literary analysis essay a jury of her peers

Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers

Analysis of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 27, 2021

Originally written and performed in 1916 as a play called Trifles , “A Jury of Her Peers” appeared in Everyweek on March 5, 1917, and became Susan Glaspell’s best-known story. On one level, readers may see it as an evocative local color tale of the Midwest, but its fame and popularity rest largely on its original plot and strongly feminist theme. Indeed, the story anticipates the feature-length film The Burning Bed and the legal issues debated in the 1970s and beyond: When is a wife justified in murdering her husband?

Susan Glaspell/AmericanLiterature.com

When the story opens, Minnie Foster Wright has been taken to jail for the possible murder of her husband, John Wright, names suggesting the diminutive and powerless wife and the confident husband. The protagonists of the story are Martha Hale, friend to Minnie since childhood, and Mrs. Peters—whose first name we never learn, married to Sheriff Peters, a blustery overpowering man who seems a double for John Wright. The men—including the sheriff, the county attorney, and Martha’s domineering husband, Mr. Hale—comb the house for evidence to convict Minnie of murder. So confident are they in their methods, however, that they fail to search the kitchen, the province of women, whose work they repeatedly criticize and belittle.

Martha and Mrs. Peters, the female sleuths in this story (which actually may be viewed as a form of detective fiction), examine the kitchen and, through such evidence as jam jars, quilts, an empty bird cage, and, finally, a dead bird, deduce the loneliness, poverty, and emotional devastation of Minnie Foster’s marriage. The loud, heavy footsteps of the men punctuate the two women’s gradual understanding that Minnie Foster murdered her husband in the same way that he had cruelly killed her canary. Although Martha Hale has been sympathetic all along, the little bird corpse is the deciding factor for Mrs. Peters, who recalls a similar incident in her youth: She easily could have killed the boy who destroyed her cat. More important, however, is Mrs. Peter’s awakening to the similarities between Minnie’s husband and her own. She joins Martha in conspiring to hide the dead bird, thus destroying the only physical evidence of Minnie’s motivation to murder. Minnie has been judged by a jury of her peers, and they have found her innocent.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Glaspell, Susan. “A Jury of Her Peers.” In American Short Stories. 6th ed. Edited by Eugene Current-García and Bert Hitchcock. New York: Longman, 1997.

Share this:

Categories: Literature , Mystery Fiction , Short Story

Tags: American Literature , Analysis of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , appreciation of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , criticism of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , guide of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , Literary Criticism , notes of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , plot of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , structure of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , summary of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , Susan Glaspell , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers analysis , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers characters , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers guide , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers notes , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers plot , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers story , Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers themes , themes of Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers

Related Articles

You must be logged in to post a comment.

English Studies

This website is dedicated to English Literature, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory, English Language and its teaching and learning.

“A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell: A Critical Analysis

“A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell first appeared in print in 1917 in the pages of Every Week magazine, was not originally included in a collection.

Introduction: “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

Table of Contents

“A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell first appeared in print in 1917 in the pages of Every Week magazine, was not originally included in a collection, the story’s enduring merit has secured its place in numerous anthologies. Its strengths lie in the nuanced exploration of gender roles and societal expectations prevalent in rural America at the time. A feminist forerunner, Glaspell sheds light on the unspoken realities of women’s lives, particularly the isolation and constraints that could fester beneath an unassuming exterior. The focus on seemingly insignificant details and the power of unspoken communication between women resonates deeply with readers, solidifying “A Jury of Her Peers” as a captivating and thought-provoking work.

Main Events in “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

• A Grim Discovery: Sheriff Lewis and County Attorney Henderson arrive at the isolated Wright farmhouse to investigate the reported death of John Wright. Mrs. Peters, accompanying her sheriff husband, joins Mrs. Hale, the neighbor, at the farmhouse.
• Cleaning with Unease: While the men focus on the crime scene, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale are tasked with cleaning the house. As they go about their chores, a sense of unease grows as they observe peculiar details – a broken birdcage, a lack of freshly baked bread, and an assortment of empty fruit jars.
• Hints of Isolation: These seemingly insignificant details paint a picture of Minnie Wright’s potential isolation and loneliness within the marriage. The lack of fresh bread suggests a neglect of household duties, while the empty jars could hint at a lack of fulfillment in her life.
• A Hidden Cry for Help: As they delve deeper into the cleaning, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters make a shocking discovery – a dead canary hidden within a sewing basket. Additionally, they find a ripped quilt with a missing lining. These hidden elements add another layer of distress to Minnie’s situation.
• Blind Spots of the Law: Focused on traditional signs of violence, the male authorities, Sheriff Lewis and County Attorney Henderson, completely miss the significance of these subtle clues that hint at Minnie’s emotional state.
• Empathy Blossoms: Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, however, begin to connect the dots. They empathize with Minnie’s situation, recognizing the possibility of a desperate act driven by isolation and unhappiness.
• A Difficult Decision: Fearing that the hidden evidence – the dead canary and the ripped quilt – could be used against Minnie, the women face a difficult decision. They grapple with the potential legal ramifications but ultimately choose to conceal these incriminating elements.
• Frustration and a Shift: Returning from their investigation frustrated by the lack of definitive evidence, the men encounter Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Here, the story takes a subtle turn.
• Unspoken Communication: Through a display of unspoken understanding, the women subtly connect the dots for the male authorities. Their body language and expressions reveal a newfound understanding of Minnie’s situation.
• The Canary’s Song: The climax arrives as Mrs. Hale reveals the previously hidden dead canary. This act, coupled with the sight of the ripped quilt lining clutched in Mrs. Peter’s hand, indirectly suggests Minnie’s motive.
• Emotional Context Unveiled: Confronted with the emotional context unveiled by the women’s silent accusation, the men are left speechless. The dead canary becomes a symbol of Minnie’s stifled life, while the ripped quilt lining hints at the struggle that may have led to John Wright’s demise.
• A Moral Dilemma: The story concludes with the implication that the women will protect Minnie. They choose to withhold the incriminating evidence, leaving the legal ramifications of the situation deliberately ambiguous. This final act forces the reader to grapple with the moral dilemma – are they protecting a murderer or a victim driven to a desperate act?
• Beyond the Obvious: “A Jury of Her Peers” highlights the importance of looking beyond the obvious. The subtle clues observed by the women play a crucial role in piecing together the events that transpired within the Wright household.
• Gender Roles and Empathy: The story also delves into the limitations placed upon women during this time period. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, despite their confined roles, demonstrate a deep understanding of Minnie’s emotional state, highlighting the power of female empathy.
• A Lingering Question: The story leaves the reader with a lingering question – will the women’s actions ultimately lead to justice or merely protect a murderer?

