How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #7
SHERIFF: They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it! (The men laugh, the women look abashed.)
MRS. HALE: (resentfully) I don't know as there's anything so strange, our takin' up our time with little things while we're waiting for them to get the evidence. [...] I don't see as it's anything to laugh about. (75-77)
How crazy is it that men make fun of the women for thinking about "woman stuff" like quilts, when it's the whole male-dominated society that forces women into lives where "woman stuff" they're supposed to worry about? Sadly, it's not a new story. Throughout history, oppressive groups have mocked the groups they oppress.
Quote #8
MRS. PETERS: (apologetically) Of course they've got awful important things on their minds. (78)
Through most of the play, Mrs. Peters apologizes for the men. More than that, she says a lot of stuff that supports the male position that women are basically a bunch of bubbleheads and are totally incapable thinking about anything important. It's good for the play's structure that Mrs. Peters is around, though. The differing viewpoints between her and Mrs. Hale give us some of the key tension in the play.
Quote #9
MRS. HALE: I might have known she needed help! I know how things can be—for women. I tell you, it's queer, Mrs. Peters. We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things—it's all just a different kind of the same thing. (138)
This line is probably the play's most blatant call for solidarity among women—it's basically in neon lights. Mrs. Hale is recognizing that all women are oppressed in pretty much the same way. Notice, though, that she's not only jabbing her finger at the menfolk. She's taking the blame on herself for not coming over and being BFFs with Mrs. Wright. It seems like one of play's biggest messages is that women have to unite and support each other if they ever want things to change.