a gender.
Other evidence of women’s inferiority in “A Jury of Her Peers” is the fact that the women do not have their own identities. For the majority of the story, the women are referred to as “Mrs. [husband’s last name]” indicating that they are no one without their husbands. The fact that they only refer to their own husbands as “Mr.…” suggests a sense formality and distance between the husbands and wives, emphasizing their inequality and inferiority. Similarly, Mrs. Hale informs the audience that Minnie Foster was a totally different person before she married John Wright: “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively—when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls, singing in the choir” (Glaspell 9). She had her own identity until she married John, becoming nothing more than Mrs. Wright.
The women’s inferiority to their husbands is apparent through their husbands’ treating them as property. They order the women around as though they are dogs. “‘Martha!’ now came her husband’s impatient voice. ‘Don’t keep folks waiting out here in the cold’” (Glaspell 1). Likewise, John Wright kept Minnie secluded and refused to allow her any contact with the outside world through a telephone; he stopped her from singing and provided her with no suitable clothing. It is assumed that Minnie enjoyed her bird because it was the only source of company she had. “‘No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird,’ she said after that—“a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too” (Glaspell 16). He not only killed the bird, but he also killed Minnie Foster—the person she used to be, in turn for making her who he wanted her to be.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence of the inequality of women to men is the fact that every single instance in which the men and women are together in a scene, the men are making fun of the women. The men are sure to never let the women forget that they are not equals. In what is possibly one of the most famous lines from the story, Mr. Hale shows his superiority to the women: “‘Oh well,’ said Mrs. Hale’s husband, with good-natured superiority, ‘women are used to worrying over trifles’” (Glaspell 6). He again degrades their livelihood and undermines their intelligence by implying that anything they are concerned about is insignificant. Similarly, Mr. Hale undermines the women’s intelligence by commenting, “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” (Glaspell 7). Ironically, it is the women who find the only clue that would provide the desperately needed motive for John Wright’s murder.
Although the women in “A Jury of Her Peers” are unequal to the men, it is the men in The Sun Also Rises who are the unequal sex. The only instance in which a man is superior to the novel’s main female character, Brett, is in the description of her husband and his poor treatment of her; as a result of his unequal treatment, Bret strives to never again allow a man that superiority. Through an odd role reversal, Brett takes on many “masculine” qualities, and eventually turns to treating men as unequals. She is totally in control of all of the men in her life at every point in the novel, and she uses them accordingly.
Brett is the only female character that the readers get to know in depth; therefore, she is the primary representation of the female gender. She has absolutely no regards for the basic humanity of the men who surround her. She goes from man to man, using them for whatever material or sexual need she has at that moment. “‘Yes, I’ll send him away…You stay here. He’s mad about me, I tell you…sent him for champagne’” (Hemingway 61-62). In the same way, she cheats on her men in front of each other, and causes problems between friends. The drama between the friends slowly progresses to escalation in the last few chapters of the book. For example, in Chapter XVI, this tension finally erupts: “‘Do you think you amount to something, Cohn? Do you think you belong here among us?...Do you think Brett wants you here?...Why don’t you see when you’re not wanted, Cohn? Go away. Go away, for God’s sake…’” (Hemingway 181). Similarly, she causes a fistfight between Cohn and Jake, who called themselves best friends and had no friendship problems before Brett got involved; yet she has no concern whatsoever for the problems she is causing.
Brett does whatever she wants. She never has to concern herself with justifying her actions or proving herself. When Romero questions her “femininity,” and asks her to grow her hair to become more “womanly,” she sends him away replying, “‘I won’t be one of those bitches’” (Hemingway 247). She simply refuses to change herself for a man, regardless of how she feels about him. The men, on the other hand, are constantly concerned with proving their masculinity. This is apparent through Jake’s obvious discomfort and response when Brett comes into the bar with a group of homosexuals. “Somehow they always made me angry. I know they are supposed to be amusing, and you should be tolerant, but I wanted to swing on one, any one, anything to shatter that superior, simpering composure” (Hemingway 28). Jake, particularly because of his impotence, continuously tries to make himself and everyone around him, aware of his masculinity to avoid being grouped in with homosexuals and their feminine qualities. Brett simply does not have to worry about defending her femininity, and she uses her sexuality freely as she pleases, proving that she is the superior gender in this novel.
Jakes inequality to Brett is exceedingly evident in their relationship. She manipulates him and degrades him time and time again. She keeps him close enough and claims that she loves him, yet refuses to be with him because of his impotence; sex is more important than her love for Jake, and she does not hesitate to let him know. For example, when Jake asks, “‘Couldn’t we live together, Brett? Couldn’t we just live together?’” Brett replies, “‘I don’t think so. I’d just tromper you with everybody. You couldn’t stand it’” (Hemingway 62). She does not hesitate or think about Jake’s emotions or needs; rather, she freely asserts her superiority over him by refusing his offer of love, choosing a life of promiscuity and sexual freedom instead—a freedom that no man in the novel possesses.
In both “A Jury of Her Peers” and The Sun Also Rises, gender inequality is not only blatantly apparent, but it also plays a large role in the relationships formed between characters. Through depicting gender inequalities in their works, Glaspell and Hemingway reflect the societal issues related to gender during the time periods in which their works are written and set; as a result, a sense of reality is created for readers making the characters appear as humanlike and relatable as possible, and allowing readers to analyze and compare the characters’ histories to the traits they exemplify. This reality, in addition to the authors’ talent and keen insight into human nature, greatly contributes to the timelessness which eludes these works and allows us to study and understand them all these years after the original publication.