Literary Devices in “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

Characterization in “a jury of her peers” by susan glaspell, major characters:.

• Martha Hale: A perceptive and observant farm wife who was once friends with Minnie Wright. Mrs. Hale’s character is revealed indirectly through her actions and dialogue. She notices the small, seemingly insignificant details within the Wright house, such as the empty jars and the broken birdcage. These observations lead her to empathize with Minnie’s situation and ultimately participate in concealing evidence.
• Minnie Wright: The story’s central figure, Minnie Wright, remains unseen but is the focus of the investigation. We learn about her through flashbacks and descriptions from other characters. She is portrayed as a woman who has lost her vitality and spirit within her marriage to John Wright. The empty jars and dead canary become symbolic representations of her stifled life.
• Mrs. Peters: The Sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters, initially appears to be more concerned with social decorum than Minnie’s plight. However, as the story progresses, she is swayed by Mrs. Hale’s observations and ultimately joins her in protecting Minnie.

Minor Characters:

• George Henderson: The County Attorney, Henderson, embodies a more stereotypical and dismissive view of women. He focuses on the traditional signs of violence and fails to grasp the emotional context surrounding Minnie’s situation.
• Henry Peters: The Sheriff, Henry Peters, appears less antagonistic towards Minnie but ultimately defers to the judgment of County Attorney Henderson.
• Lewis Hale: Mrs. Hale’s husband, Lewis, plays a minor role but serves as a bridge between the domestic sphere and the investigation. He is the one who discovers John Wright’s body and relays the initial information to the authorities.

Major Themes in “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

• Gender Roles and Expectations: The story delves into the traditional gender roles and expectations of women in early 20th-century rural America. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find themselves marginalized and underestimated by the men in the story, who dismiss their concerns and observations as trivial. Despite this, the women’s perspective and insights ultimately prove crucial in uncovering the truth about Minnie Wright’s situation. For example, the men ridicule the women’s attention to domestic details like preserves and a dirty towel, but these details hold significant clues to understanding Minnie’s state of mind and potential motives.
• Isolation and Loneliness: The setting of the story, a remote farmhouse in the harsh landscape of winter, underscores themes of isolation and loneliness. The Wright household is described as lonesome-looking, surrounded by barren trees, mirroring Minnie’s own emotional isolation. Through Minnie’s story, the narrative explores the consequences of social isolation and the toll it takes on one’s mental well-being.
• Justice and Empathy: The story challenges conventional notions of justice and the legal system’s ability to understand and address the complexities of human behavior. While the men focus solely on finding evidence to support their preconceived notions of guilt, the women demonstrate empathy and a deeper understanding of Minnie’s situation. They recognize the oppression and loneliness Minnie experienced in her marriage, ultimately leading them to empathize with her actions rather than condemn them.
• Domesticity and Rebellion: The domestic space, typically associated with women’s traditional roles, becomes a site of rebellion and resistance for Minnie Wright. Through her preservation of cherries and concerns about her fruit jars, the story symbolizes Minnie’s desire for autonomy and agency within the confines of her domestic life. Her act of rebellion, though ultimately tragic, reflects the broader theme of women’s resistance against oppressive societal norms.

Writing Style in “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

• Direct and Objective: The narration is generally direct and objective, focusing on the actions and observations of the characters, particularly Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. This allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about the events and characters’ motivations.
• Dialogue-Heavy: A significant portion of the story unfolds through dialogue between the characters. This allows for a natural flow of information and reveals personalities through conversations. The dialogue also reflects the rural setting and time period, with colloquial language and simple sentence structure.
• Subtlety and Symbolism: Glaspell employs a subtle style, using seemingly insignificant details to build a deeper understanding of the characters and the situation. Objects like the broken birdcage, empty jars, and dead canary become symbolic representations of Minnie’s isolation and emotional state. The reader is encouraged to pay close attention to these details to piece together the story.
• Focus on Atmosphere: The writing creates a distinct atmosphere of suspense, claustrophobia, and unspoken tension. This is achieved through descriptions of the Wright farmhouse and the characters’ emotional responses to their surroundings. The oppressive nature of the house reflects the characters’ feelings of entrapment.
• Feminist Perspective: The story subtly critiques the societal expectations placed on women during this time period. Through Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters’ observations and actions, Glaspell highlights the power of female empathy and their unique understanding of Minnie’s situation.

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

Topics, questions, and thesis statements about “a jury of her peers” by susan glaspell, short questions/answers about/on “a jury of her peers” by susan glaspell.

