What part could women's intuition possible play in solving a murder? In Susan Glaspell's short story "A Jury of Her Peers", the female characters Martha Hale and Mrs. Peters glean many subtle clues from the ordinary surroundings of the accused, Minnie Wright. The women, who are present merely for the purpose of gathering a few things for Minnie, piece together through intuition and sensitive observations a likely portrait of life in the Wright house and thus, a motive for murder. In the cold, uncaring atmosphere of the Wright house, the warmth of these women validates Minnie's plight.
The bitter cold outside heightened Mrs. Hale's sense of loneliness and dispair about the house. Regret washed over her as she moved out of the icy cold wind and into the equally cold house, whose broken stove could not ward off the chill. She wished she had visited when Minnie was there but "there was always something to do and Minnie Foster would go right from her mind" (Glaspell 2). Mrs. Peters, even though she did not previously know Minnie, felt hesitant to enter the house and refused an invitation by the county attorney to move closer to the fire. Both ladies sensed not only the frigid temperature of the house but also the frigid atmosphere of the house even before any other observations were made. With the discovery of the jars of fruit that had burst in the freezing temperatures during the night, the women began forming a bond with Minnie. They remembered their own labors putting up fruit and Minnie's concern over her fruit freezing and bursting when the fire went out in the frigid night. In Angel's article "Teaching the Short Story A Jury of Her Peers, she describes the one unbroken jar of preserves the two women discover as a "small indicator of hope"(2). .
As the men began their investigation, the women remained in the background but began to observe the conditions of the surrounding room.
