Silence In Wine And A Jury Of Her Peers

Doris Lessing’s ‘‘Wine’’ (1957) and Susan Glaspell’s ‘‘A Jury of Her Peers’’ (1917) illustrate the role of the unsaid and silence between the male and female gender. Silence is imperative between the characters because it is through the Patriarchal system that men overpower women, and they use their authority to control them into meeting their every desire. With this said women do not express the entirety of their thoughts and desires to protect themselves from the ridicule or judgment of men. They also keep their silence as a symbol of solidarity among women. In the story, ‘‘Wine’’ (1957), the role of the unsaid says a substantial amount about the couple’s relationship. The male character starts off by using wine to make the woman pliable
The power he has, through Patriarchy, gives him the right, in his opinion, to make decisions for the woman. Also, when the woman stays silent while her partner is telling her the story about his rejection of the virgin, she demonstrates her frustration but does not give into those feelings and stays respectful. She uses her silence as to rebel against the Father’s House and to illustrate her discontent with his actions. What frustrates her is that men have sufficient power to decide when women lose their virginity, but does not express these thoughts. Even though the fact that the virgin did not get the chance to decide her own fate repels her, she keeps these thoughts to herself because she does not want to give the man any more power. Another facet of the unsaid in the story is how the characters’ relationship lacks intimacy. The author illustrates this when she states: ‘‘the man turned and looked at her critically, and she looked back. Desire asleep, they looked. This remained: that while everything which drove them slept, they accepted from each other a sad irony; they could look at each other without illusion, steady-eyed’’ (Lessing, 1957, p.