• Who are the true jurors in the story, and how do they reach their verdict?
• While Sheriff Lewis and County Attorney Henderson hold the official titles, the true jurors in “A Jury of Her Peers” are Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. Unlike the men who focus solely on physical evidence, these women become jurors of Minnie’s emotional state. They reach their verdict not through a formal trial but through a series of observations and unspoken communication. The key evidence for Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters isn’t bloody fingerprints or a murder weapon, but seemingly insignificant details within the Wright farmhouse. The empty fruit jars, a sign of Minnie’s neglected domestic duties, and the broken birdcage, symbolizing a loss of vibrancy, paint a picture of a lonely and potentially desperate woman. The hidden discovery of the dead canary further strengthens their case. The canary, a traditionally cherished pet, represents a stifled life. Its demise becomes a metaphor for Minnie’s own stifled spirit. Ultimately, their verdict isn’t a guilty or not guilty, but a silent decision to protect Minnie. By concealing the dead canary and the ripped quilt lining (potentially used as a weapon), they choose to withhold evidence that could incriminate her. This act of defiance against the established legal system demonstrates their belief that Minnie deserves compassion and understanding, not punishment.
• What is the significance of the dead canary?
• The dead canary in “A Jury of Her Peers” is a powerful symbol with multiple layers of meaning. On a surface level, it represents a loss of life. However, its significance goes deeper, reflecting the emotional state of Minnie Wright. Canaries were traditionally cherished household pets, known for their beautiful song. A dead canary in a cage signifies not just death, but the silencing of a once vibrant creature. This directly parallels Minnie’s situation. The story portrays her as a woman whose spirit has been crushed by isolation and loneliness within her marriage. Just as the bird’s song is silenced, Minnie’s voice has been stifled. The discovery of the dead canary by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters becomes a crucial turning point. It’s a hidden piece of the puzzle that speaks volumes about Minnie’s emotional state and potential desperation. The canary’s death foreshadows the possibility of a violent act within the Wright household, but it’s a violence born out of despair rather than malice.
• How does the story depict the societal expectations for women?
• “A Jury of Her Peers” subtly critiques the societal expectations placed on women during this time period. The story confines the female characters, particularly Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, to domestic roles. Their opinions and observations are initially disregarded by the male authorities, Sheriff Lewis and County Attorney Henderson. The men view the women’s concerns about the empty jars and the broken birdcage as irrelevant gossip, solely focused on maintaining a clean and organized household. However, beneath this surface portrayal, Glaspell highlights the power of female empathy and understanding. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, despite their confined roles, demonstrate a deeper awareness of the emotional realities faced by women like Minnie. They recognize the loneliness and despair that could have driven Minnie to a desperate act. This unspoken bond between the women stands in stark contrast to the dismissive and impersonal approach of the male characters.
• What is the ending’s implication, and what moral dilemma does it pose?
• The ending of “A Jury of Her Peers” is deliberately ambiguous, leaving the reader to grapple with a complex moral dilemma. By concealing the dead canary and the ripped quilt lining, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters clearly obstruct justice. They withhold evidence that could potentially convict Minnie of murder. However, the story also paints a picture of Minnie as a victim of circumstance. Her isolated and stifled life within the marriage suggests a level of desperation that could have led to violence. The act of hiding the evidence can be seen as an act of compassion, a choice to protect a woman who may not have been in full control of her actions. Ultimately, the reader is left to decide whether Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are accomplices to murder or protectors of a victim. The story challenges traditional notions of justice and compels the reader to consider the emotional context that may lie beneath the surface of a crime

Literary Works Similar to “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

• “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell: Since “A Jury of Her Peers” is based on Glaspell’s one-act play “Trifles,” it’s natural to include it. Both works explore similar themes of gender roles, justice, and the female experience in rural America.
• “ The Yellow Wallpaper ” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: This short story also delves into the theme of women’s oppression and confinement within patriarchal society. Like “A Jury of Her Peers,” it offers a critical examination of gender roles and mental health.
• “ Desiree’s Baby ” by Kate Chopin: Chopin’s story explores race, identity, and social expectations in a similar manner to Glaspell’s examination of gender roles. Both works reveal the consequences of societal norms and prejudices on individuals.
• “ The Story of an Hour ” by Kate Chopin: Another work by Chopin, this short story delves into themes of female liberation and independence. It resonates with “A Jury of Her Peers” in its exploration of women’s desires and societal constraints.
• The Awakening by Kate Chopin: Chopin’s novel offers a broader exploration of women’s roles and desires within patriarchal society. Like Glaspell’s work, it delves into themes of isolation, awakening, and the search for self-fulfillment.

Suggested Readings about/on “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

• Glaspell, Susan. “A jury of her peers.” Literature and Gender . Routledge, 2013. 370-384.
• Glaspell, Susan. Plays by Susan Glaspell . Cambridge University Press, 1987.
• Ben-Zvi, Linda. Susan Glaspell: her life and times . Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Ben-Zvi, Linda, ed. Susan Glaspell: essays on her theater and fiction . University of Michigan Press, 2002.
• Ozieblo, Barbara, and Jerry Richard Dickey. Susan Glaspell and Sophie Treadwell . New York: Routledge, 2008.
• Gazzaz, Rasha Asim. Suppressed Voices: Women and Class in the Fiction of Susan Glaspell . Diss. University of Leicester, 2015.
• Carpentier, Martha C., and Barbara Ozieblo. Disclosing Intertextualities: The Stories, Plays, and Novels of Susan Glaspell . Vol. 37. BRILL, 2016.
• Black, Cheryl. “Making Queer New Things’: Queer Identities in the Life and Dramaturgy of Susan Glaspell.” Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (2005): 49-64.
• Ben-Zvi, Linda. “The Political as Personal in the Writing of Susan Glaspell.” Disclosing Intertextualities . Brill, 2006. 275-294.
• Carpentier, Martha C. “The deracinated self: immigrants, orphans, and the” migratory consciousness” of Willa Cather and Susan Glaspell.” Studies in American Fiction 35.2 (2007): 131-157.
• Fletcher, Caroline Violet. ““THE RULES OF THE INSTITUTION”: SUSAN GLASPELL AND SISTERHOOD.” Disclosing Intertextualities . Brill, 2006. 239-256.
• Susan Glaspell Society: https://blogs.shu.edu/glaspellsociety/ (This website offers biographical information on Glaspell, resources on her work, and critical essays.)
• SparkNotes: “A Jury of Her Peers”: https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/a-jury-of-her-peers/summary/ (This website provides a summary, character analysis, and themes for “A Jury of Her Peers.”)
• Modern American Literature: “A Jury of Her Peers”: https://americanliterature.com/author/susan-glaspell/short-story/a-jury-of-her-peers (This website contains a brief analysis and discussion prompts for “A Jury of Her Peers.”)

Representative Quotations from “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

Related posts:.

• “The Use of Force” by William Carlos Williams
• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce: Analysis
• “Civil Peace” by Chinua Achebe: Analysis
• “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor: Analysis

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

“A Jury of her Peers” by Susan Glaspell Feminist Analysis

In A Jury of Her Peers (1917) by Susan Glaspell, two women find crucial evidence that could convict a fellow woman for murder but choose to conceal it from the male authorities because they “understand” why she did it. This story is based on true events of the 1901 Hossack Murder Case which Glaspell covered as a reporter. A farmer’s wife (Margaret Hossack) was accused of killing her husband at night with an ax, convicted of murder, but freed after one year when her conviction was overturned and the jury couldn’t come to a consensus in a second trial. Among the issues of concern in the case was the couple’s troubled marriage and accusations of spousal abuse inflicted on Margaret.

This essay will use the feminist literary theory to analyze A Jury of Her Peers by expounding a few elements and themes of feminist literature that are present in the story.

