The use of Symbolism in "A Jury of Her Peers.

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Susan Glaspell\'s short story, A Jury of Her Peers, was written long before the
modern women\'s movement began, yet her story reveals, through Glaspell\'s
use of symbolism, the role that women are expected to play in society. Glaspell
illustrates how this highly stereotypical role can create oppression for women
and also bring harm to men as well.

Character names are very important in A Jury of her Peers. The two characters,
John and Minnie Wright, are the focus of the story. The name Minnie has
significant symbolism. Minnie is derived from mini or minimized, which was very
descriptive of her oppressed relationship with John and also the male
insensitivity toward most women in society. Women taking their husband\'s last
names is also very significant in the story. The women in the story are not given
first names, and are referred to only as Mrs.Hale and Mrs.Peters. The role that
society has cast upon them is defined by their husbands. Mrs. Peters, who is
married to the sheriff, is viewed in those terms. Mr. Peter, the county attorney,
says "for that matter a sheriff\'s wife is married to the law"(glaspell 168). She
reinforces that identity until she is faced with the brutality of what John Wright
did to Minnie. She says "I know what stillness is. The law has got to punish Crime,
Mrs. Hale"(glaspell 167). The difference is she is talking about the crime
committed against Minnie, not the murder of John by Minnie.

The Rocking chair is another important symbol in the story. The chair symbolizes
the absent Minnie Wright. The rocking chair "was dingy, with wooden rungs up
the back, and the middle rung was gone, and the chair sagged to one
side"(glaspell 157), which was not anything like Mrs.Hale used to remember it
being. Mrs. Hale also speaks of Minnie Foster, Foster being her maiden name, "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"(glaspell 167). Mrs. Hale then says
"how-she- did-change"(165). The rocking chair had depreciated over the years
just like Minnie Foster, but Minnie Foster\'s change was due to John\'s abuse
which denied her individuality and imprisoned her in a stereotype that was
mentally debilitating. This ultimately led Minnie to kill John and escape the
abuse.

Other significant symbols in the story are the bird and the birdcage. Mrs. Hale
describes Minnie, before her marriage, as "kind of like a bird herself-real sweet
and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery"(glaspell 165). The bird is caged just as
Minnie is trapped in the abusive relationship with John. John figuratively
strangles the life out of Minnie like he literally strangles the bird. When he kills
the bird, he kills the last bit of Minnie and her spirit. Mrs.Hale and Mrs. Peters
find Minnie\'s bird cage in the cupboard, but they don\'t realize the importance of
it until they find the dead bird with its neck twisted to one side. The birdcage
symbolizes Minnie\'s life. The bird and the birdcage is a private symbol which is
also representative of the role women are forced into in society, the bird being
women and the cage being men. Minnie then strangles the life out of John like
he strangled the life out of her bird.
Another major symbol, which the educated lawmen considered a "trifle", is the
quilt which Mrs.Hale and Mrs.Peters stumble across. Minnie had taken the scraps
and put them into a nice neat quilt, but one square was haphazardly sewn. This
befuddles the women for "It looks like she didn\'t know what she was
about"(glaspell 163). This represented her life, for her life was neat on the
outside, but inside was truly made of scraps. When John killed the bird, he
destroyed the last bit of personality that Minnie held for herself. She was angry,
confused, and literally "didn\'t know what she was about"(glaspell 163). The
question that is asked is whether Minnie was going to "quilt or just knot
it"(glaspell 163). This is the decision Minnie had to make. She either had to quilt
it, meaning she had to endure the abuse, or she would knot it and decide that
her life as it exists was "not it" and she would do something to change it.

The referral to the quilt as a trifle is very symbolic in the story. Mr. Hale says
"Women are used to worrying over trifles"(glaspell 159). This is very symbolic
and ironic. A trifle is something that is small and of no consequence. This is a
reflection of how the men in the story, and society in general viewed and treated
the women. This is very ironic because while the men are looking for clues, the
women discover the key to the mystery among what the men consider as only
silly women\'s work, or trifles. The women rebel against their husbands, as they
conspire to conceal the incriminating evidence that points to Minnie.

Glaspell effectively uses symbolism in the story to help convey the feminist
theme. Through the use of symbols, she illustrates just how the self-destructive
introspection of John had slowly overwhelmed the youthful vivacity of his wife.
The symbolisms paint not only a picture of Minnie\'s life, but also the lives of all
women who live oppressed under male domination. The story is a warning to
men that a system where men dominate and oppress women cannot and will not
be tolerated.