The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cline Cohen

Nowadays, freedom is a fundamental right for each man and woman, but it is not a perfect concept. When one’s freedom is endangered, he can do unimaginable things, especially when love is at stake or can react weirdly when he acquires it. It’s exactly what Kate Chopin, a female American author during the 19th century, did when she treated about women’s conditions in the short-story Story of an Hour in 1894, where a woman falsely learns about his husband’s death. Almost 60 years later, Roald Dahl wrote Lamb To The Slaughter, set in Great Britain, where a woman kills her husband and hide the evidences cleverly. These two short stories are not only comparative on the two female protagonists and the imagery used, but also on the main themes

The Lizzie Borden case has mystified and fascinated those interested in crime forover on hundred years. Very few cases in American history have attracted as much attention as the hatchet murders of Andrew J. Borden and his wife, Abby Borden. The bloodiness of the acts in an otherwise respectable late nineteenth century domestic setting is startling. Along with the gruesome nature of the crimes is the unexpected character of the accused, not a hatchet-wielding maniac, but a church-going, Sunday-school-teaching, respectable, spinster-

First, although the laws in place seem to indicate that there was sex work persecution, the variability in their application demonstrates the superficiality of prostitution condemnation. Indeed, it must be noted that the local police maintained a working relationship with many brothels, who traded protection for political favors, for information about the local mafia, and even for the monopoly of the beverage sold in brothels, although these connections varied considerably depending on political contexts (K. Herland, personal communication, October 2, 2015). For instance, mayor Drapeau’s “cleaning up” of the city coincided with the end of this system of mutual support, as

"Responsible people have to be careful about making wild pronouncements about possible serial killers," Leyton says. "And when we are not sure if it is true, then it is inappropriate to throw people into a state of panic. Prostitution is a very dangerous profession and many of the people in it are wanderers and not well-connected to any conventional system of government controls or social services. So they can drift away from the system without being noticed for a very long time, even when nothing may have actually happened to them."

On a cold night in1836, Jewett was found dead with her corpse roasting on her elegant bed. With engrossing details, Jewett murder became an example of media sensation with leading newspapers featuring stories on the murder case with the accused Richard Robinson trial becoming the center of focus. The intensive coverage of the gruesome crime established the template for crime reporting, which ideally endure to present day. Certainly, the murder of one prostitute in a metropolis city like the New York could have easily been, forgotten had it not been for the sensational reporting. By drawing evidence from a range of renowned scholars, the paper aims to paint a picture

Reading, this week and last week about The Freedom Summers Murders by Don Mitchell I have determined to write my blog about my book. Because the book is nonfiction, it educates me about how racism can provoke people to commit homicide.

Susan Glaspell’s one-act play covers issues regarding female oppression and patriarchal domination. The play still exists as a fascinating hybrid of murder mystery and social commentary on the oppression of women. When Margaret Hossack was charged with the murder of her sixty year old husband John, the man she had been married to for thirty three years. Killed by two blows to his head with an ax, John Hossack was thought to be a cold mannered and difficult man to be married to, but he didn’t deserve his

Rape is a grotesque topic, but in The RoundHouse by Louise Erdrich the subject is a necessity for Joe to comprehend what happened to his mom. Joe is a 13 year old boy that has to grow up faster than he expected. With the attack of his mother and his father's inability to rehabilitate her, Joe steps up and begins to take an active role in trying to find her attacker. Normally a 13 year old would remain oblivious to the turmoil surrounding his family. Joe does not. He takes the attack of his mom personally and becomes more serious. As a reader there are not many scenarios where he is portrayed doing child like things. This is why I believe Erdrich includes the scene with Grandma Thunder. She is the comedic relief and the readers opportunity to

Though set in entirely dissimilar countries at different points in history, Margaret Atwood’s ‘Alias Grace’ and Hannah Kent’s ‘Burial Rites’ possess significant comparisons. Both for instance, are fictionalized historical novels following the tribulations of a female protagonist convicted of murder and both have been widely acclaimed for their incredible literary style which merges classic poetry, epigraphs, folklore and historical articles with fiction. The most striking parallel between each novel that can be drawn, however, is the way in which authors masterfully craft the stories of untrustworthy, cunning and deceptive criminals to elicit sympathy from their audiences. Readers of the novel and secondary characters alike are gradually pulled into sympathising with ambiguous and untrustworthy female leads, Grace Marks (Alias Grace) and Agnes Magnusdottir (Burial Rites). Despite the heavy suspicions of others and a lack of evidence to support their claims of innocence, these characters present artfully manipulated features of their defence stories to provoke empathy, sympathy and trust from those within the novel, and those reading it.

