A Jury of Her PeersA Jury of Her PeersThe central theme in “A Jury of Her Peers” is the place of women in society and especially the isolation this results in. We see this through the character, Minnie Foster and her isolation from love, happiness, companionship and from society as a whole. Not only does the story describe this isolation but it allows the reader to feel the impact of this isolation and recognize the tragedy of the situation.
The story is set in a rural community in turn-of-the century Iowa. This time-frame is one where women did not have the freedom they have today, but were instead seen as wives, cooks and housekeepers. This is the basis for Minnie’s isolation, her place in the society of the day. This is also compounded by Minnie’s husband, John Wright, who makes her more isolated than many other women of the time. We see that Minnie is isolated from love. Her husband is not an affectionate man and she has no children. In the story, we are told that after her marriage her only friend was “solitude.”
This is added to by the fact that she is isolated from others. She lives in “a lonesome-looking place” with poplar trees around it that were also “lonesome-looking.” She has no visitors and does not visit others. This isolation is because of her husbands wishes. So not only does he not provide her with love or affection, he prevents her from getting companionship elsewhere.
We also see that her husband isolates her from happiness by not allowing her to do the things that give her pleasure. We are told that before Minnie was married she was “one of the town girls” who enjoyed wearing elegant clothes, socializing and singing in the choir. After marrying, her husband prohibits her from all these activities, leaving her life devoid of the happy activities she used to enjoy. The difference is also emphasized where they describe her “shabby black shirt.”
We also see a sign of Minnie’s isolation in the bird that she had as a pet and we see the desperation of her situation when we realize that her husband killed the bird. “Wright wouldnt like the birda thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too.” The bird represents the way Minnie was before she was married, as is said “…she was like a bird herself. Real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and — fluttery. How–she–did–change.” We also see that this unmarried self could not have existed in this environment, “seems kind of funny to think of a bird here.” Her longing for her former happy self is also suggested, “I should think she would’ve wanted
, in which case, I suggest that the bird in question in question’s case is more interesting. However, given that there are more stories of humans, I don’t think we can ever really know if one day the “Bird” must have been the bird as we know it, or whether Minnie was actually the owner (her ex-husband, or her own mother, who may have given up on love altogether). We don’t have all the answers, but from what I can deduce from a handful of books we can draw an interesting conclusion from the photos here and there that the birds of these pages looked like a different kind of bird; perhaps even “The Bird We Are Now,” which is the kind that can only be imagined by humans.
In a nutshell, we can imagine a bird that was a kind of lonely, lonely bird, but that was, I think, exactly what the photo depicted. It seems that, a very good reason to believe all birds, especially in large numbers, are solitary birds, is that the birds often do have special social systems, with particular groups that have special interests for each other. There may be a connection between “the group” of birds that the photos show, and the individual birds who do all the work to protect humans from wild animals or other dangerous beings, such as wolves or bears or birds that have been killed as their nests.
So we have a lot in common with the picture of a bird that is quite solitary. I think humans have learned a great deal when they have been in solitary confinement. To them, the whole idea of a solitary or “private” animal is really a way to hold them back in spite of their differences from other groups, and they will try to kill everyone who isn’t them; and they will leave one or both of them too, which is just as bad. These kinds of solitary birds are always found in isolated places in the forest or even in the open, usually because they are always looking for predators. But here, I have two main issues related to their behavior, if we look very closely: They are solitary birds, because they share special social roles within the group, and they often feel that they are more alone than other people, and sometimes they even have friends or have relatives and so on, all with the idea of keeping other people safe. But when we look at the photos ourselves, it becomes clear that they are not solitary birds, or at least a very rare breed of