Me: Yeah. Maybe I'm too oblivious to notice, but I still don't understand Mrs. Wright's motive for killing her husband, if she even did kill him. I get that the bird is supposed to be symbolic of her character, I just don't understand why she would want to kill Mr. Wright. Her husband may have killed the bird, thereby killing Minnie Foster Wright on the inside, but was she "queer" before that incident? Judging by the state of her kitchen - the dirty towels, the untouched bread, the frozen fruit - she was not "all there" in the head. And the murder took place upstairs, possibly symbolic of her unwell state of mind.
Abby: So she was crazy before her husband killed the bird?
Me: Maybe. She may have had genetic vulnerability (diathesis) to a mental illness and then the added stress (like the murdered bird) caused her to fully express her disturbed mental state, causing her to feel murderous.
Abby: Huh?
Me: Sorry, I was just reading about theories of the causes of schizophrenia in my Abnormal Psychology class. So that thought was in my head.
Abby: Maybe Mrs. Wright just wasn't happy in her marriage and wanted to end it permanently.
Me: Well, judging by the other male characters in this play, Mr. Wright could have been a very sexist and controlling husband. The sheriff, county attorney, and Mr. Peters all seem to dismiss Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters' actions. Anything the women discover about Mrs. Wright is laughable to the men. If Mr. Wright was anything like the other men, I could understand why Mrs. Wright was unhappy.
Abby: But killing her husband just brought her to another cage!
Me: Like a bird, I suppose. Maybe this cage is more satisfying than the cage of her marriage.
Abby: So does that mean Mrs. Wright was crazy after-all?
Me: Once again, I don't know. Her mental state was "queer" when Mr. Hale visited her after the murder, but that doesn't mean it wasn't disturbed before the murder either. I guess it's for the readers or audience to decide.
I love your idea about the mental conditions of the characters! I agree that Mrs Wright's behavior was not alright, like why would she choke her husband when she had a gun in her house? or why wouldn't she hide the evidences of the motive to avoid being put in the jail? I mean, even her kitchen is the main evidence of her disturbed mind. I don't know whether Mrs Wright had schizophrenia or nor, but she was obviously sooo not logical
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