timid and – fluttery”(Roberts and Jacobs, pg. 1157), this shows that a bird was a perfect animal for her to relate to. The broken birdcage and the broken neck of the canary, that was seen in the play, leads me to believe that Mrs. Wright not only suffered mental abuse from her husband, but also physical abuse. The broken birdcage shows the violent nature of Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale shows the connection of Mr. Wright’s involvement in the physical death of the canary and the spiritual death of his wife (Russell, pg.1). The two ladies seem to cover for Mrs. Wright when Mrs. Hale discovers the inconsistency of her quilting by removing a few stitches and replacing them with some of her own. “Mrs. Hale symbolically claims her position as the person who spins the thread of life,” (Russell, pg. 1) relating back to Greek mythology. When the men continue to joke about Mrs. Wright’s intention “to quilt or just knot” it evokes a defensive response in Mrs. Hale which seems to warn them not to tempt fate.The play ends with the women leaving the house without conveying what they had learned to the men. They felt justified in making a decision not to tell because of the condescending attitudes of the men. Their choice was to do what was legally right and report their findings, or to conceal the truth and vindicate all women (Kearns, pg. 1). Mrs. Hale snatches the box from Mrs. Peters and puts it in the pocket of her big coat to conceal it. The women have no intentions of revealing their finds, and seem to protect Mrs. Wright to the end....
