A Jury of Her Peers | Susan Glaspell | Short Story Summary | Neb English Support Class 12

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A Jury of Her Peers | Susan Glaspell | Short Story Summary | Neb English Support Class 12

A Jury of Her Peers

ABOUT THE STORY 

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell

This mysterious short story, "A Jury of Her Peers" was written by American author Susan Glaspell in 1917. This story is based on a real-life incident involving the murder of John Hossack in 1990. This story is about an investigation into the mysterious murder of a landlord, Mr. John Wright. For his murder, his wife was suspected and taken to police custody in town. We find various themes here in this story, such as trifles, despair, loneliness, identity crises, revenge etc.

FULL STORY SUMMARY

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell

In the beginning of this story, we get introduced to a character named Martha Hale. Martha Hale is a housewife in a rural area. She is suddenly called away to give company to Mrs. Peters. She and Mrs.Peters have to go to the isolated farmhouse of Mr. John and Mrs. Minnie Wrights. Actually, Martha is a neighbour of the Wright family. The young county attorney, Mr. George Henderson, a neighbouring farmer, Mr. Lewis Hale, and Mr. Peters, the local area sheriff, are the men in the farmhouse of Mr. John Wright. These men have taken Mrs. Minnie Wright into custody after someone strangled her husband during the night in their bed. Mr. Hale, a neighbouring farmer, had stopped at Wright's farmhouse the day before to talk to Mr. John Wright regarding the telephone line. He found Minnie Wright sitting on her rocking chair, quiet, nervous and distracted. When she finds Mr. Hale there, she informs him about her husband's murder. She even claims that she was in deep sleep at the time of the murder. Both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are assigned to gather some essential things for Mrs. Minnie while all the male characters search the crime scene.

At the Wrights’ farmhouse, the men in investigation complain about the messy kitchen, mock women's work as trivial, and move upstairs to the bedroom for their further investigation. The kitchen is in a very bad state because Minnie's housekeeping got disrupted. Almost all of the fruit jars in the kitchen, which Minnie worked hard to preserve, froze and broke. Mrs. Hale understands the feelings of a woman and feels sorry for Minnie. She had to leave her household work suddenly too. She wants to clean up the messed-up things in the kitchen but worries about what Mrs. Peters might think. Mrs. Hale thinks about Minnie, her friend since girlhood. She wishes that they had stayed in touch better. Mrs. Hale becomes furious and complains about how the men talk about Minnie and her kitchen, but Mrs. Peters defends the men, saying they are just doing their investigation tasks.

A quick inspection of the kitchen reveals what a cheap man John Wright was. Minnie’s rocking chair and stove are in very bad shape, and the cabinets are also make-do. When the women collect Minnie’s clothes, Mrs. Hale notices that they are shabby and mended, unlike the bright, beautiful clothes Minnie wore when she used to sing in the choir as a singer. The women wonder whether Minnie is guilty or not. Mrs. Peters mentions that, during the trial, Mr. Henderson intends to mock Minnie’s claim about sleeping during the time of the murder. But the attorney needs proof that Minnie felt some “sudden feeling” to explain why she murdered her husband.

The women noticed that Minnie had been sewing pieces for a quilt with even, skilled stitches. As they discuss whether Minnie intended to quilt the pieces or knot them, the men pass through the kitchen on their way to the barn, and the sheriff makes fun of the women’s conversation. When the women find the quilt's one piece is badly sewn, as if Minnie had become upset, they share a very quiet glance. Mrs. Hale starts to undo the stitches and replace them with tidy ones. Mrs. Peters says that they shouldn’t touch anything there, but she doesn’t stop Mrs. Hale.

Mrs. Peters notices a damaged birdcage. Its twisted door is hanging from a bent hinge. The women guess that Minnie, who once used to love singing, had bought a songbird. Both of them wonder where the bird is. Mrs. Hale starts to imagine Minnie’s lonely life, without children, out in the country with an indifferent husband. She thinks about how much joy a singing bird might bring a lonely woman. To avoid such sad thoughts, she suggests that they take the quilt pieces to provide Minnie with something to do in jail. As the women gather supplies, they find a beautiful red box in the sewing basket. When they open the box, they find inside, wrapped in silk, the bird, its neck twisted. They share a look of understanding and hide the box as the attorney and sheriff return there. Mrs. Peters misleads the attorney, telling him that a cat must have gotten the bird. Ignoring her words, the two men go back upstairs.

The women find it hard to express their thoughts. Mrs. Peters remembers a boy killing her kitten in front of her eyes when she was young. She remembers that she wanted to hurt the boy, being furious. She insists, “We don’t know,” but the women know. Minnie strangled her husband, John, because he strangled her bird. The bird is the main clue that the attorney needs to suggest a motive, and the woman must decide whether to hand it over or hide it. Without speaking, they choose to hide it, just as the men return. The attorney mocks again at the women’s discussion. He asks whether Minnie planned to quilt the pieces or... he can’t recall the other option. Finally, Mrs. Hale reminds him of the other option, which is to “knot it”.

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