Why She Killed Her Man

It does not seem that often in the literary world that a woman would kill her man. More often than not, if there is a murder, it is a female character killed by an outside source. There must be something different about these women to have them do something so far out of the ordinary in the already strange literary reality. They must have quirks and characteristics that make them capable of such an act and set them apart from other ladies in the literary world.

One characteristic that killer women poses is an inability to act in normal society. Both the women in "A Rose for Emily" and "A Jury of Her Peers" had strange social graces, or lack thereof. Miss Emily, before she died had not accepted a visitor for several years. When men from the town visited her she was rather sharp with them and interrupted often while refusing to listen to a word they had to say.

Similarly, Mrs. Wright was also strange in the way she treated people, as explained by Mrs. Hales to the Sherriff's wife. Mrs. Hales was never comfortable in the Wright's home, even before it became the married couple's house and just belonged to Minnie. Not even Mrs. Wright's close neighbors would visit and that was probably the way she wanted it.

Another reason these women differ from their male counterparts is how women are ultimately viewed. Most often women are seen as the more fragile of the two sexes, unable to commit cold blooded murder. The stereotypical female with frail bones and a sweet disposition

couldn't do anything like that. Martha Hales and her newfound friend Mrs. Peters even think the same way about the poor suspect of this crime. Minnie Wright nee Foster is remembered as the darling member of the county choir, all dressed up in white and blue bows. How could she possibly be capable of killing her husband? The two females find excuses for the other woman, even hiding the dead canary to keep more evidence of what must be true because they do not believe the nervous woman could have done anything so horrendous even though they have evidence that says otherwise. If we are to believe stereotypes then Minnie was a sweet housewife that could not have killed her husband, she needed to be protected from those who would think to prosecute her.

On the other hand, we have to stereotypical-killer-housewife. The one who cannot take her husband and the everyday tasks that are expected of her anymore. The one who just snaps on what anyone would think was a normal day, but was just one day too many. Mrs. Wright also fits into this category as evidenced by the many half finished tasks she left lying around. She could not finish anything because she did not want to, she could not handle it. She snapped, killed her husband, and stopped caring about what she needed to finish.

Something else that can be seen from these types of women is the search for something more, something that can no longer be, never was, or is refused to be filled by the men in their lives. But sadly these women are stuck with their men, they cannot just up and leave. The only solution seen was the murder of their male friends. Abigail Williams from The Crucible is almost an example of this. She wanted something better than her puritan existence and convinces John Proctor to commit adultery with her. When he figured out how stupid that was and he left her, she needed a way to get him back. To get what she wanted she first testified against John's wife in hopes that he would turn back to her when he was no longer tied down after his wife's

inevitable death due to being accused of witchcraft. When that did not work she had to turn to killing him because if she could not have him, no one could.

Miss Emily was another prime example of this. She was in love with Homer and in reality he was probably the only man that would have her. However, Emily was not exactly what Homer was looking for; he enjoyed her company I am sure but he did not want the sort of relationship she was looking for. Though she somehow convinced him to not totally abandon her, it was not in the way she wanted, so she made it that way. She ended his ability to leave and fight against her; made it so she could totally and absolutely be in control of how they were together. Emily left him in her bed, what she considered 'their' bed, had them sleep in an embrace he couldn't pull out of. She received and illusion of what she wanted through his death.

Murderous literary women are differentiated from the men by motive. Men kill violently, with anger. Women are more methodical with their reasoning; they aren't going to just kill, they're going to think it through. Or at least it will be a build up and not a random act, as it usually is with literary men. Women are softer with their kills, more manipulative in what the effects are. They're not so vindictive or cruel, they're more effective. Women usually make plans, gather weapons, figure out how to make it come out best for them.

Male murderers in the literary world are also more likely to be serial killers than their women counterparts. Women get what they want from the first kill but for men it seems that the kill becomes the need. The woman's world of murder shows a dynamic that people don't normally look at: the dark, sad, mean side of the female gender.

References

Faulkner, William; A Rose for Emily; 1930

Glaspell, Susan; A Jury of Her Peers; 1916

Miller, Arthur; The Crucible; 1953