The Drover's Wife Quotes

An exposed and desolate house set in the untamed outback is the setting of ‘The Drover’s Wife’. Lawson describes the two-roomed house as being “built of stringy bark”. Similarly, he identifies the environment around the house, such as “bushes… of rotten native apple-trees” and a “waterless creek”. Lawson further explains the surroundings and her isolation in this quote “Bush all round- bush with no horizon…the country is flat”, here Lawson has used the word “no horizon” to state that there is nothing in the distance. This allows the reader to visualize the bush as being clear, flat and empty. These quotes demonstrate that the family is poor and lives a difficult life because the house is made of stringy bark; this offers discomfort and no protection

from the climate as it can break easily. ‘Native rotten apple trees’ tells the readers about the challenging life that the family is living in because nothing is growing around them, so they are finding difficult to locate food in the outback. The ‘waterless creek’ shows how problematic her life is because, without water, no one can survive, which means nothing is easy. The hard and desolate setting of this story further emphasizes this battle between a woman and the natural environment.

2. What is drover? Why is he away from home? How long has he been away? How has this affected his family?
The drover in Henry Lawson’s short story is an individual, who transports animals for great distances from one place to another to earn money.

Lawson explains that “his wife and children are left here alone” for months at a time or even years. This has affected his family because the wife has to do all the jobs alone, including protecting herself and the children from the obstacles, such as a snake. In the 1880’s, man is the protector of the family, but now she has to take that role and deal with the asperities of life in the desolated area. Furthermore, the wife is anxious about her husband, however, more worried about her children from the difficulties she has to face daily. After fighting all the hardships alone, she has become more independent, resilient, brave. Therefore, ‘The Drover’s Wife’ explicates that the wife and family’s lives are more arduous than the drover’s because they have to deal with complications all alone without a man to protect

them.

3. How does the author create images in the reader’s mind? Refer to at least 3 examples of imagery?
The author creates images in the reader’s mind so they can understand the struggles of the woman.

Lawson distinctively uses literary techniques, including similes, adjectives and descriptive writing in the short story, so the readers can easily visualize the personal experience of ‘what it's like for the drover’s wives to live’ in the untamed outback in the 1870’s. Lawson uses similes, such as "... she runs out, points a stick at the birds as though it were a gun." This quote displays her courage and inventiveness; the quality of being smart and clever, that she thinks stick as a gun to scare the birds. The gun creates images in the reader’s mind as she has to protect herself and the children against nature. Lawson distinctively used descriptive writing to emphasize the feeling of desolation and lifelessness, such as the bushes are hanging depressed around the ‘waterless creek’, which signifies that the wife and the family are alone without a man for protection. Furthermore, Lawson uses adjectives to describe other words in specific details, such as, “everlasting, maddening sameness of the stunted trees”. The quote explains the grotesque and trailing environment she must endure. Hence, imagery techniques are used to understand the character’s situation and feel empathetic to all the drover’s

wives.

4. What is the impact of the son’s final comment, ‘Mother, I will never go drovin’; blast me if I can!’?
The impact of the son’s last comment describes that he will never leave her mother alone because he sees the hardships, risks his mother and the family has to face without her father to save them. In addition, Tommy wants his mother to know that he will be there to protect her, in the same manner, she has been there for him. Tommy thinks his father has left her for so long; that is why she feels so depressed and sees the emptiness in her mother’s life; so, he does not want to be a drover because he does not want anyone to have that type of life or feel pain.
The author has chosen a child to say this line because he understands her mother’s struggles than herself, but also kids are honest with their answers rather than asking older people as they would just say ‘I am happy’. The purpose of this comment is; not to choose this life or never be a drover. In other words, it’s a warning to the readers and let all the men know what life is truly like for their wives or how difficult the life for women in the 1880’s. Overall, the son’s final comment explains the moral of the story that the wife’s life is harsh.