Review: A Jury of Her Peers

A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I chose to listen to this short story by Susan Glaspell because she was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, not far from my home town. Although Glaspell was born about 90 years before me, I saw the typical local common-sense was at the core of this short work, (view spoiler)[ where the womenfolk of this rural town, although from different parts of society, all understand the motive behind a woman murdering her cruel, cheap husband and decide to keep that knowledge from the overbearing men responsible for the law. To me, it introduced a different take on Chekov's gun, which I'll call Chekov's birdcage - When a birdcage with a broken door is introduced in a story, a bird will appear within the next act, probably dead. (hide spoiler)]. I can see how this would make a nice little play.

View all my reviews