Beginning of the play
At the beginning of the play we see a very depressing room, and the disarray of the kitchen is one of the classic signs of depression. Dishes are not done and food is out, and the place is generally in a mess. Considering the time and place described at the beginning of the scene, it would have been unusual for the kitchen to be in such a state, because women generally did not work, and identified themselves as homemakers. We get further clues as to the period from the fact that there is a fire going in the stove and most of the fruit jars have burst from being frozen when the place was left without a fire. From these clues and the identities of the men plus the apparent hesitation of the women on entering, we know that something is wrong.
Mrs. Wright’s role
Mrs. Wright is the tragic protagonist in this play, but she never comes on stage. She is almost what we know as grotesque, having been nearly destroyed by her environment. We hear about her first from the statements of the witness who discovered Mr. Wright’s body. He describes her as sitting in her rocking chair and pleating her apron. The actor probably makes hand movements in imitation to illustrate his point. The women give more information about Mrs. Wright as they discuss what to take to her in jail. As they are looking around, they discover a quilt in progress and one of them wonders if Mrs. Wright had been going to quilt it or knot it. The men overhear and make light fun of such a trivial “woman’s” conversation.
As the ladies are chatting about Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale, wife of the witness who discovered the body, laments that she did not visit often, because the house was sad. She feels that she might have been some help to Mrs. Wright, who was probably abused. They talk about how she used to sing, but was quiet and shy in high school, though quite pretty. When they discover the broken fruit jars they are discussing all the wasted work in the heat of the summer and what a shame it is. The men make off-handed fun of the woman worrying about her canned fruit when the woman is in jail for murder. “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles.” When the county attorney comments on Mrs. Wright’s poor housekeeping, Mrs. Hale mentions that there is a lot of work to be done on a farm. Finally, when they wonder if Mrs. Wright was going to quilt or knot her work, the men laugh. Each time the men laugh, the women move closer together for mutual support.
Erratic sewing
As the women examine the sewing, they note that the sewing on the last block was quite erratic, as if the woman had been quite upset, while the rest of the blocks are quite neatly stitched. Then they find the birdcage and notice the bent door and wonder about this. When they find the little bird in a fancy box with its neck wrung, they understand what happened. They talk about silence and loneliness, space that the songbird would have filled.
The sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters, asks the County Attorney to look at what the ladies are taking, and he takes a very quick look as Sheriff Peters makes a statement that his wife is married to the law and would never take evidence. They are about to leave when the men are discussing that they have found no evidence for motive, which would be necessary for a conviction. Mrs. Hale pockets the bird when Mrs. Peters cannot make it fit into the sewing box.
The County Attorney makes one last little jab at the women when he says as they leave that they at least found out if Mrs. Wright was going to quilt or..and they supply the word “knot” as Mrs. Hale pats her pocket. Saying, “she knotted it” (meaning the rope around Mr. Wright’s neck). She had not done either to the quilt.
Conclusion
The play shows us how women are held in contempt as silly brainless housekeepers and how men talk about and do important things. It is apropos that Mr. Wright is strangled in his sleep with a rope, because of how he killed the bird. Only one scene is needed for this play and it should be a little dark and narrow, almost claustrophobic. The ladies are separated from the men. The sheriff’s wife comments that she is glad of Mrs. Hale’s company. The men run around seeking important evidence while the women discover everything, and take action to see that Mrs. Wright’s motive is never found.