Journal 20

The differences in the two women posed in this drama are very obvious at the beginning of the play.  Mrs. Peters is the wife of the sheriff and she feels it is her duty to uphold the male definition of the duty of law.  On the other hand Mrs. Hale is much more sympathetic towards Mrs. Wright's situation and takes part of the blame because she did not visit or contribute to Mrs. Wright's lonely life.  Towards the end of the play Mrs. Peters overcomes her suspicion and decides to empathize with Mrs. Wright who values her own needs rather than be consumed in the identity of her marriage.

The most important character in this play is undoubtedly Mrs. Peters.  I believe that the author places her in there because women need to evolve in terms of being more independent (at the time she wrote this play) and thinking on their own rather than basing their identity off of who their husband is.  I think that ultimately, she noticed that Mrs. Hale was being independent and she decided that she needed to as well.  I assume that this play, if delved into, made strides in the feminism movement of this time period.