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Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers"

BIOGRAPHY

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Factual History and Historical Context

In 1900, John Hossack was murdered in his bed, a crime for which his wife, Margaret, was tried and convicted. Susan Glaspell was a young reporter for the Des Moines Daily News when she attended the trial. Later, she turned the experience into both a play, entitled "Trifles," and a short story, "A Jury of Her Peers." Read this information about the real event and consider the differences between the real and fictional events and outcome. What do you think are the reasons for the differences?

Until ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920, women in the United States did not universally have the right to vote, nor did many of the other rights within the Constitution apply equally to women. Susan B. Anthony and many others led the Women's Suffrage Movement in a fight for those rights. Read Anthony's "Declaration of Rights for Women," written in 1876. Look particularly at the paragraph entitled "The right of trial by a jury of one's peers." How do Anthony's ideas in this paragraph relate to Glaspell's story and its title?

Trifles

The play Trifles is the dramatic version of  "A Jury of Her Peers." Read or listento the play. Other than the lack of a narrator what are the differences between the short story and the play? Which do you prefer? Why?

Gender Differences in Communication

Men and women communicate differently. Read this article about gender differences in communication and this one about overcoming roadblocks in gender communication. What are the differences between the way the men in the story communicate with the women, the way the women communicate with each other, and the way the women communicate with the men? What changes in communication might have led to a different outcome in the story?

Justice vs. Morality

In 1977, Carol Gilligan wrote the book In a Different Voice: Women's Conception of Self and Morality. Read these excerpts from the work and this short commentary. What differences do you see between the concepts of justice and morality of the men and the women in "A Jury of Her Peers"? What are your personal concepts of justice and morality?

Final Judgment

Students who read "A Jury of Her Peers" or Trifles are often divided on whether or not Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters did the right thing hiding the evidence of Mrs. Wright's motive for murder. Consider the social position of women at the time, Mr. Wright's emotional abuse of his wife, the condescending attitude of men toward women, and the immorality of murder. When you think about all of these factors, how do you judge Mrs. Wright?

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