Inherit the Wind Lesson Plan

What does Drummond mean when he says, "You murder a wife, it isn't nearly as bad as murdering an old wives' tale?"

Drummond says this in response to Cates, who complains that the town looks like him as if he were a murderer. He says the townspeople look at him as if they actually hate him, not simply as if he is suggesting a different way of thinking. Drummond's statement suggests that since Cates's actions seem to be challenging religion ("an old wives' tale"), the people of Hillsboro are more upset than anything because they want badly to believe it with certainty. Cates's actions, and the subsequent trial, cast doubt on the traditional religious beliefs that the...