As this story begins, Mr. Wright has been murdered and his wife the star witness. The evidence is slowly breaking down their so called case. Women of this time period were not treated like men, a woman was only good when she was slaving for her husband and his needs. As Emily Dickinson once wrote “Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul/ and sings the tune-without the words, / and never stops at all.” Mrs. Wright used to sing but Mr. Wright did not like that and forced her to a quiet. Mr. Wright was a bitter old man playing a gentleman; never taking a liking to kids he stole her hope for children, leaving her baron in her womb and her heart. He was a control maniac and demanded power in every aspect of this poor woman’s life; No Children, No Song, No Friends; she had nothing, which meant nothing to lose. In Susan Glaspell’s drama, “Trifles”, we explore the gender inequality between men and women of that time and why that has such a large influence on the murder investigation.

The exposition of the story, “Really, Doesn’t Crime Pay?” tells the story of an aspiring female writer, Myrna who goes mad after being betrayed by the male lover who steals her work and publishes it under his own name. The stolen story, which is about a woman who loses her leg in an accident caused by her neglectful husband and who then hangs herself, seems to be a metaphor for the mutilation and destruction of black female creativity. The dominating influence of her husband within a racist, patriarchal world emphasizes her feeling about a woman whose husband doesn’t understand her ad wants to keep her in a gilded cage. Her excuse for having the affair is that she is trapped and her husband will not allow her to express herself with her writing

The issue of female persecution throughout many of Hitchcock’s films has been fiercely contested, none more so than the controversial issue of assault and the attempted rape of a woman. Views that Hitchcock represents the archetypal misogynist are supported, Modelski suggesting that his films invite “his audience to indulge their most sadistic fantasies against the female” (18). Through both the manipulation of sound and the use of language, none more so than in Blackmail and Frenzy, the idea of rape and violence does effectively silence and subdue not only the women in the films, but the also the women watching them (18).

I liked that Mr. Rosen discusses the subculture of prostitution, such as life with in the brothel. Like the rest of society, brothels display class distinctions, catering to the economic needs and interests of different clients. High class parlor houses were the most used, discreetly advertising to their customers and putting more time into appearance than those of lower classes. Middle class price houses, Rosen explains, guaranteed only “expedient and efficient opportunity for immediate sexual relief” (92). Interestingly, Mrs. Rosen points out a hole in scholarship here, as investigators more often chose to study high and low priced houses only. Low priced houses hardly ever had the protection of a madam. More often than not, they were made up of a small room where the prostitute worked in and a man who placed himself outside the door easing the flow of traffic

Crime and Punishment, written by Fyodor Dostoevsky brings up the question of whether or not there is a “greater man” that has rights above and beyond the common society. Set in mid-1860’s Russia, women at the time did not have equal rights as men, thus they were not eligible to be part of this higher level society. While it may be easy to assert that there is no intentional commentary made on the role of women in the book during this time period, one can examine how the female characters contribute to the overall statement that the book is making. Dostoevsky uses his style of writing to exemplify gender stereotypes and then comment on how these statements are false.

The future conditions of the woman’s potential marital worth were much poorer than any punishment the violator could have received. Once a woman was raped, her virginity was no longer available for her husband to have. “‘Virginity is the ornament of morals, the sanctity of the sexes, the peace of families and the source of the greatest friendships.’ Its existence was a precondition for marriage. To publicly breach it was to compromise honor, rank, even life; a ‘deflowered’ girl inevitably became a ‘lost’ girl. . . ‘The ravishing of virginity was the worst rape of all.’” (Cite Book 1) An innocent woman had now completely lost her worth to society and her own dignity due to a man’s egocentric and merciless actions.