‘A Jury of Her Peers’ Summary

It’s a cold windy March morning in Dickson County and Minnie Foster’s husband, Mr. Wright, is dead. He was found strangled on their bed when she woke up. Mr. Henderson and Mr. Peters, the county attorney and the sheriff, respectively, have come to the Wright’s house for an investigation. They’ve also summoned the Wright’s neighbor, Mr. Hale, to give an account of the previous day’s events. Hale has tagged along his wife, Martha Hale, for formalities and so has Mr. Peters.

The group arrives at the Wright’s in a big two-seated buggy and the men get right into the investigation. First, Mr. Henderson asks Mr. Hale to narrate everything he saw when he visited the Wright’s the previous morning. After this, the county attorney briefly moves around the kitchen touching the cupboard before moving to the sink and later to the upstairs with the other two men. 

Left in the kitchen alone with Mrs. Peters, Martha Hale begins to arrange a pile of dishes that the county attorney has knocked over. The two women then gather a few things that Minnie Foster has requested from jail in the front-room closet, before sighting a few objects that insinuate Minnie Foster’s involvement in her husband’s murder. First, the sheriff’s wife notices a block of the quilt that’s unevenly done unlike the others, almost as if the person who knit it was nervous. Next, the two women notice a bird cage whose door hinge has been pulled apart, almost as if someone had been rough with it. Finally, the two women come across a box with a dead bird, whose neck has been wrung and they look at each other knowingly. Martha Hale quickly hides the box in the pocket of her big coat just as the three men return to the kitchen.  

‘A Jury of Her Peers’ Feminist Analysis

Feminist literature is any piece of literary work that features themes covered by feminist movements, such as gender inequality, women’s rights and freedoms, unhealthy gender norms, and so on. Literary analysis and criticism is subjective, and elements of feminism in a story might not shout out on the same level to different readers. However, there’s a list of classic literature, especially those published in the 19th and early 20th century, whose feminist themes are hard to ignore. This timeline also coincides with the First Wave of feminism which questioned the equality and treatment of women in a then heavily male-dominated and patriarchal society. Glaspell’s short story A Jury of Her Peers falls into this category, with several feminist topics advancing the plot and other literary devices like irony.    

Women in Marriage

The first wave of feminism viewed marriage as an institution that benefited men and oppressed women. This movement challenged and criticized the popularized image of marriage as a haven , citing the domestic dependency that characterized every married woman’s life. Married women were an extension of their husband’s property. They couldn’t own property, file for divorce, fight for child custody, were expected to be automatically obedient to their husbands despite the conditions, and those who worked didn’t have any legal claim to their earnings. The husband was unquestionably the head of the family and had legal power to impose their will through any means possible, including violence and abandonment.

In A Jury of Her Peers, there’s a stark difference between the young and the married Minnie Foster, as described by Martha Hale. “‘She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively–when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls, singing in the choir. But that–oh, that was twenty years ago.’” In another instance, Martha Hale says, “‘I wish you’d seen Minnie Foster’… ‘when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons, and stood up there in the choir and sang.’” The two descriptions conjure an image of a young carefree happy girl who wore bright dresses and sang in the choir. 

This is in contrast with married Minnie Foster or Mrs. Wright. Married Minnie is meek and domesticated. The Wrights’ house is also quiet with Minnie being childless and her husband not providing any company even after work. Martha recounts “and Wright out to work all day–and no company when he did come in… ” As a neighbor, Martha Hale describes Wright as close. She says, “But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him–.” She stopped, shivered a little. “Like a raw wind that gets to the bone.’” 

Wright also slowly kills Minnie Fosters’ spirit of singing just like Martha insinuates that he wrung the bird’s neck as well — the thing that sung to Minnie and which she deeply cares for. The state of her messy kitchen and home could also signify her miserable life and the general state of her marriage. Another symbolic comparison to show Minnie’s state as a wife is the difference between her white dress as a young girl and the shabby old black skirt that the two women pack to bring her in jail. The bright white dress depicts happiness and liveliness while the dull black skirt signifies sadness and misery, as supported in the above instances we just discussed. 

And finally, there’s much to be said about the collective experience of women in marriage from the way Mrs. Peters and Martha Hale piece the clues together to potentially determine the murderer. They also choose not to forward this evidence to the male authorities because they’ve likely experienced the loneliness that Minnie experiences in her marriage and they “understand” why she might have killed her husband.   

Gender Roles and Inequality

Gender inequality was the root of the women’s rights movement and feminism.  Women all over the world demanded fair treatment, equal opportunities, and rights, such as voting and property ownership. Up to this day, women are still fighting to close the inequality gap on issues such as employment opportunities and equal pay. 

Most female feminist writers between the late 19th century and early 20th century wrote about their experiences as well as the general treatment of women by society during that time. They also, directly or indirectly, criticized the lack of promotion of women to roles that provided them more power. Men were the providers while women were homemakers, often confined to the kitchen. In fact, women were not viewed as intelligent enough to have jobs or make a living. In British classic literature written during the Victorian period, writers often portrayed women as “accepting and naive figures trying to live up to the respectable women of the society.” (Lucas & Ordeniza, 2023) Queen Victoria herself was not a strong supporter of the womens’ rights movements and believed in the conservative role of a woman. In a letter to the poet and writer Theodore Martin , she called the movement a “mad, wicked folly.” 

Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers is an ideal representation of the differences in gender roles between men and women during that time, both at home and in society. The short story also criticizes this inequality in gender roles by showing that women can do what men can do and sometimes, even better than their male counterparts. First, the men in the story are employed and hold authoritative and important positions in society. Mr. Henderson and Mr.Peters uphold the law, while Mr. Hale’s opinion of what women can and cannot do is obvious when he says, “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?.” 

All the three women, on the other hand, are homemakers and their roles lie in the kitchen, child bearing, and tending to their children. Martha Hale is working in the kitchen when her husband calls her, while Mrs. Peters mentions her lonesome period in Dakota when her two-year-old baby died. Further, Minnie Foster’s success as a wife or woman is measured by how clean her kitchen is. The county attorney inspects the Wrights’ kitchen and remarks, “Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?”

Glaspell uses irony to criticize this difference in gender roles and the view of women as figures who belong among kitchen things. Despite society’s view of women as less intelligent and as persons who cannot hold important positions besides in the kitchen, it’s the two women who find clues and pieces of evidence that insinuate Mrs. Wright killed her husband. The male characters use logic during the investigation but fail to find motive and clues of the murder, while the women use female psychology and intellect to determine the murderer.   