Works Cited
Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” 1929. A Jury of Her Peers (Short Stories).
Hadley, MA: Creative Education, 1992.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954.

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I submitted my final paper to this particular blog because Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" is one the primary texts that I focused on. I analyzed gender inequality in the story, and argued that the women are inferior to the men in the story; my primary argument for this is the treatment of the women by the men.

Jodi Schweizer
Dr. Lee Hobbs
EL 267.01
30 April 2008

Living in mental anguish;
How Hemmingway and Glaspell’s characters mimic real life.

Throughout history, psychology has been an issue that has caused commotion. From the disbelief of its existence in the dark ages, to the execution of those who believed in it during the Reformation, mental health has been argued over for centuries. In modern times, not only is psychology recognized, it is also studied, dissected, taught, and documented. But perhaps more interesting than the study of psychology itself, is the study of abnormal psychology. Authors of literature from the nineteenth century recognized that abnormal was exciting and realized that creating “perfect” characters would not appease readers. A good author knows that two dimensional characters are boring, so painstaking care is given to be sure that the most important characters, or at least the protagonist and antagonist of a story are three dimensional. This is often achieved through the use of psychology, by instilling vices and psychological troubles in the books characters. These “defects” are usually a main contributor to the story line, and the psychological issues themselves are often of dire importance to the story. In both Earnest Hemmingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises and Susan Glaspell’s short story “A Jury of Her Peers” are classic examples that exhibit three dimensional characters that readers connect with by giving them their own “crosses to bear.” Although The Sun Also Rises and “A Jury of Her Peers” were written at different historical places in time, both stories show the harmful effects caused by many psychological and mental defects that humans experience, especially depression and post traumatic stress disorder.
It has been said that Earnest Hemmingway himself was an alcoholic with severe mental disorders. While Hemmingway was serving in WWI he was hit with machine gun fire and was injured by shrapnel which was embedded in his leg (Wilson, 2007). This wartime experience seems to set the stage for the novel The Sun Also Rises which takes place shortly after WWI in Europe. Although the war has ended, many of the main characters in the novel were involved in the war, either as a soldier like Jake Barnes, or Lady Brett Butler who acted as a nurse to the wounded. This parallel Hemmingway has made to his own life and experience lends itself to suggesting perhaps the antagonist in the book, Jake Barnes is a reflection of the author himself, both physically and mentally. Jake, like Hemmingway, is a war veteran who seems to be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to The American Psychiatric Organization, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) often occurs after a person has “experienced, witnessed, or has been confronted with an event that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury. This person’s response may have involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror (www.psych.org).” Undoubtedly, as Hemmingway would have, both Jake Barnes and Lady Brett would have experienced similar life altering situations in the war.
Towards the beginning of the novel, on page 26, we find that Jake is impotent. Although it is not clear if Jake was rendered this way due to a physical injury, or due to witnessing a catastrophic psychological event, what is clear is that Jake is not able to perform sexually. This is the leading reason why Lady Brett will not enter into a relationship with Jake. Even though PTSD is not mentioned in the novel (and may not have technically been discovered at this time in history), it is clear to the reader that Jake is suffering mentally due to the war. The American Psychiatric Organization lists symptoms of PTSD as difficulty in falling asleep, irritability and outbursts of anger, and difficulty concentrating (www.psych.org). Jake displays symptoms of this on pages 31-35, when he describes to the reader that he has difficulty sleeping and cries at night. Like Jake, Lady Brett displays similar symptoms throughout the novel.
