Protest is defined as “a statement or action expressing disapproval or objection to someone or something.” At first glance, most view protest as a physical act, like marching through the streets toward a noble goal. A monumental event, such as the women's suffrage movement, is the archetypal protest for most people. Susan Glaspell, author of the play Trifles and the short story “A Jury of Her Peers,” demonstrates that a protest can be something as simple as asserting one's importance within the confines of one's home. As one of the few progressive authors in the early 20th century, Glaspell's works reached many women who had been too afraid to talk about the abuse they had suffered. Mrs. Hale, the progressive, and Mrs. Peters, the traditionalist, are perfect examples of how conflicting views are shaped by domesticity. Women like Ms. Peters had almost no voice, but with the help of a progressive friend for encouragement, Ms. Peters was able to break away from the status quo and form her own opinions. Glaspell charts Mrs. Peters' journey from oppressed housewife to freethinker to give 20th-century women a model for resisting the subjugation of domestic abuse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayBeing married to an authoritarian man, Mrs. Peters had never thought of herself as anything more than a housekeeper, representative of the traditionalist women of this time. We immediately see the authority men possess over women, simply by the way they address them. The sheriff, Mr. Peters, refers to Mrs. Peters by her full name, never "my wife" or even by her first name. Such a concrete and insensitive descriptor makes men's position of dominance very solid. Mrs. Peters will never be seen as anything more than married to a domineering man, something she had never thought to question before. Accepting her position as nothing more than the sheriff's wife, Mrs. Peters embodies the qualities required for the role: she is meek, submissive, and does not protest. She's gotten so caught up in defending her husband's work that she hasn't considered what he actually does. Even if undeserving people end up behind bars, Mrs. Peters feels she must agree that “'the law is the law'” (para. 145). Glaspell's entire work is set in a kitchen, the “women's place,” where Mrs. Peters evokes the tragedy of Mrs. Wright's preserves being destroyed by the cold. Mrs. Peters, being a housewife herself, knows how much work goes into making and preserving these fruit preserves: "'Oh, his fruit,' she said... Peters' husband burst out laughing. 'Well, you can beat that woman!'” (pg 1036). This interaction describes the lack of consideration Mr. Peters has for his wife and all the hard work she puts into her “marital duties.” This absence of recognition plays directly into the reason for which Mrs. Peters' voice is ignored. Mrs. Peters establishes herself as a traditionalist not by choice, but by necessity she is challenged in her thought processes until she enters the scene of John Wright's "tragic" death Peters manages to empathize with Mrs. Wright and she begins to question her blind acceptance of the law. Throughout the story it becomes very clear that Mrs. Peters has two sides that appear when she.