The brevity of the work does not constitute inadequacy, on the
contrary, the reality of human nature unfolds perfectly in this very short one-act play. The
reason this play is so successful is that it is real. There are clues that only the women
discover, and through the subtle nuances of human nature and the female world, we also discover
them. Minnie Wright is off-stage the entire time. We never meet her, yet through the
conversation of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, we feel as if we do know her. We judge her along with
the women (the peers of Mrs. Wright) to be innocent. She has obviously committed the crime of
murder, but based on the description of her husband John, the way Minnie was as a youth, and her
life with John, we judge (as do the women) that Minnie has suffered enough and that she was
driven to this act of self-defense by the cruelty she suffered at the hands of her severe
husband. No one agrees that murder is a right and good thing, but then again, neither is abuse.
Minnie Wright has suffered many years of abuse. The fact that John killed her canary--the only
source of companionship and joy Minnie had in that house--put Minnie over the
edge.
There is distinct humanity in this play. There is suspense.
There is the anger that is created by the men's brushing aside the unimportant "women's world"
which is where the clues are. There is satisfaction in the women's hiding the clues from the men
to allow Minnie to go free. All of this makes the play an amazing one...in one, short,
action-packed scene.
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