Although though Lady Brett is not suffering from impotence, she is showing classic symptoms of PTSD. It seems as though Brett never sleeps, and is up partying constantly. In reverse of Jake’s problem with not being able to have sex, the act of sex itself has become so important to Brett that it seems to run her life. She is constantly out sleeping with different men, at least three of which are mentioned in the novel, Mike, Robert, and Romero. Although she is engaged to Mike, Brett prefers Romero’s exciting way of life, to the mundane with Mike, and ends the engagement. Lady’s Brett character has a physical need so strong that she will not consider a relationship with Jake, whom she loves, because he can not satisfy her sexual needs. Brett lives a very care free existence with no responsibilities, job, or worries to speak of. This partying environment works in conjunction with another disorder that is prevalent in those who suffer from PTSD, alcoholism.
Alcohol abuse is a disorder that is exhibited by many characters in Hemmingway’s novel. Alcoholism is a theme that is prevalent throughout the entire book. It is mentioned in every chapter, and every event that takes place during the novel involves alcohol. All of the major characters partake in consuming mass quantities of alcohol frequently throughout the story. The American Psychiatric Organization notes that alcohol abuse or alcoholism is not only a disease in itself, but is also a contributing factor that makes other psychological diseases more difficult to deal with (www.psych.org). The symptoms of alcoholism, according to the APO, include heavy drinking, agitation, insomnia, and anxiety. These symptoms also contribute to the meanness and violence that often take place with excessive drinking (www.psych.org). Both in everyday life, and in “The Sun Also Rises” alcohol is used an escape to avoid personal problems. In the book, Jake is drinking because he is running from his impotence problem, which is ultimately the reason he can’t be with the woman he loves, Brett. Brett is drinking because she can’t get past her sexual issues to be with Jake, because he can’t consummate a relationship. The other characters in the story, such as Robert Cohn, and Brett’s fiancé Mike, also have a link to alcoholism. Cohn drinks every time something does not go the way he hopes that it will. His state of intoxication leads him to physical confrontations with numerous characters including Jake, Mike, and Romero. This reinforces the idea that alcoholism can cause a person to become mean and violent. The character of Mike also idealizes this when he becomes drunk and confrontational after the bull fights. Alcoholism and post traumatic stress disorder are both an underlying cause of one of the most common, yet serious illnesses in the United States today, depression (American Psychiatric Organization).
According to American Psychiatric Organization, classic signs of depression are a loss of interest in normal activities, crying spells, and trouble focusing and concentrating (www.psych.org). All of these are exhibited by Jake throughout The Sun Also Rises”. Although Jake has a job at the newspaper, he can not seem to keep his concentration on his work, and often leaves work to frequent bars mid-day. As shown previously, Jake frequently cries at night over the loss of his manhood and of Brett. Jake also does not seem to be interested in mundane tasks any longer. Work bores him, writing has become a hassle to him, and all he wants to do is drink and travel around Europe.
Lady Brett also exhibits signs of depression, but in a different form. It appears, according to the American Psychiatric Organization that Brett is suffering from a manic bi-polar disorder. She is showing all of the signs, such as, an inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and reckless involvement in pleasurable activity (www.psych.org). Lady Brett knows that when she walks into a room, she is the center of attention. This is told to the reader by Hemmingway on page 22. She uses her attractiveness to her advantage by partaking in sexual encounters with men that she does not know and being out for days at a time without sleeping.
Earnest Hemmingway makes it easy for the reader to recognize the psychological issues that are going on in his book. However, not all authors make the symptoms so glaringly obvious. The character in Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”, Minnie Foster is never even directly met by the reader. Glaspell introduces Minnie, who is being accused of killing her husband, through the conversations of her neighbors Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. The women are in the downstairs of Minnie’s house discussing the situation while the men are upstairs investigating the crime scene. Although the reader never meets Minnie “face to face” it is easy to draw conclusions with the help of the author’s descriptions to the type of life she was forced to lead with her husband, which included depression, and most likely Battered Women’s Syndrome.
