During the investigation and search of the Wright's house for murder evidence, Mrs. Hale elaborates the setting by stating, "I've never liked this place. Maybe because it's down in a hollow and you don't see the road. I dunno what it is but it's a lonesome place and always was- (Glaspell 1331). The setting is a metaphor for the isolation that Minnie feels because it accurately illustrates her feelings and relationships with others (Noe 247). The setting is set far apart from contact with any other people, just as Minnie is set apart from others; her relationships have been severed and broken because of her isolated surroundings. "[The] setting plays the key role in suggesting the motive for the murder- (Waterman 248). Through the setting, Minnie's loneliness and feeling of isolation, as well as the depths of her frustrations, become obvious to Glaspell's audience. .
Glaspell uses the isolation created by the setting to further explicate the psychological effects isolation can have on a person like Minnie Wright that serve as a motivation for murder. In the story, John is the incrementally pinpointed reason for why Minnie was as lonely as she was and why she changed. As Mrs. Hale states, "She used to sing real pretty herself. . . . She "come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself "real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and "fluttery. How "she "did "change- (Glaspell 1331). John Wright, Minnie's husband, is portrayed as a grim, unhappy, and depressed person. He suffocated all of Minnie's relationships with others by not allowing her to be part in any community socialization such as church events or the Ladies Aid, refusing to install telephone line for communication at the farm, and even denying her possession of a pet canary bird (Hedge 252). Mrs. Hale explains, "Wright was close. I think maybe that's why she kept so much to herself. She didn't even belong to the Ladies Aid.
