Acquiescence (noun): consent without protest.
Source: Webster’s New World 4th Edition (pocket dictionary).
In Glaspell’s A Jury of Her Peers the county attorney and sheriff are trashing Mrs. Wright’s house. They complain on how bad of a housewife she was because the house is messy when they look for evidence. So Mrs. Hale gets mad and almost offended as if it were her home. She even says in a mad tone that she would not like it if someone came to her house and criticized how she kept it and made a mess of it. “‘Of course it’s no more than their duty,’ said the sheriff’s wife, in a manner of timid acquiescence.” Her shyness does not allow her to protest or speak up. She is a more submissive wife than Mrs. Hale.
Diana Galvez
