Because Trifles is a murder mystery in which the sleuths decide to hide the evidence of the crime and thus end by aiding the murderer, the play leaves open the question of the meaning of duty and justice. For men such as George Henderson and Henry Peters, the concept of law and order is intricately linked with duty and justice, and at first, Mrs. Peters ascribes to the same interpretation. Consequently, whenever Mrs. Hale criticizes the men for their heavy-handed methods of investigation, Mrs. Peters, who is also the sheriff's wife, apologizes for the men because she sees them as performing their duty. However, Mrs. Hale convinces her that true justice would involve punishing everyone who had neglected and isolated Minnie Wright, and that Mrs. Wright was perhaps justified in her retaliation against her husband. Appropriately, the name of the short story adapted from Trifles is "A Jury of Her Peers," indicating that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters have served as an impromptu jury and have chosen to dismiss the charges in the name of justice and their duty as women.