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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
Glaspell’s writing style in “A Jury of Her Peers” is direct and dialogue-heavy. She does not use a lot of metaphors, imagery, or figurative language and does not grant access to the deep inner feelings or thoughts of her characters, instead describing the actions of a scene matter-of-factly and letting characters speak for themselves through long swaths of dialogue.
The following conversation between Mrs. Hale and Mr. Henderson displays some of these different stylistic elements:
"It never seemed a very cheerful place," said [Mrs. Hale], more to herself than to [Mr. Henderson].
"No," he agreed; "I don't think anyone would call it cheerful. I shouldn't say she had the homemaking instinct."
"Well, I don't know as Wright had, either," she muttered.
"You mean they didn't get on very well?" he was quick to ask.
"No; I don't mean anything," she answered, with decision. As she turned a little away from him, she added: "But I don't think a place would be any the cheerfuler for John Wright's bein' in it."
Rather than using narration to capture Mrs. Hale’s frustration with Mr. Henderson in this scene, Glaspell has Mrs. Hale mutter her real feelings under her breath, such as the fact that Mr. Wright didn’t have the “homemaking instinct” himself and that “a place would [not] be any the cheerfuler for John Wright's bein' in it.” In having Mrs. Hale make these argumentative statements out loud (rather than having the narrator note them as part of Mrs. Hale's inner dialogue), Glaspell shows readers that Mrs. Hale is not simply a passive housewife who goes along with the sexist words of others, but will make her opinions known. This passage also captures the rhythm of Glaspell’s writing—uninterrupted back-and-forth dialogue like this makes up much of the story.
Related Themes:
