How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
HALE: [...] I thought maybe if I went to the house and talked about it before his wife, though I said to Harry that I didn't know as what his wife wanted made much difference to John— (10)
Here's where the first blip goes off on our jerk radar. Hale points out that John Wright could give two flips about what his wife thinks. These are the first signs we have of just how disempowered Mrs. Wright was. It's kind of interesting, though, that Hale ever even noticed that Wright didn't listen to his wife. If Wright noticed something, then he probably didn't think it was totally normal. Could that mean that he treats Mrs. Hale with a little more respect?
Quote #2
COUNTY ATTORNEY: Let's talk about that later, Mr. Hale. I do want to talk about that, but tell now just what happened when you got to the house. (11)
This is the Attorney's direct response to Hale's line above, and it really shows just how little the treatment of women matters to the Attorney. He doesn't seem to think it's important at all how John Wright treated his wife. He says they'll talk about it later, but he never brings it up again. Kinda weird, right? Especially, since he's trying to establish a motive for murder. But to the County Attorney, the way Mrs. Wright was treated sounds totally normal, so there's no reason to really give a hoot.
Quote #3
HALE: Well, women are used to worrying over trifles. (32)
Here's a tip: always pay attention to the line that gives you the title. Here Hale mocks the fact that, even though she's facing a murder charge, Mrs. Wright put mental energy into worrying that that her jars of preserves might break in the cold. Later, Mrs. Hale talks about how tough putting in preserves is and that she totally gets why Mrs. Wright would be worried about her hard work being transformed into a sticky, glass-infused mess. To the men, though, anything the women spend their time doing is insignificant.