As stated earlier, one of the classic symptoms of depression is a loss of interest in daily activities (American Psychiatric Organization). Minnie, being a famer’s housewife, had many daily duties such as housework, canning fruits, and mending or sewing. Throughout the story it is shown that Minnie has neglected this work. The kitchen is in disarray when the authorities and the women arrive. Women, the men say, are consumed by their housework, and “trifles,” but Minnie has left the kitchen a mess. Her canning was not tended to properly, causing the jars to all break. When the Mrs. Hale finds the sewing Minnie has been working on, the stitching is zigzagged and uneven. All of these are signs that Minnie was neglecting tasks that would have been simple for her to perform.
A contributor to Minnie’s depression was most likely Battered Women’s Syndrome. According to abuse.com, battered women’s syndrome isn’t just about battery; it is about power and control (National Women’s Health Information Center.) Some men have an issue with needing power, and gain such power by controlling their wives. This is shown to be happening in the story “A Jury of Her Peers” in many ways. First, the women mention that they have not seen Minnie outside the house in years. This exhibits the first sign of Battered Women’s Syndrome, isolation. Mr. Hale mentions near the beginning of the story that he wanted the Foster’s to purchase a telephone but Mr. Foster said “no”. With holding money from Mrs. Foster and keeping her disconnected from the outside world shows the second sign of abuse, economic abuse. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters talk about the way that Minnie used to be, before she was married. She is described as being vibrant, full of life, and a beautiful singer. Mrs. Hale states that she hasn’t heard Minnie sing in years. When people give up doing things that they love, and become withdrawn, this is a sign of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is also one of the ways that a man intimidates a woman who is being battered by him. Finally, the last sign of battered women’s syndrome is intimidation. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover a broken bird cage in the kitchen. They surmise that the bird belonged to Minnie and her husband broke the door because its singing annoyed him. A few lines later, Mrs. Hale finds the dead bird, its neck broken, in a sewing box of Minnie’s. Mr. Foster breaking the neck of the only real friend Minnie had shows that he intimidated Minnie into doing what he asked of her, and set an example of what could happen to her.
Authors often use psychological defects in characters to make them more appealing to the readers, and to give the reader a way to connect with the character. This is exhibited by many characters in Ernest Hemmingway’s The Sun Also Rises and in Susan Glaspell’s short story, “A Jury of Her Peers.” However, what would happen if these writers had left out the psychological backgrounds of the characters? Would Jake be considered “weird” or “odd” because he was impotent? Would the reader think differently of Minnie if the author did not foreshadow the fact that she was being abused? Would she have just been seen as a cold blooded killer? As in real life today, the psychological factors of people are sometimes just as important as the lives they lead.

Works Cited

American Psychiatric Association. 18 April 2008.
Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” 1929. A Jury of Her Peers (Short Stories).
Hadley, MA: Creative Education, 1992.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Charles Scribener’s Sons, 1926.
National Women’s Health Information Center. March 2003. 10 April 2008.
Wilson, M. The Hemingway Resource Center. 30 November 2007. 15 April 2008.

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I posted my final paper under the Susan Glaspell entry because her work "A Jury of Her Peers" was crucial to my papers theory that authors immitate life through psychololgy and mental illness. The character of Minnie was important to proove my thesis that depression is a major disease reflected in literature.

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*NOTE* The deadline for this particular assignment has now passed. Any comments listed below are *ONLY* for the reposting of comments that I specifically asked to be revised or are ones from non-student posters. Any 'student' posts below that missed the assignment deadline will not get credit for the assignment. ~ Dr. Hobbs