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Comparison between two novels:

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell and Hands by Sherwood Anderson

Introduction

The two works loved by their readers and are widely spread are Susan Glaspell’s A Jury of

Her Peers and Sherwood Anderson’s Hands. These are two different works as we can see them.

A Jury of Her Peers was published in the year 1917 and the author was a woman. Susan Glaspell

tends to explore gender role. It is a short story that covers an investigation of a murder case in a

rural area of Dickson County. Hands by a male author; Sherwood Anderson talks about a fat

little aged man who lived in a small post-civil war town of Wines burg, Ohio. I am going to

contrast the two novels to see the similarities and the differences.

Let me start by introducing the two novels by their historical and social backgrounds, the

characters and the settings. A Jury of Her Peers was written in 1917 by Susan Glaspell. As a

journalist, she based her story on a murder case of John Hossacks that happened in 1900. In the

novel, It is seen that the author has a strong radical literature because of the two female

characters finally solves the mystery murder case which the male cannot. The two female uses

the power of their psychology to solve the case. In accordance with the novel, the story is about
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the investigation of John Wright’s mysterious murder case. The story kicks off in a fictional

county of Dickson on a cold windy day. Martha Hale is seen being hastily escorted to a crime

scene leaving her chores half done. She enters a police car and inside is her husband; Lewis

Hale, Peter; the sheriff and Mrs. Peters; sheriff’s wife. They arrive at the crime scene where

Minnie Foster; a friend to Mrs. Hale, and the wife of the deceased, where the whole group enters

her house and the discussion starts in finding the evidence of the murder case. The evidence

found in the house of the late Mr. Hale claims that the wife was responsible for the murder. The

curious women find the dead bird in the box which Mrs. Wright used to love singing along with

it. In the other hand, her husband did not seem to like it and so, he kills it by breaking its neck. It

is now evident that Minnie Foster strangled John Wright. The women are able to know the killer.

Hands was written by Sherwood Anderson in 1915. The story is a third party narration and as the

story begins, the authors tend to bring about the theme of loneliness. He tells the story of a fat

old man called Wing. His name was gotten from how his hands used to flutter.

In the two short stories, they seem to be sharing some common themes. A Jury of Her

Peers is all about womanhood. The main theme seen from this novel is Gender Roles; the

tension that the women are bringing about in the story and what the men characters are seem to

be blind to. The main theme in accordance to Hands by Sherwood, is the theme of loneliness.

Wang is said to have staying in his village for over 20 years and did not think himself as in any

way a part of it. The theme of isolation is brought forth that not only did he live a lone wolf life

but also he had isolated himself from others and he never felt himself to the part of the

community. The both work share a theme of connection. In Hands, after Wing isolating himself

from others and refusing to mingle, the author brings forth another character called George

Willard and connect with him. Another connection seen by Wing is when he moves to
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Winesburg to become a teacher. In the novel by Susan, a theme of connection is seen when Mrs.

Peters and Mrs. Hale are able to make a connection with Minnie Foster. The unfinished work in

Minnie Foster’s house reminds Mrs. Hale how she has left her house too in a mess. The

unfinished work in the two houses is a perfect example of a connection. It is also seen how Mrs.

Peters remembers when she was a kid, how her cat was killed by a young boy for no good

reason, brings her closer to why Mrs. Wright (Minnie Foster) may have killed her husband; John

Wright. These connections in Susan’s novel are significant as it is through them that both Mrs.

Hale and Mrs. Peters start to not only understand Minnie a little better but they also begin to feel

sympathetic towards Minnie. In many ways both Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters connection with

Minnie is stronger than any connection that they have with their husbands. In Hands, there is a

sense of irony in the story. When Wing is talking to George he tells George that ‘You (George)

are destroying yourself. You have the inclination to be alone and to dream and you are afraid of

dreams.’ This line is important because if anything it is Wing who is destroying himself,

isolating himself from others and the shortcomings he is accusing George of having are in fact

his own shortcomings. In A Jury of Her Peers, there is also a sense of irony that it is through

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters investigation rather than through Mr. Peters and Henderson’s

investigation that the reader discovers the reason as to why Minnie may have killed Wright.

There is also some symbolism in both stories which may be significant. In Hands, Wing’s hands

may also be important as people often use their hands to express themselves, which seems to be

the case with Wing too. However due to the accusations made against him, Wing spends the

majority of his time with his hands in his pockets. If anything by hiding his hands, Wing is left

unable to express himself which in turn may suggest his inability to connect with others. It may

also be a case that Wing uses his hands to communicate with others and by hiding them he is
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unable to do so. In Susan’s work, Just as a canary would sing, likewise the reader is aware that

before marrying Wright, Minnie also liked to sing in the local choir. It is also possible that by

introducing the canary’s cage to the story Glaspell is also suggesting that after marrying Wright,

Minnie likewise has also been caged (or trapped) within her marriage. The fact that the canary is

found dead may also be symbolically important as it may be a case that Glaspell is suggesting

that Minnie too has had her spirit killed (or broken) throughout her marriage to Wright. The

theme of independency and freedom is seen in both works. In Hands, It is during his time with

George that Wing has the ability or is free to express himself (and also use his hands). However

it is also interesting that Wing walks away from George when they are talking. It is possible that

Wing remains deeply traumatized from the accusations that were made against him and as such

he may not be able to fully allow himself to be free. In Susan’s, Through Mrs. Hale the reader

discovers that Minnie lived her life, prior to marrying Wright, as she would have liked to have

lived it. She was part of the community (singing in the choir) and seems to have enjoyed her life

or at least in Mrs. Hale’s eyes appears to have been happy. However after marrying Wright,

Minnie seems to have isolated herself from the community or at least lost her own individual

voice (something that is more apparent by the fact that Minnie stops singing with the choir). It is

possible that Glaspell is suggesting, again at the time the story was published, that many women

after they had gotten married were no longer free to live their lives as they would have liked to.

If anything they may have lost the independence that they once had, prior to getting married. No

longer being in control of their own lives but rather having to live their lives being controlled by

their husbands, which appears to be the case for Minnie. The fact that Henderson when talking to

Mrs. Peters tells her that ‘a sheriff’s wife is married to the law’ may also be important as by

introducing this line to the story Glaspell may also be suggesting (again at the time the story was
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published) that many women were not free to think for themselves or be independent of their

husbands.

Although the two novels were written differently and in many years ago, they show

how women tend to manipulate their husbands leading to separation. In similarities seen from the

two novels is that when people are isolated and excluded from the society, there comes a time

that connection will be seen and be united back again.


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Work Cited

Bryan, Patricia L. "Stories in Fiction and in Fact: Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers and the

1901 Murder Trial of Margaret Hossack". Stanford Law Review. 49, 1997

"A Jury of Her Peers" Study Guide Archived January 24, 2012, at the Way back Machine at

What So Proudly We Hail Curriculum. Retrieved 15 February 2012

J. Madison Davis. "Where Is a Bad Guy When You Really Need One? Antagonists and Master

Criminals". World Literature Today. 92 (3): 12. 2018.

Anderson, Sherwood. Early Writings. Ed. Ray Lewis White. Kent and London: Kent State UP,

1989.

Cox, Leland H., et al. "Sherwood Anderson", American Writers in Paris, 1920–1939, Dictionary

of Literary Biography, 4, Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research Co, 1980.

Rideout, Walter B. Sherwood Anderson: A Writer in America, Volume 1. Madison, WI:

University of Wisconsin Press. (2006).

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