... takes place. When the county attorney went to wash his hands, he shouts, "Dirty Towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?"(Glaspell, 1930) The messiness of the kitchen leads the reader to believe a couple of things. One, Mrs. Wright was so distracted by arranging her husband's murder that ... a knot. The tying of the knot is extremely symbolic as the reader discovers that a Mrs. Wright's husband was murdered by a slipping rope around his neck (Glaspell, 1929). In the very beginning of the play, Mrs. Wright and Hale are having a discussion and she calmly admits that while s...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the puzzle together and begin to see the big picture. The men exit the kitchen convinced that no evidence was there, "Nothing here but kitchen things" (Glaspell 158). In the kitchen is where the evidence really lay. As Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters wait in the kitchen, their concern for Minnie Foster rises ... . Peters, for anything that might be of use. No telling; you women might come upon a clue to the motive -and that's the thing we need" (Glaspell 160). Soon after that comment, the men, as if the question was too hard for the two women to comprehend, said, "But would the women know a c...

• Word Count: 806
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Susan Glaspell was born in Davenport, Iowa in 1876. After graduating high school, she started writing professionally, for a local newspaper. In 1901, she began her career as a fiction writer. Her fiction works ... , she married George Cram Cook. He was also a writer, and the two moved to the east coast where they worked on many projects together, and founded two different theater groups. Glaspell died in 1948, having published many stories, plays, and novels. She wrote realism, mainly about women in the Midwest, in rural settings. Her play, Trifles, is an example. It also ... they found a bo...

• Word Count: 2006
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... looking around Mrs. Wright's kitchen the men noticed disorganization and a dirty hand towel. Mr. Henderson comments the she was "not much of a housekeeper" (Glaspell 301). Mrs. Wright's character is immediately judged based on a hand towel, which Mrs. Hale later points out could have been dirtied that very morning when ... of the whole picture. "Women are used to worrying about trifles," comments Mr. Hale, when the women notice Mrs. Wright's ruined jam (Glaspell 300). The men find these kinds of details silly and insignificant. Ironically it is these very "trifles" and the women's intel...

• Word Count: 1653
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... described as being in disorder with "dirty pans under the sink," a loaf of bread outside the bread-box, and a dishtowel left on the table (Glaspell 200). This gives the impression that no attention has been paid to cleaning up, either recently or usually. This kitchen has an old black stove, faded ... There is nothing feminine in this kitchen. You can hardly say that this kitchen was run by a woman; "it never seemed a very cheerful place" (Glaspell 200). It rather looks like the man had the deciding voice about how everything should look and definitely according to him, the kitchen did ...

• Word Count: 1048
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... show that the omission of the clues found in the kitchen and the complete disregard for women serve as a consequence to solving the case. In this play written by Susan Glaspell, the plot, the actions of various characters, and the dialogue communicate the author's disapproval of gender-role stereotypes. From the very beginning of the play, the author presents a patriarchal society ... in Mrs. Wright's sewing box. Had the men looked in the right place, they would have stumbled upon the clues that the women found. By this, one can see that Glaspell disapproves of gender stereotypes. She i...

• Word Count: 661
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Women's Intuition What part could women's intuition possible play in solving a murder? In Susan Glaspell's short story "A Jury of Her Peers", the female characters Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters glean many subtle clues from the ordinary surroundings of the accused, Minnie Wright. The women, who ... not ward off the chill. She wished she had visited when Minnie was there but "there was always something to do and Minnie Foster would go right from her mind" (Glaspell 2). Mrs. Peters, even though she did not previously know Minnie, felt hesitant to enter the house and refused an invitation by the c...

• Word Count: 871
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Though men and women are now recognized as equal in intelligence, when Susan Glaspell wrote "Trifles" and "A Jury of Her Peers" in 1916, it was not so. In this turn-of-the-century setting, women were barely educated and had no power. Relegated to ... mercy of the men in their lives. It is just this powerless existence that over time developed into a power with which women could baffle their male counterparts: an intuition. In Glaspell's story, ironic situations contrast male and female intuition, illustrating that Minnie Wright is more fairly judged by "a jury of her peers." "Trifles" illus...

• Word Count: 550
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Since the time when Eve set herself apart from Adam by consuming the forbidden fruit, there always have been vast differences in the way men and women conduct themselves. Susan Glaspell in "A Jury of her Peers" explores the divide between the male and female world. The men in the story talk to Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters with feigned and patronizing ... , and restrictive gender roles. Mrs. Wright's sad tragedy showed the dangerous effects of living in an isolated, divided, and uncaring society such as the one presented in this story. Susan Glaspell exemplifies the differences between men and wo...

• Word Count: 1786
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ... ...

• Word Count: 1195
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell, is the unique perspectives of the two different genders on the same issue. As suggested by its title, the central theme of Trifles is that things dismissed by some as ... ...

• Word Count: 561
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Everyone is based upon his or her own physical characteristics and traits. These two elements make up a person and how their peers view them. In "A Jury of Her Peers", Susan Glaspell specifically chooses certain character traits for each character in order to make the reading interesting and have a certain twist to it at the same time. The character traits are brought ... ...

• Word Count: 1505
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School