Discrimination, stereotyping, prejudice, and the obliviousness of the importance of a particular gender are some of the terms that define sexism. This ideology asserts that one gender is superior to another. In most cases, women are the recipients of this prejudice, where men view them as inferior and weak. Society has, since the beginning of time, perceived women as the weaker sex. Women have had to fight relentlessly for equal rights and opportunities as men from voting, driving, holding important positions, property ownership, among others. 

Feminist literature in the 19th and 20th century painted sexism towards women in broad colors and then went ahead to criticize it. Women were men’s property and thus, inferior and without personal agency. In Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour , a woman learns about her husband’s death and does not grieve as society would expect. Instead, she’s happy to be free from the shackles of marriage despite having loved her husband dearly. In A Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins, a woman is driven to madness when her husband ignores her mental health needs and prescribes rest instead. In The Storm by Kate Chopin, the main character is a woman who defies society’s view of women’s expected inability to have sexual desires by having an affair during a storm.  

Similarly, in A Jury of Her Peers, men are oblivious to the real power of the female characters and continuously view them as inferior, less intelligent, and unserious. It’s this overlooking that costs the men a great deal of evidence and at the end, they fail to find a motive and clues to convict Minnie Foster. Sexism is obvious in the way men speak about women and disregard their thoughts and way of things in the story.

First, Sheriff Peters trivializes his wife’s fear of visiting a murder scene when he comes back to request that Martha Hale accompany the team to the Wrights; “adding, with a grin, that he guessed she was getting scary and wanted another woman along.” The sheriff tries to make fun of what’s a normal emotional reaction for anyone visiting a murder scene.

When the men are about to leave the kitchen and head upstairs to find clues, the county attorney asks Mrs. Peters to look out for clues that would indicate motive since she’s “married to the law.” In response, Mr. Hale asks, “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” as if delivering himself of something important that needs to be said. He views the women as less intelligent and doubts they understand or would recognize a piece of evidence to the murder if they come across one. How ironic it is that it’s the women who end up finding clues and motive to Mr. Wright’s murder? 

The term “kitchen things’ has been repeated three times and the term “kitchen” numerous times throughout the story. First, when the county attorney asks the sheriff to confirm that there’s nothing of importance or that would point to a motive in the kitchen. The sheriff answers, “‘Nothing here but kitchen things,’ he said, with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen things.” The other instance is when the men are about to leave for the upstairs and the county attorney looks at “the two women they were leaving alone there among the kitchen things.” The kitchen is the most feminine and womanly place and it’s no wonder the men and women have differing perceptions of its importance. To the women, the kitchen is where their life happens, which is evident when Martha Hale says, “‘I’d hate to have men comin’ into my kitchen,’ she said testily–’snoopin’ round and criticizin’.” This is why the two women manage to piece various pieces of clues from the kitchen. To the men, the kitchen is as insignificant as the women and their ways of life. This is why they fail to consider the possibility of finding evidence in the kitchen and end up missing all the important clues.

Another way that Glaspell illustrates sexism in A Jury of Her Peers is the men’s view of women’s worries as insignificant or in Mr. Hales words, “women are used to worrying over trifles.” The male characters disregard the women’s thoughts, concerns, or opinions about the investigation. As the men ascend from upstairs and hear Martha wondering whether Minnie was going to quilt or knot the unfinished quilt pieces, the sheriff throws up his hands in hopelessness and repeats Martha’s question to the men. There’s then a laugh for “the ways of women”, brief warming on the stove and the men proceed to the barn for more evidence. The irony here is that the quilt pieces are among the clues that would convict Minnie Foster. On this same note, when the men return from the barn, the county attorney jokingly asks, “as one turning from serious things to little pleasantries, “’have you decided whether she was going to quilt it or knot it?’” The men are so disregarding of the women’s abilities and intelligence that they fail to notice the change in Mrs. Peters’ voice when she answers the county attorney.

And don’t you just love it when the men go back to look for evidence “piece by piece” while the women have already found the clues?  

Sisterhood and Gender Loyalty

Although a feature of the second wave of feminism, it’s impossible to ignore the theme of sisterhood and gender loyalty portrayed in A Jury of Her Peers. The theory of sisterhood retorts that women should treat each other equally and goes ahead to promote horizontal relationships between women while rejecting hierarchical structures. The term ‘sister’ was not only a form of endearment among women but also a recognition of the shared struggle against a patriarchal society. And although sisterhood has received criticism from figures like Bell Hooks, it has also provided the movement with a sense of unity and purpose and been used to challenge patriarchy.

The form of sisterhood that Glaspell portrays in her short story may come out as controversial to readers because it involves concealing evidence of murder. However, it’s still a feature of feminist solidarity , where the women recognise Minnie’s grief, based on shared experiences of women in early 20th century society. The two women find clues of the murder but choose not to forward it to the male authorities because they “understand” why Minnie might have committed the murder. Specifically, Martha Hale knows that Minnie is a good person but patriarchy, loneliness in her marriage, and Wright’s strictness might have led to the murder.

Susan Glaspell’s short story A Jury of Her Peers is one of the most notable feminist short stories in classic literature. A team of male detectives investigate a murder but disregards all the important clues by referring to them as “kitchen things.” The author paints various themes of feminist literature in broad strokes, including sexism, inequality, gender roles, sisterhood, and the state of women in marriage in a patriarchal society. 

Do you have any literary analysis questions for your essay writing or just loved reading ‘ A Jury of Her Peers’ by Susan Glaspell and wanna start a conversation? Let me know in the comment section below! :).

Spread the Love

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Published by The Literary Girl

I am most excited when reading and writing about books, stories, and poems. Read some of that excitement here! View all posts by The Literary Girl

1 thought on ““A Jury of her Peers” by Susan Glaspell Feminist Analysis”

• Pingback: 3 Feminist Short Stories That you will Absolutely Love

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

A Jury of Her Peers

49 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Character Analysis

Story Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Analysis: "A Jury of Her Peers"

The narrative and dramatic tension in this detective story arises from the differences between what the men see—what they allow themselves to see and what they believe is beneath their notice—and what the women see. The women, with their intimate knowledge of women’s work and domestic life, notice the details of the scene around them and solve the crime. In order to explore the thoughts and feelings of her characters, Glaspell uses a third person omniscient narrator to reveal the inner beliefs and motivations of each character, particularly Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters .

