The story begins; a man has been strangled in his sleep, the county sheriff, attorney, and the neighbors who first discovered the murder prepare to go over the scene of the crime to find evidence and establish motive. The house has been left in disarray, “unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the bread-box, a dish-towel on the table -- other signs of incomplete work” these might be taken as signs by the attorney as an officer of the court as a sign that Mrs. Wright was an incompetent housekeeper. The Attorney is examining Hale, the next door neighbor who fir

MRS. HALE. But, Mrs. Peters -- look at it! It's neck! Look at its neck! It's all -- other side to.

The Women gather things up preparing to take them to Mrs. Wright so that she might be more comfortable in jail; together they decide to take the quilt, while searching for the scissors that Mrs. Wright would need Mrs. Peter’s stumbles across Mrs. Wrights bird wrapped in silk in a decorative box under the quilt,

The women know now who the real murderer is, they have established motive for Mrs. Wright both for having done what she had and an understanding of the reasons that she was driven to do it. The women all too able relate to the position of Mrs. Wright will not reveal her as the murderess; it is this bond that holds them together as women.

Having caught the sheriff and attorney up on what he knew until this point in the story the three men prepare to undertake the task of searching the house for clues that will help them to establish motive in what they consider to be a an open and shut case. As the men start a search of the kitchen the attorney finds several jars of preserves broken

Mrs. Wright was “Sleeping on the inside” this suggest that her lack of contact with the outside world had left her with a sense of foreboding, and the place “on the inside” was her escape from the world in which she was forced to live in.

[Their eyes meet. A look of growing comprehension, of horror. Steps are heard outside. MRS. HALE slips box under quilt pieces, and sinks into her chair Enter SHERIFF and COUNTY ATTORNEY. MRS. PETERS rises.]

HALE. "Can't I see John?" "No," she says, kind o' dull like. "Ain't he home?" says I. "Yes," says she, "he's home." "Then why can't I see him?" I asked her, out of patience. "'Cause he's dead," says she.

Some topics in this essay:
Enlightenment Drama, HALE Peters, Harry Yes, HALE Putting, COUNTY ATTORNEY, John Wright, PETERS Henderson, Can't John, Wright Peter’s, Wright Harry, wright hale, county attorney, contact outside world, found wright, peters --, investigation set, story begins, box quilt, outside world, found wright hale, sudden feeling, sheriff attorney,