Although “A Jury of Her Peers” (1916) by Susan Glaspell was written almost one hundred years prior to “The Mayor Meets an American Princess” (2010) by Teresa Stores, similarities between the two works exist. Both stories feature characters that develop and shift out of their gender roles by the end of each story. With “A Jury of Her Peers” (1916), the character of Mrs. Peters changes out of her role as a traditional woman by the end of the story. And with “The Mayor Meets an American Princess” (2010) the narrator is the one to change, but the transformation is not as drastic as Mrs. Peters’ because the narrator did not fit into her gender role from the beginning. Mrs. Peters is a character in Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” (1916).
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Peters as the fairly stereotypical average man in society. For example, he dismissed the kitchen as noteworthy in solving the case. When the court attorney asked if there was anything important in the kitchen, like a significant motive, the sheriff laughed and said that the kitchen only contained “kitchen things” (Glaspell, 1916, p. 36). It is important to note that this is actually what caused them to overlook the biggest motive as to why Minnie Foster strangled her husband; considering the kitchen is what contained the broken bird cage and the dead bird. If the men had stumbled upon the dead bird, then they could have pieced together the whole story and gotten a stronger conviction for Minnie Foster’s case. Evidently, that is precisely why at the end of the story the two ladies kept the evidence from the men. Another reason the women stayed silent was because of the scene where Mr. Hale exemplified a typical man of the early 1900s-one who dismisses women. The county attorney thought the kitchen was important to search and he told Mrs. Peters to be on the lookout for any clues. The county attorney even said that the women may come across something vital. Mr. Hale quickly dismissed the notion and commented that the women would not know a clue if they saw one. This underestimating could have possibly solidified Mrs. Peters’ choice to not provide the clue of the dead …show more content…
The amount of women in the workforce has increased and society is dismantling what a stereotypical woman should act and look like; no longer are they supposed to act quiet and small (Sheinin et al., 2016). “The Mayor Meets an American Princess” (2010) is more current compared to “A Jury of Her Peers” (1916). Another contrast between the two stories is that the former is based on Teresa Stone’s genuine experience of moving to France. The setting of being in a new country, facing someone in a high position, and knowing she will have to explain her non-traditional situation caused Stone to change the appearance of not only herself, but her two children as well. “James’ cowlick is plastered down. I am wearing an ironed shirt” (Stone, 2010, para.
Peters as the fairly stereotypical average man in society. For example, he dismissed the kitchen as noteworthy in solving the case. When the court attorney asked if there was anything important in the kitchen, like a significant motive, the sheriff laughed and said that the kitchen only contained “kitchen things” (Glaspell, 1916, p. 36). It is important to note that this is actually what caused them to overlook the biggest motive as to why Minnie Foster strangled her husband; considering the kitchen is what contained the broken bird cage and the dead bird. If the men had stumbled upon the dead bird, then they could have pieced together the whole story and gotten a stronger conviction for Minnie Foster’s case. Evidently, that is precisely why at the end of the story the two ladies kept the evidence from the men. Another reason the women stayed silent was because of the scene where Mr. Hale exemplified a typical man of the early 1900s-one who dismisses women. The county attorney thought the kitchen was important to search and he told Mrs. Peters to be on the lookout for any clues. The county attorney even said that the women may come across something vital. Mr. Hale quickly dismissed the notion and commented that the women would not know a clue if they saw one. This underestimating could have possibly solidified Mrs. Peters’ choice to not provide the clue of the dead …show more content…
The amount of women in the workforce has increased and society is dismantling what a stereotypical woman should act and look like; no longer are they supposed to act quiet and small (Sheinin et al., 2016). “The Mayor Meets an American Princess” (2010) is more current compared to “A Jury of Her Peers” (1916). Another contrast between the two stories is that the former is based on Teresa Stone’s genuine experience of moving to France. The setting of being in a new country, facing someone in a high position, and knowing she will have to explain her non-traditional situation caused Stone to change the appearance of not only herself, but her two children as well. “James’ cowlick is plastered down. I am wearing an ironed shirt” (Stone, 2010, para.