A Jury Of Her Peers Essay

“At the beginning of the twentieth century, women were outsiders to the formal structures of political life—voting, serving on juries, holding elective office—and they were subject to wide-ranging discrimination that marked them as secondary citizens” (Evans). The lack of rights for women during the early 1900s was a severe problem that motivated Susan Glaspell to publish a short story “A Jury of Her Peers.” During the early nineteenth century, women endured cruel and unjust treatment from men and had limited options in their careers, as well as political and social lives. Glaspell conveys the serious oppression of women in the beginning of the twentieth century through the presence of gender inequality, symbolism of a songbird, and hidden evidence. Written in the early 1900s, “A Jury of Her Peers” was originally a play, Trifles, which Glaspell decided to turn into a short story in 1917, only a year later. During this time, women faced many difficulties, including the inability to serve on a jury. In 1879, the Supreme Court decided that any state could "confine the selection [of jurors] to males” (McDonald). However, in 1898, Utah became the first state to allow women on

Throughout the story, many symbolic pieces and examples were portrayed to fully reveal and develop the intense oppression women faced. Through the strong conveyance of gender inequality, a dead songbird, and hidden evidence, “A Jury of Her Peers” proves that women suffered from oppressive men. Glaspell wrote this short story to make readers aware of the negative situation, as well as change it. After “A Jury of Her Peers” was published, many states began to change their political laws by deeming women legal to serve on a jury. Not only did Glaspell help change the oppressiveness of women, but she aided in the change of women’s political