Gender Roles In Susan Glaspell's 'A Jury Of Peers'

Women are expected to take care of their children, keep the house and do only as they are told. The author of this story suggests otherwise. The author implies that women can do a lot more and combined with men can contribute to

Upon returning to the Maloney residence she acted as a distraught wife who had just found her dead husband. Mary Maloney then continued to cook dinner after the officers arrived, she told them it would calm her down, when in reality she was cooking the murder weapon. Mary Maloney does not stop there, she then begs the officers at the scene to eat the leg of lamb, telling them it would be doing her a favor. “ ‘Please,” she begged.

This distinct view of women isn’t only used by men but also by women themselves. They’ve been boxed into these standards for so long that they pass it along to their daughters and normalize it. Lola’s own mother says that this is what she’s supposed to be doing because she’s the daughter, illuminating how all of these duties are placed solely on the women. Taking care of not only the house but, the men of the house is what makes her the “perfect”

In “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “Behind the Headlines” by Vidyut Aklujkar, inequality and dissatisfaction are central topics shared by all the stories. Ending with some sort of a rebellious act which changes the protagonists’ lives, the three authors deal with the fact that inequality or isolation may lead to a breakout behaviour of the victims. The wives, Ann from “TPD,” the protagonist of “TYW” and Lakshmi from “BH,” are dissatisfied with their lives as they live in inequality and loneliness; this causes them to finally act out in some way, standing up for themselves. their breakout behaviours not only change their own lives but also the lives of their husbands. Inequality

During the 19th century, women were overshadowed by the men of their household, therefore they had no sense of independence nor dominance. In Mary Freeman’s short story, “The Revolt of Mother,” the author presents Sarah Penn, a woman who takes a stand against her husband. In the beginning, the reader learns that Sarah is a hardworking mother and wife. She maintains the household work and meets her children needs. She is suddenly confused of her husband’s actions concerning their future.

She offered the police officers that was at her house if they wanted to eat. The irony of the story was that when they was eating the lambs legs the detective said that the tool that killed the husband must of been a big blunt

Mary genuinely loved and cared for Patrick and would never intently plan to kill him with hatred. When she returned from the store and saw her adored husband dead on the ground, despite how Patrick mistreated her, “no acting was necessary” when

In “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl, the protagonist Mrs. Maloney is dynamic in the story. The author used diction, her actions and thoughts to show the reader that she’s dynamic. Dahl also showed how at first Mrs. Maloney was a kind and caring person then changed drastically into the exact opposite, which is into a murderer. Starting from the beginning, the author described Mrs. Maloney as a peaceful and calm woman. The author says “As she bent over her sewing, she was curiously peaceful” (Dahl 1).

The short stories, “I Stand Here Ironing” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” are both stories told by women who felt that their responsibilities as a mother were

In the nineteenth century, woman had no power over men in society. They were limited in their freedom, as their lives were controlled by their husbands. Some women did not mind this lifestyle, and remained obedient, while some rebelled and demanded their rights. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, are short stories that exposes the lifestyle women lived in the nineteenth century. The protagonists from both stories, Jane and Georgiana, similarly lived a male dominated lifestyle.

Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” speaks to many political issues and how to handle them. He felt the government was corrupt for their continual use of slavery and that one “cannot without disgrace be associated with it” (150). On the point of the government enforcing laws, Thoreau calls for men to do nothing. By nothing, he means to not give the government power over them which would effectively be “peaceable revolution” (154). Americans complain about the way the government is run, yet they do nothing while allowing the government to do as they please.

The Women Can women who lead very different lives be similar? Susan Glaspell explores the differences and similarities of two characters in her story “Trifles.” Written in 1916, Glaspell’s fictional story uses an unforeseen event to bring Mrs. Hale, a farmer’s wife, and Mrs. Peters, a sheriff’s wife, together. Although Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have their differences such as Mrs. Hale being outspoken, observant, and a leader, while Mrs. Peters is nervous and does not want to challenge authority, the women share some similarities such as being aware of male condescension and willing to keep information from male authorities if it means helping another woman.

Welter states, “The best refuge for such a delicate creature was the warmth and safety of her home. The true woman’s place was unquestionably her own fireside—as daughter, sister, but most of all as wife and mother, Therefore domesticity was among the virtues most prized by women’s magazines” (Welter 5). Since the woman was confined to the house, without any other options for work or hobbies, the home was more of a prison than a place of comfort. Welter states that the “woman, in the cult of True Womanhood…was the hostage in the home” (Welter 1). The narrator in the short story is seen to suffer from this sort of

The way she addresses her husband, Patrick, is caring and compassionate. As the story progresses she gets more and more uneasy until Patrick tells her very bad news, and the entire mood of the story shifts. Mary becomes removed, cold, in shock. At this point, she “simply walked up behind him and without any pause, she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head” ( ). Patrick died within seconds.

During the 1890’s until today, the roles of women and their rights have severely changed. They have been inferior, submissive, and trapped by their marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that have rights and can represent “feminine individuality”. The fact that they be intended to be house-caring women has changed.