Question

MRS. HALE. It’s log cabin pattern. Pretty, isn’t it? I wonder if she was goin’ to quilt or just knot it? (Footsteps have been heard coming down the stairs. The Sheriff enters, followed by Hale and the County Attorney.) SHERIFF. They wonder if she was going to quilt or just knot it. (The men laugh, the women look abashed.) What is ironic about this excerpt?

Answer 1

The irony is that while the men find the women's quilting discussion laughable and trivial, these details are actually pivotal clues in the investigation that they are dismissively overlooking.

Step-by-step explanation:

The irony in the excerpt from Susan Glaspell's play A Jury of Her Peers lies in the dismissive attitude of the men towards the women's discussion of quilting, which is actually a crucial detail in understanding the larger situation of the protagonist, Mrs. Wright. The men laugh at the women's concern over whether Mrs. Wright was going to quilt or knot her quilt, seeing it as trivial and irrelevant to the murder investigation. This moment of dramatic irony highlights the gender divide and societal norms that undervalue women's perspectives. The women’s domestic knowledge becomes key in uncovering evidence of Mrs. Wright's motive, which the men, with their condescending attitudes, overlook.

Answer 2

I believe that what is ironic about this excerpt is that the men believe the women are incapable of discovering anything of substance when, in fact, they are the ones who discover evidence.
The women are the ones who are able to see such subtle clues as her stitching, which is something that men don't usually pay any attention to. However, her stitching gave women a reason to believe that she was disturbed by something, and ultimately come to the bottom of the whole crime that happened, which is quite ironic given that the "detectives" couldn't do it.