The Hossack Murder Analysis

In the newspaper article “The Hossack Murder” by Susan Glaspell, the wife, mother, and homemaker, Mrs. Hossack, was found guilty of her husband's murder. Mrs. Hossack claims that she is innocent; that a stranger came into their house and killed her husband but the prosecutor and the defense attorney think otherwise. Neighbors and friends who testified for Mrs. Hossack claimed that the husband and wife often quarreled. Mrs. Haines, a friend and neighbor to the Hossacks, told the court that Mrs. Hossack told her that “it would be Godsend if Mr. Hossack was gone” and Mrs. Hossack also stated to her that she was afraid he (Mr. Hossack) was going to kill the family (Glaspell 185-186). In the article it is stated numerous times that the hossacks fought and Mrs. Hossack was afraid of her husband, leading to believe this is an abusive situation for the wife and family. Those statements were strongly …show more content…
Hossack “had taken hold of the dead man’s hand and the attorney asked if in the opinion of the jury a woman under those circumstances would not have manifested greater concern” (Glaspell 192-193). If a woman is being verbally and/or mentally abused, she shouldn't have to show “greater concern” even though he is her husband. Also, people react to tragedies differently. Therefore, it shouldn't matter how little or how great emotion she shows; she is most likely in shock and it is not anyone's place to judge her emotions. Lastly, Mrs. Hossack is described as being “tall and powerful and looks like she would be dangerous if aroused to be a point of hatred” (Glaspell 182). Again, she is being judged for something, her appearance now, that could be a false observation. Many people can look harmful, but their actions could be harmless. Throughout the case, Mrs. Hossack had false accusations made to her from the court about her wife and parenting skills that shouldn't have, but did, affect the decision to penalize Mrs. Hossack to jail for