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now

Related Titles

By Susan Glaspell

Alison's House

Susan Glaspell

Featured Collections

Mystery & Crime

View Collection

Home Essay Examples Literature A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury Of Her Peers: Literary Analysis

• Category Literature
• Subcategory Book
• Topic A Jury of Her Peers

“Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t as clean as they might be.” This familiar statement expresses the belief that men are always looked upon as innocent due to the level of dominance men have over women. The women who helped in the murder investigation understand the reason behind Minnie Foster’s decision in murdering her husband, however, the men investigating are blind to the situation. In “A Jury of her Peers,” Minnie Foster feels trapped by her own husband and completely diminishes her light, taking away what she loves. Mr. Wright killed her in the inside so, in return, she took his life.

“Oh, well, woman are used to worrying over trifles,” Mr. Hale declares without thinking. This expression shows the men’s perspective towards the interests of women in which they find it insignificant. These trifles represent the blindness of the men to the significance of Minnie’s valuables which could’ve helped in the investigation but chose to ignore these “insignificant” items. Since the men overlook the importance of both the women and their interests, they weren’t able to discover the truth about Minnie herself and her actions. Instead, the women discover the evidence but they are turned down due to the men’s belief of insignificant information. Women have always been viewed as inferior compared to men, therefore, the information that the men looked for was ignored because women were not as intelligent as men. At the time, society subjected women in which men only trusted their own opinion and thinking without hesitation.

Our writers can write you a new plagiarism-free essay on any topic

Society is controlled by men due to the women’s inability to choose her own interests or to be known as themselves rather than be known by their husband’s identity. One of the women, Martha Hale, still refers Minnie Wright as Minnie Foster, indicating that when a woman marries, they experience the name change which is owned by their husband. Moreover, her own separate personality is lost because her individuality is defined by her husband’s existence. One component that demonstrates the level of dominance men have over women and the existing gender roles, is the fact that women are defined as the housekeepers. They are obligated to stay at home, keep the house tidy, and provide their husband with food which results in the loneliness that Minnie Foster endured. The men in the story criticize the women for their weaknesses and devalue the only items the woman have control over of. However, the woman began to realize the situation that they have been held to and can relate to Minnie Foster’s situation because they have also experienced the loneliness, isolation and the form of mistreatment the men have instilled. Once they acknowledge the fact that they have shared the same experience, they see themselves a group of women who have the inability to judge another who have endured the same mistreatment.

Mr. Wright mistreated Minnie Foster which led to his death, however, in the story it mentions a dead bird in a cage which represents the way Mr. Wright treated his wife. Back in the day, Minnie loved to sing with her lovely personality, but it slowly started to diminish due to her husband. The bird symbolizes Minnie in which the death of the bird, caused by her husband, represents the killing of her happiness, singing. Minnie was trapped in her marriage and felt like there was no escape, the bird in the cage represents this feeling that she experienced. In addition, killing of the bird depicts the killing of Minnie’s hope which caused her to kill her husband after many years of emotional abuse.

The women in the story related to Minnie Foster’s situation because they have all experienced the same mistreatment from men. They understand the reason behind her actions while the men would have punished her without considering the way that Minnie felt. This demonstrates the male obliviousness to women significance and how men have power and control over women. Gender roles plays an important role in this story, it shows how women are defined and how they are inferior to men. Once the woman acknowledges the way they have been treated, they come together and unite as one, “a jury of united women.”

We have 98 writers available online to start working on your essay just NOW!

Related Topics

Related essays.

By clicking "Send essay" you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

By clicking "Receive essay" you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

We can edit this one and make it plagiarism-free in no time

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Gender and Justice in Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of her Peers”

Cite this chapter.

• Leonard Mustazza 2  

208 Accesses

3 Altmetric

At the heart of Susan Glaspell’s classic short story “A Jury of Her Peers” (1917), there stands a question, by intent, a rhetorical question that is at once clearly inane and remarkably telling, at once humorously ironic and profoundly troubling. The question is posed casually by one of the story’s three male characters, Mr. Hale, who is reacting to another man’s request that the two women present at the scene of a murder keep an eye out for significant clues. Mr. Hale’s question: “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” (359). 2 I call Mr. Hale’s question here a “reaction” rather than a “reply” for a good reason. The fact is that Hale is asking a rhetorical question whose answer is, it would seem, perfectly obvious to those present, men and women alike, and so it comes as no surprise that no one even attempts to address his question. Given our current sensibilities, Hale’s question would not go unanswered today, nor could an artist spin such a line into his or her fiction without being heavy-handed indeed. In 1917, the year of the story’s publication, however, sensibilities concerning women’s social roles and, therefore, their abilities and intellect, were quite different from those of our own time. The cultural subtext that runs beneath the story contains a variety of provocative narrative details: that, in 1917, women were allowed to vote in state elections in only eleven states; that the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote in national elections, had yet to be ratified; that women had few guaranteed legal right, including the rights to own property and even guardianship of their own children; that, for the most part, women were not admitted to law schools, nor were they allowed to serve on juries in many states. In general, women were seen as incapable of making judgments beyond the pale of home and hearth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Unable to display preview.  Download preview PDF.

All parenthesized page citations are to the reprint of “A Jury of Her Peers” in Lawrence Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, 4th Edition, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983:352–69.

Google Scholar  

Karen Alkalay-Gut, “Jury of Her Peers: The Importance of Trifles”, Studies in Short Fiction , 21 Winter 1984: 6.

Rachel France, “Apropos of Women and the Folk Play,” Woman in the American Theatre: Careers, Images, Movements , (eds.) Helen Crich Chinoy and Linda Walsh Jenkins, New York: Crown, 1981: 151.

Judith Fetterly, “Reading about Reading: A Jury of Her Peers,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” in Gender and Reading: Essays on Readers, Texts, and Contexts , (eds.) Elizabeth A. Flynn and Patrocinio P. Schweickart, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986: 149.

Cynthia Sutherland, “American Women Playwrights as Mediators of the ’Woman Problem’”, Modern Drama , 21 September 1978:323.

Alkalay-Gut, pp. 8–9.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Penn State University, USA

Leonard Mustazza ( Assistant Professor )

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Pennsylvania State University, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Roberta Kevelson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1988 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Mustazza, L. (1988). Gender and Justice in Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of her Peers”. In: Kevelson, R. (eds) Law and Semiotics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0771-6_18

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0771-6_18

Publisher Name : Springer, Boston, MA

Print ISBN : 978-1-4612-8074-3

Online ISBN : 978-1-4613-0771-6

eBook Packages : Springer Book Archive

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

A Jury of Her Peers

By susan glaspell, a jury of her peers literary elements.

