In "A Jury of Her Peers," how is the murder solved?
In Susan Glaspell’s short story “A Jury of Her Peers,” the murder is “solved” by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. The men spend the majority of the short story actively looking for clues, leaving the women behind in the kitchen. But as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters spend more and more time in Mrs. Wright’s space—first tidying up her kitchen and then reworking some of her sewing—they are able to discover signs of Mrs. Wright’s life—and guilt—in her domestic space.
When the men first leave the women behind in the kitchen, they condescendingly suggest that the women should stay alert for clues, although they wonder “if the women [would] know a clue if they did come upon it.” The men, however, are unable to read the evidence that is present in the domestic space—evidence that manifests to the women clearly. When they discover that Mrs. Wright’s bird...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
was killed when her husband broke its neck, Mrs. Hale discusses the shared conditions faced by women:
We all go through the same things—it’s all just a different kind of the same thing! If it weren’t—why do you and I understand? Why do we know what we know this minute?
Ultimately, the two women solve the case not through the form of masculine detective work that is symbolized by the sheriff but instead through a form of knowledge shared by the women in the story.
In "A Jury of Her Peers", who committed the murder and why? Who solved it and how?
The murder of John Wright was committed by his wife, Minnie Foster Wright. There had apparently been tension in their marriage, at least partially because of John Wright's asocial nature and Minnie's discomfort with the isolation of their life together on their remote farm. It seems that the last straw might have been that John Wright killed Minnie's singing canary, her only other companion.
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters look through Minnie's belongings and find that the canary's cage door had been roughly pulled apart, and then they find the dead bird carefully wrapped in some silk cloth. Its broken neck suggests that it has been killed violently. They deduce that John Wright has committed this cruel act and pushed Minnie off the deep end, so to speak. Mrs. Hale is empathetic because she has suffered in a similar way when she first became a homesteader and lost a child.
There are many things that can be learned from the story. One is that isolation can have very destructive effects on a person's mental health. Another is that one should not be reluctant or afraid to reach out to others if it is suspected that they are suffering physically or emotionally. And finally, it may suggest that there is a difference between justice and law and order.