Question

Which three lines in this excerpt from Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” contribute to the story’s setting? When Martha Hale opened the storm-door and got a cut of the north wind, she ran back for her big woolen scarf. As she hurriedly wound that round her head her eye made a scandalized sweep of her kitchen. It was no ordinary thing that called her away—it was probably further from ordinary than anything that had ever happened in Dickson County. But what her eye took in was that her kitchen was in no shape for leaving: her bread all ready for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted.She hated to see things half done; but she had been at that when the team from town stopped to get Mr. Hale, and then the sheriff came running in to say his wife wished Mrs. Hale would come too—adding, with a grin, that he guessed she was getting scary and wanted another woman along. So she had dropped everything right where it was. "Martha!" now came her husband's impatient voice. "Don't keep folks waiting out here in the cold."

Answer 1

1) It was no ordinary thing that called her away—it was probably further from ordinary than anything that had ever happened in Dickson County.

2) But what her eye took in was that her kitchen was in no shape for leaving: her bread all ready for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted.

3) She hated to see things half done; but she had been at that when the team from town stopped to get Mr. Hale, and then the sheriff came running in to say his wife wished Mrs. Hale would come too—adding, with a grin, that he guessed she was getting scary and wanted another woman along.

Answer 2

Answer:

1. It was no ordinary thing that called her away—it was probably further from ordinary than anything that had ever happened in Dickson County.

2. But what her eye took in was that her kitchen was in no shape for leaving: her bread all ready for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted.

3. She hated to see things half done; but she had been at that when the team from town stopped to get Mr. Hale, and then the sheriff came running in to say his wife wished Mrs. Hale would come too—adding, with a grin, that he guessed she was getting scary and wanted another woman along.

Explanation:

The setting refers to the time and location that the story happens, in addition to relevant information about the social and cultural conditions in which the characters live. It´s usually revealed in the exposition, at the beginning of the story. In these three lines we learn that the geographical location is Dickson County (representing Dickinson County, Iowa). We also learn that our protagonist is a woman dedicated to her home, in a patriarcal society. This is relevant because, among other themes, this short story explores the concept of the world of men vs the world of women, as two female characters solve a mystery that the male characters cannot unravel, which made it to be seen as an example of early feminist literature.