Short story, mystery, feminist literature

Setting and Context

Dickson County, Iowa, around the turn of the 20th century.

Narrator and Point of View

The story is written from the third-person point of view and by an omniscient narrator.

Tone and Mood

Tone: meditative, foreboding, gloomy

Mood: gloomy, anxious, lonely, desolate, dreary

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonists: Women (both collectively, and the specific women characters). Antagonists: Men (both collectively, and the specific men characters).

Major Conflict

There is a micro-conflict in whether or not the men will find a motive and the women will turn over the dead bird, but there is a macro-conflict in terms of whether Minnie is to be judged by the men or by the women, only the latter of whom constitute a legitimate "jury of her peers."

The discovery of a dead canary is the climax of the story because it reveals Minnie's motive—and, therefore, her guilt.

Foreshadowing

The scene in which Marta has to leave her unfinished task and join her husband on his way to the Wrights foreshadows the events of the story: not only do readers understand that something bad has happened, but later, the women also discover that Minnie also left several things unfinished in her kitchen.

Understatement

When Hale asks if he can see John, Minnie merely replies "No." This is an understatement because the "no" suggests John is busy, or out, or perhaps in a bad mood. It does not suggest that he is actually dead.

The short story fictionalizes and thereby alludes to the murder of John Hossack in Iowa, 1901.

See separate "Imagery" section of this ClassicNote.

Mrs. Hale suggests one of the paradoxes of this situation: that she and Minnie live close and have similar lives, but that they seem to be distant and isolated from each other.

Parallelism

-Mrs. Hale's leaving the bread unmade and her kitchen a mess parallel the half-done things she will find in Minnie's kitchen. -The murder of Mrs. Peters's kitten is paralleled by the murder of the canary.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

-"Keep your eye out." This is metonymy used to suggest the women pay attention to what they see in the house. -"Let me tell you. I had my hands full yesterday." Peters says this, which is metonymy to indicate that he is very busy.

Personification

-"Had a voice that seemed to be backing up the law with every word." -"It seems kind of sneaking: locking her up and coming out here to get her own house to turn against her!"

A Jury of Her Peers Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for A Jury of Her Peers is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Why does Mrs. Hale go to the Wright house with the sheriff and her husband?

Mrs Hale accompanied the sheriff and her husband because Mrs. Peters asked if she could come along. The two women were meant to gather things for Minnie Wright... clothes and a few personal items, to take to her in jail.

"I suppose anything Mrs....

Based on her thinking after learning of her husband's death, how would Mrs. Mallard in "The Story of an Hour" have responded to Franklin's idea?

I don't think Mrs. Mallard would agree. I believe that she was happy with her husband... and that she loved him, but his death provided her with what she believed to be true freedom.

How is Susan Glaspell questioning the traditional definitions of marriage and women’s roles in society?

The men of the story possess all the official power and authority. They are the embodiments of the law and impose their worldview. They are loud, active, assertive, and prone to demonstrating their superior position. They denigrate the female,...

Study Guide for A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury of Her Peers study guide contains a biography of Susan Glaspell, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About A Jury of Her Peers
• A Jury of Her Peers Summary
• Character List

Essays for A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury of Her Peers essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell.

• Tales of Mirrored Melancholy: The Yellow Wallpaper and A Jury of Her Peers
• The Power of Her Peers: Critical and Feminist Perspectives on Glaspell's Story
• Trapped in the Wallpaper: The Impact of First-Person Narrative on Reader Empathy
• Establishing Female Solidarity and Questioning Domesticity in “A Jury of Her Peers”

Wikipedia Entries for A Jury of Her Peers

• Introduction
• Plot summary

A Jury of Her Peers

Susan glaspell, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Glaspell’s writing style in “A Jury of Her Peers” is direct and dialogue-heavy. She does not use a lot of metaphors, imagery, or figurative language and does not grant access to the deep inner feelings or thoughts of her characters, instead describing the actions of a scene matter-of-factly and letting characters speak for themselves through long swaths of dialogue.

The following conversation between Mrs. Hale and Mr. Henderson displays some of these different stylistic elements:

"It never seemed a very cheerful place," said [Mrs. Hale], more to herself than to [Mr. Henderson]. "No," he agreed; "I don't think anyone would call it cheerful. I shouldn't say she had the homemaking instinct." "Well, I don't know as Wright had, either," she muttered. "You mean they didn't get on very well?" he was quick to ask. "No; I don't mean anything," she answered, with decision. As she turned a little away from him, she added: "But I don't think a place would be any the cheerfuler for John Wright's bein' in it." Cite this Quote

Rather than using narration to capture Mrs. Hale’s frustration with Mr. Henderson in this scene, Glaspell has Mrs. Hale mutter her real feelings under her breath, such as the fact that Mr. Wright didn’t have the “homemaking instinct” himself and that “a place would [not] be any the cheerfuler for John Wright's bein' in it.” In having Mrs. Hale make these argumentative statements out loud (rather than having the narrator note them as part of Mrs. Hale's inner dialogue), Glaspell shows readers that Mrs. Hale is not simply a passive housewife who goes along with the sexist words of others, but will make her opinions known. This passage also captures the rhythm of Glaspell’s writing—uninterrupted back-and-forth dialogue like this makes up much of the story.

Leslie Jamison's new memoir Splinters examines motherhood and the end of her marriage

Leslie Jamison has been reading a lot of Helen Garner lately.

The American writer and associate professor at Columbia University is writing the introduction to Garner's three-volume collection of diaries ahead of their release in the US next year.

"I'm a huge Helen Garner fan, but I'm just reading her diaries for the first time," says Jamison, who visits Australia next week as part of Melbourne Writers Festival.

"One of the things that I love in her diaries is these moments where she reckons with the anxiety that telling more personal or domestic stories doesn't matter as much."

It's an anxiety Jamison also grapples with, as a woman writing from her personal experience — whether of heart surgery and abortion in her bestselling debut essay collection The Empathy Exams; her alcoholism and recovery in first memoir The Recovering; or the tiny moments of wonder and drudgery of being a mother to a newborn in her raw new memoir Splinters, which comes out in Australia next week.

