Index IntroductionMen vs. Women in the Early 1900sConclusionIntroductionMany essays highlight the theme of men vs. women in different ways. Here we will explore this theme through Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers." The short story "A Jury of Her Peers" shows the clear divide in the perception of the roles of men versus women during the early 1900s and how women were belittled and undervalued by men. The author, Susan Glaspell, sheds light on the difficulties faced by women during that time and how men did not see women as equals, as evidenced by the sexism towards women in the story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayMen vs. Women in the Early 1900sIt's easy to see the sexism in Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers." In this 1917 tale, based on a real case of a woman who killed her husband with an axe, the men belittled the two women. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters accompanied their husbands to the crime scene. The men believed the women were incapable of helping solve the case. However, it was the women, who paid attention to the small details and understood the woman's experience, who discovered that Minnie Foster, the wife, was guilty of killing her husband. She killed him because he mistreated her. After learning this information, the two women decide to help hide the evidence so that Minnie will be found innocent. If the men found the evidence, they would find Minnie guilty and shame her. Men would never believe that the husband had abused his wife. “A Jury of Her Peers” author Susan Glaspell, born in 1876 in Davenport, Iowa, grew up in a community that did not believe in women's right to education and employment. Glaspell had rejected these ideas and attended college at Drake University, where she excelled in a predominantly male student body. After graduation, Glaspell took a position as a reporter at the Des Moines Daily News. Through this work, he covered the landmark 1900 case of the unsolved murder of John Hossack. This case inspired her to write a one-act play titled The "Trifles", which became the short story "A Jury of Her Peers". ( Champlin, Nikola. 'A Jury of Her Peers.' LitCharts. ) Susan Glaspell does an excellent job of telling the story through the characters of Minnie Foster Wright, John Wright's wife, and Mrs. Hale, who describes Minnie as a lively and happy young woman whose voice could be heard in the choir. After marrying John Wright, a man described as a good man because he never drank and always kept his word, Minnie transformed into a completely different person. Instead of being lively and happy, she became quiet, sad and lonely and did not appear to be happy in her marriage. When her husband was discovered murdered, she became the prime suspect. She was held in a prison cell while the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, found clues to prove that Minnie had indeed killed her husband. They then discovered a bird that had been strangled in a similar way to how Mr Wright had been killed. The two women recalled that the bird was a pet kept by Mrs. Wright and was one of the only things that gave her happiness. She didn't seem happy in her marriage, but she was always happy with the bird. It then became clear to the two women that Mr. Wright was in fact a very cruel, severe and miserable man. Mrs. Hale describes to Mrs. Peters that Mr. Wright was "a tough man." To spend time with him, while he was shaking, he said.