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“COUNTY ATTORNEY: I guess we'll go upstairs first—and then out to the barn and around there. . . .You're convinced that there was nothing important here—nothing that would point to any motive. 

SHERIFF: Nothing here but kitchen things.” 

This exchange illustrates that the County Attorney and the Sheriff, despite their relative certainty that Minnie Wright is the murderer, cannot conceive that any valuable evidence could be found in the kitchen. For the men, the kitchen is a feminine space that women maintain for the benefit of men. They are disgusted by the messiness of the kitchen and assume that Minnie is simply a poor housekeeper, but they never consider whether Minnie’s “kitchen things” could hold important evidence. After the men leave, the women easily recognize subtle details in the kitchen that turn out to be important clues.

“No, Peters, it’s all perfectly clear except a reason for doing it. But you know juries when it comes to women. If there was some definite thing. Something to show—something to make a story about—a thing that would connect up with this strange way of doing it—”

In these lines, the County Attorney implies that while he believes Minnie is guilty, it will be difficult to convince a jury to convict her without compelling evidence of a motive. Ironically, the County Attorney delivers these lines just after Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover the dead canary, a piece of evidence that the men will never discover because they neglect to examine Minnie’s things for evidence. The County Attorney, the Sheriff, and the jury all represent the male-dominated justice system in the world of the play. Because this system dismisses “feminine trifles” as potential evidence, it is blind to the motives of women and therefore ill-equipped to prosecute crimes committed by women. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters could choose to enlighten the men, but after suffering their incessant barrage of sexist jokes, they decide to hide the evidence instead. They have little trouble doing so since the men cannot see the evidence right in front of their faces.

“Let’s talk about that later, Mr. Hale. I do want to talk about that, but tell now just what happened when you got to the house.”

The County Attorney speaks these lines to Mr. Hale early in the play, interrupting him as soon as he begins to talk about John Wright’s disregard for his wife. This is one of two times in the play when the County Attorney shuts down someone who starts talking about Wright’s mistreatment of Minnie. In both cases, he assures the speaker that he wants to hear more about Wright’s behavior “later,” but he never brings it up again, suggesting that he sees Wright’s treatment of Minnie as irrelevant to the case. This enormous blind spot prevents the County Attorney from perceiving John Wright’s crimes against Minnie and discovering Minnie’s motive for murder.

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