How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
MRS. HALE: [...] You know, it seems kind of sneaking. Locking her up in town and then coming out here and trying to get her own house to turn against her!
MRS. PETERS: But Mrs. Hale, the law is the law. (70-71)
Again we see Mrs. Peters standing up for the logic of the law, and Mrs. Hale going after it with a sledgehammer. It's hard to miss that in this little interchange Mrs. Hale's criticism is downright irrational. So what? The law shouldn't search murder scenes in people's houses because it's not nice to snoop? A little weak, Mrs. Hale. It's cool, though. The fact that some of Mrs. Hale's arguments are a wee bit flimsy ultimately makes her a more complex character and this a more complex play.
Quote #5
MRS. HALE: (resentfully) I don't know as there's anything so strange, our takin' up our time with little things while we're waiting for them to get the evidence. (she sits down at the big table smoothing out a block with decision) I don't see as it's anything to laugh about.
MRS PETERS: (apologetically) Of course they've got awful important things on their minds. (77-78)
Notice the pattern here? Mrs. Hale says something about how the men are jerks and Mrs. Peters makes excuses about how what the menfolk are doing is really important… and stuff. Over and over the play reminds us that the women are separate from the world of law.
Quote #6
MRS. PETERS: [...] They say he was a good man.
MRS. HALE: [...] he didn't drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him—(shivers) Like a raw wind that gets to the bone. (104-105)
Before she takes another jab at John Wright, Mrs. Hale actually gives us some of his good qualities. Check how everything that was good about him is somehow equated this male-dominated world of law. He pays his debts, didn't lie, and didn't get hammered on Saturday night. On paper, he was a stand-up guy. However, as a human being, he was a insensitive monster, who made his wife's life miserable for years.