Do Not Tie the Knot

Tying the knot in marriage might also lead to tying a knot in a rope looped around your spouse's neck.  In A Jury of Her Peers, Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters are treated like second-class citizens strictly because they are women. They use empathy to connect the pieces to a murder puzzle while a male attorney and sheriff cannot. These two previously unacquainted women formed a strong bond between each other because they were both treated that same, disrespectful way by men. The two men in the story had a dismissive attitude toward anything the women said. Women's rights are a recurring topic in literature. A Jury of Her Peers elicits a scene of ignorance and disrespect when Mr. Hale says, "Oh well, women are used to worrying over trifles." This generalized statement came after the two men were talking about the serious possibility of Mrs. Wright being convicted of murder, but her concern was to warm her preserves to keep them from bursting from the bitter cold weather. In hindsight, the jar of preserves was an integral piece of evidence that could explain the murder. The two women moved closer together after the statement was made, as if to back each other up, in the presence of dominant men. This is an example of a social identity for women in the 1960s. Martha and Mrs. Peters each have their own individual identity; however, they feel stronger in a pair due to discriminatory actions that are persistently taken against them.