Explain the use of narrative structure in "A Jury of Her Peers," focusing particularly on the notion of "resolution." How does the plot resolve itself? How does this resolution differ from the expected outcome of the story expressed by the townsmen looking for evidence of the crime?

One way to analyze the narrative structure of "A Jury of Her Peers" is to compare it to the standard murder mystery story. In Glaspell's short story, the sheriff and county attorney pick up Mr. Hale and bring him to the scene of the crime, where he explains how he found the body of Mr. Wright. This compares to the inciting incident of a murder mystery where the investigator learns the backstory of the crime. The difference is the presence of the women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, who are there just to pick up some items for the suspect. The investigator determines that Minnie Wright had the means and the opportunity, but the motive is unclear. Without a motive, the attorney fears a jury will have reasonable doubt about Mrs. Wright's guilt and will acquit her. As the men search for clues about motive, the women begin their mundane task.
The story differs from a murder mystery in that instead of following the investigator's investigation, it follows the women in the rising action. The women unearth clues and explore the mindset of Mrs. Wright. At what might be considered the climax of the story, they discover the dead bird with its neck broken, which links Mrs. Wright to the murder via motive and means. In a murder mystery, the resolution would follow the climax, with the investigator revealing the significance of the clue and elucidating how and why the crime happened. The fate of the criminal, who would be appropriately punished, is assumed if not specifically stated.
However, in this story, the real climax is not when the women find the clue. It is when they decide what to do with the evidence. The climax is when the two women look at each other meaningfully, and each knows the right decision is to hide the evidence, which Mrs. Hale does.
Instead of a satisfying resolution where evil is punished, readers are left with a disturbing one. The women respond to the men's taunts in a typically tolerant fashion, knowing that they conceal the evidence the men need to bring Mrs. Wright to "justice." Readers are left to wrestle with the issues raised by the story. The two women committed a crime by concealing evidence, and they protected a murderer. They took it upon themselves to act as judge and "a jury of her peers" for Mrs. Wright. Was that a better or worse implementation of justice than Mrs. Wright would have received from a male judge and twelve male jurors? Should Mrs. Wright be allowed to go free? Perhaps her jury of two felt she had already served her time in being married to an apparently abusive man for so many years. The resolution raises questions rather than providing answers, which gives the story a much different feel than the typical murder mystery.