The way Mrs. Hale analyzes the relation between the bird and Mrs. Wright is really sharp. She can understand that Mrs. Wright really wanted the bird to represent
herself, since Mrs. Wright is similar to the bird. Both Mrs. Wright and the bird are real sweet and pretty and also like to sing.
When the discussion above is related to the reason why they are analyzing the kitchen, bird cage, and the sewing, it is found that because the men do not involve
them to the investigation and command them to stay in the kitchen area. All women can do is just obey what the men said and analyzing the things that are considered to
be unimportant by the men. It supports the idea of patriarchal system that women are obedient that shows their inferiority in the society.
b. Cheerful Mrs. Wright
Mrs. Wright is the wife of Mr. Wright. She is the suspect of the murder case in this story. When she was young, she was known as Minnie Foster who is a cheerful
person. The evidence of her characteristic can be seen from Mrs. Hale’s words below. MRS. HALE. Examining the skirt.
Wright was close. I think maybe that’s why she kept so much to herself. She didn’t even belong to the Ladies’
Aid. I suppose she felt she couldn’t do her part, and then you don’t enjoy things when you feel shabby. She used to wear pretty clothes and be
lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir. But that
—oh, that was thirty years ago. This all was to take? McQuade, 1999: 984
The quotation above states that Mrs. Wright used to wear pretty clothes and
be lively when she was young. In this case, her pretty clothes symbolize the way she lives her life in a cheerful way. She also joined a choir group which shows that she
likes to sing. From the explanation above, we can conclude that Mrs. Wright has a cheerful characteristic.
But, in this case, we are talking about the characteristic of Mrs. Wright when she was young before her marriage with Mr. Wright. After the marriage, her
characteristic does no longer exist because of the dominance of her husband that totally changes the way she lives. In patriarchal society, the marriage affects women
position in family which makes them to have a restricted area of socialization and be secluded from the environment. This is the reason of the change of Mrs. Wright’s
characteristic. It shows that Mrs. Wright is inferior in her own family because her life is controlled by her husband.
c. Sociable Mrs. Wright
Mr. Hale’s words also tell us the other characteristic of Mrs. Wright, which is sociable. When Mrs. Wright was young, she joined the choir as one of the town girls
singing. It means that she made a lot of friends by joining a choir group in town. It can be seen from what Mrs. Hale’s said about her.
MRS. HALE. …when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in
the choir. But that —oh, that was thirty years ago. This all was to take?
McQuade, 1999: 984 The quotation above shows that Mrs. Wright has willing to engage in activites
with other people in her society by joining a choir group. As a part of choir group, the members should have sociable and friendly characteristic to be accepted in a team
because choir group is not an individual work, it needs a cooperative ability in order to work together as a team. From the explanation above, we can conclude that Mrs.
