There have always been social differences between men and women. These differences have been the center of many plots and themes throughout the ages of literature. Many early twentieth century stories portrayed the female’s character as demure and less intelligent than the male counterpart. Author Susan Glaspell was ahead of her time as she blurred the lines of traditional definitions, particularly of marriage and women’s roles in society, in the early twentieth century. Based on her play Trifles, Glaspell’s short story A Jury of Her Peers illustrates how men and women viewing the same set of circumstances will look at objects differently. In this story it is the men who are clueless and the women who have the insight into what really happened between John and Minnie Wright.
The setting in A Jury of Her Peers is rural Midwestern at the turn of the century. The women living rural country at that time would not be highly educated and normally be relegated to hearth and home. Mrs. Peters is described as somewhat of a timid lady and did not seem to fit the image of a sheriff’s wife. Mrs. Hale on the other hand is the hearty farmer’s wife and well suited for her role in life. The women were brought along simply to tend

The clues were perceived very differently by the men and woman and they are; a rocking chair that sagged to one side and the middle rung missing, a half full sugar bag, Minnie’s shabby clothes, the half cleaned table, a bad stove, a bird cage with a broken door and the sewing on a quilt Minnie was working on. To the men the items on this list were just everyday mundane items at the Wright’s house. To the women these spoke greatly of Minnie’s life with John. They were able to look through the items and read the story they had to tell. Seeing the half cleaned table and half full sugar bag they saw tasks interrupted. The shabby clothes told of John’s penny pinching. The broken stove told of the hard existence that Minnie endured. The birdcage with a broken door showed the lack of consideration John had for Minnie. The sewing on the quilt showed that Minnie was distracted by her thoughts. Mrs. Hale remembers that Minnie used to wear pretty clothes, was lively and sang in the choir. These memories were in stark contrast to Minnie’s life after marring John.

The men’s approach to the investigation is based on their experience of murder cases in the past. Very few women during that era were tried and convicted for murder, which means the men would be limited with their experience of dealing with a murderess, if they had experience with that at all. The men looking through their traditional detective magnifying glass are looking for physical evidence that fit their expectations of why Minnie Wright killed her husband. Even though Minnie, like most women of that era, spent the majority of her time in the kitchen, it never occurred to the men to really look around in the kitchen. To the men the kitchen was messy with dirty t