"The same person who wrote The Children's Bach wrote This House of Grief," Jamison continues, citing Garner's interior second novel about messy interpersonal relationships, and her non-fiction book about the trial of Robert Farquharson , who murdered his children by driving into a dam in 2005.

"One can pay attention to the everyday and the ordinary and find profound truth there, and also pay attention to the extraordinary or the dramatic or the newsworthy and find a great truth there. These zones of interest or insight aren't actually in opposition."

Jamison, who has been compared to Joan Didion and Susan Sontag, similarly finds profound truth in both the everyday and the extraordinary.

She approaches her subjects — who range from fans of the "world's loneliest whale" to people suffering from a medically disputed skin condition, to herself, her friends, lovers and family – with what feels like radical empathy . A tattoo on Jamison's arm , written in Latin, translates to: "I am human: nothing human is alien to me."

Kindred books

Jamison first came across Garner when a friend recommended she read the Australian author's 1977 semi-autobiographical "grunge lit" debut novel Monkey Grip, while she was writing Splinters.

In Monkey Grip, a fictionalised Garner raises her daughter in the bohemian share houses of 70s Melbourne, at the same time as she tries to extricate herself from an increasingly destructive relationship with a heroin addict.

In Splinters, Jamison charts her early experiences of motherhood, at the same time as her marriage is ending. But it's not only a memoir of motherhood and romantic relationships as Jamison starts dating again: It's also a memoir about being an artist and art's place in our lives, friendships between women, and teaching.

"I do think of it [Monkey Grip] as a kind of kindred book [to Splinters]. It's almost like meeting a friend later in life who you feel such a strong soul communion with," Jamison says.

The books ask similar questions, she explains: "How is one trying to be a mother and an artist? How does a work of literature try to find meaning and great profundity in many, many ordinary moments of living?

"What does the collision look like between the deep hungers for romantic partnership and love and the different kind of love that attaches itself to a child? How can romantic love hold that desire to save somebody?"

Dislodging the cocktail-party version of her divorce

In Splinters, the person Jamison realises she is not able to "save" is her then-husband and the father of her daughter, the writer Charles Bock. Bock's first wife died in 2011, of leukaemia, an experience Bock drew upon for his second novel Alice & Oliver.

Jamison met Bock in 2014, the year she published The Empathy Exams. Six months later, the couple eloped to marry at a chapel in Las Vegas, and they had their daughter, Ione Bird, in 2018, before splitting up in 2019.

Jamison soon started taking notes for Splinters, while living in a sublet next to a fire station with her daughter.

She wasn't interested in writing an autopsy – or the "cocktail-party version" — of the story of her marriage.

"I'm always fighting the impulse to tell a reductive version of the story that maybe leans so hard into what was hard that it forgets what was good, or leans so hard into what's good that it forgets about what's hard," she says.

"I feel like the truth always lives in letting it be all the ways at once."

Instead, Jamison wrote about falling in love with Bock; about his wit, loyalty, laugh and sharp gaze; as well as about his anger; and the distance in their relationship in the first year of their daughter's life.

"All the ways at once" sums up Splinters: the Jamison depicted is at once a mother, an artist, a partner, an ex, a teacher, a friend, and asks how it's possible to be all those things at the same time, even when they're in opposition to each other.

'Not just my own fodder'

But Jamison is not only writing about herself. Writing about other people — whether in essays that mix reportage and personal stories or in works of memoir — has forced the writer to wrestle with how she portrays other people on the page.

She usually shares her writing with the people depicted well before publication, to listen and make changes based on their feedback.

"I believe that practice is what's right for me, and what I believe in, and how I live with what I do," she says.

But it's knottier when it comes to representing her own daughter, who won't be able to have those conversations with her mother for many years.

Jamison navigated the ethical questions by only writing about her daughter up until the age of two (Ione Bird is now six years old).

"The fact that she was young, so young, made it feel less of an invasion of a sort of developed human's life and privacy," Jamison explains.

But she also wanted her daughter to be a very distinct character in the book.

"Before I became a parent, I hadn't spent that much time around babies and very small children," she says.

"I just did not understand the extent to which babies and toddlers have very distinct and actually quite fascinating personalities and subjectivities at very young ages."

While she doesn't rule out writing about motherhood again, Jamison plans to approach writing about her daughter in the future carefully.

"Writing about her over the remaining stretch of her childhood is something that I think I will do much more sparingly and with a great deal of respect for her privacy and for her experiences being hers and not just my own fodder," she says.

"Perhaps some of the writing about her as a child, I'll have to hold onto it until she and I can go through [it together] too. And I imagine I'll probably grant her a bit more veto power than I do to some of the other folks in my life."

Not another Didion

Jamison is part of a tradition of women writers grappling with how to be an artist and a mother at the same time.

She says she's honoured to be likened to her influences, including Joan Didion, but is all too aware of the differences in their writing.

"I think Didion's voice has a kind of coldness or a chill or an aloofness to it, but my voice strives for something close to the opposite," she explains.

Jamison's writing — especially in Splinters — can instead be compared to that of contemporaries who also apply an artist's gaze to the experience of motherhood: from Kate Zambreno (To Write as If Already Dead) to Sheila Heti (Motherhood) and Maggie Nelson (The Argonauts).

But, like domestic life, motherhood is often dismissed as a subject for literary non-fiction.

"There's so much of a sense of, 'well, why do you think your life matters so much? Why do you think your trauma is so extraordinary?' As if one has to think one's trauma is extraordinary in order to write about one's life," she says.

"Just because somebody is interested in themselves doesn't mean they're not interested in the world.

"In my own experience, of being a human among humans, it's often the people who are most curious about themselves who are actually also most genuinely curious about other people."

She says that literary and experimental works exploring motherhood — like that of Jamison and her peers — are helping to change these ideas.

"To bring those traits of writing that we associate with the literary to the zone of motherhood has done a lot of work to position motherhood really where it should always have been: a zone of literary concern, just like any other aspect of experience."

Splinters by Leslie Jamison is published by Allen & Unwin.

Melbourne Writers Festival runs from May 6–12.

• X (formerly Twitter)

Related Stories

His book has sold 2.5 million copies and his tv show won him a bafta. meet former doctor adam kay.

The best new books our avid readers and critics read in April

Alexis Wright makes history as the first author to win the $60,000 Stella Prize twice

• Arts, Culture and Entertainment
• Autobiography
• Books (Literature)
• Non Fiction
• United States