Central to the conflict of the drama—which is central to all of the works of Aeschylus—is the nature of justice. The play contrasts the divine justice of Zeus and the rule of law with the use of force: when the Danaides’ cousins, Egypt’s sons, want to force the Danaides into marriage, the Danaides appeal to the king of Argos, who grants them asylum after consulting his people. They also appeal to the gods, in particular to Zeus, their ancestor. When their cousins are pursuing them at sea, the Danaides call upon Zeus to drown the young men:

Thrust back their swift-rowed bark again,
Repel them, urge them to the main!
And there, ’mid storm and lightning’s shine,
And scudding drift and thunder’s roar,
Deep death be theirs, in stormy brine!
Before they foully grasp and win
Us, maiden-children of their kin.

Although the second two plays of the trilogy are no longer extant, the plot resolution may well have been similar to that in the Oresteia, in which steps are taken to reconcile human and divine justice through the creation of legal systems and precedents.

The women, in their pleas for sanctuary, argue their point mostly on the basis of mythology, using past interactions between humans and gods as evidence to support their cause. Based on this knowledge of mythology, they argue that these precedents determine that the will of the gods is in their favor.

This use of mythological references also attests to the extensive religious duties that women had in the Greek social tradition and illustrates the piety of the women who are pleading their case. Furthermore, the chastity of the women is emphasized through their invocation of Artemis (as a goddess of chastity). Because chastity constituted an important feature of piety in their culture, this invocation helps to ground their objections to their marriage on the basis that it would violate this chastity and thus strengthens their case.

There is tension in the drama between the power of the autocrat and the justice of democratic consultation. While the women plead for Pelasgus to act as a king and simply decide to defend them, Pelasgus resolves to consult his subjects on the matter. Regardless of the justice of the Danaides’ case, the king recognizes that harboring them could have negative impacts on his subjects and thus decides to let them determine the women’s fate. Thus, Aeschylus puts forth the ideal traits of a democratic ruler: one who cares about the opinions and welfare of his subjects and trusts in their judgment.