4 Stories 
English
Short Stories
The Drover’s Wife
Summary
In “The Drover’s Wife,” Lawson acknowledges the hardships of Australian women living in the bush. This story was unique in its time, as a female protagonist was uncommon. Stories from this period focused on the men living in the outback the drovers and their struggle, they dismissed the life of a woman waiting at home suffering in silence during their husbands long periods of absence. In the Drover’s Wife, Lawson sheds light on the life of such women, allowing the reader insight into their often-heroic actions as he creates authentic depictions of their existence in the bush, and their fight to make it home. In this story, we learn about one such woman, struggling against all odds to protect her family against the elements and being shaped by the landscape that she inhabits.
Setting
The House
Quaint, minimalist, having just the bare necessities of life. “The kitchen has no floor or rather, an earthen one- called a “ground floor”.
The two-roomed house is built of round timber, slabs, and stringy-bark, and floored with split slabs. A big bark kitchen standing at one end is larger than the house itself, veranda included”.
Characterization
Gaunt sun-browned bush woman”
She is not a coward
She is used to being left alone
As a girl she built the usual castles in the air, but all her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead.
Literary Techniques
Imagery
The surrounding landscape as described by Lawson provides the reader with a visual image of the Australian Bush, this image also extends to reflect the appearance of the persona and her children a product of the environment and their experiences.
Flashbacks
In her husbands absence “she fought a bushfire”, “a flood”, “and the pleura-pneumonia”, and “a mad bullock”. She has also needed to protect herself and the family from the odd “villainous looking sundowner”, “gallows-faced swagman” and black-bellied snake. She also finds times to shoo the “cows
Short Stories
The Drover’s Wife
Summary
In “The Drover’s Wife,” Lawson acknowledges the hardships of Australian women living in the bush. This story was unique in its time, as a female protagonist was uncommon. Stories from this period focused on the men living in the outback the drovers and their struggle, they dismissed the life of a woman waiting at home suffering in silence during their husbands long periods of absence. In the Drover’s Wife, Lawson sheds light on the life of such women, allowing the reader insight into their often-heroic actions as he creates authentic depictions of their existence in the bush, and their fight to make it home. In this story, we learn about one such woman, struggling against all odds to protect her family against the elements and being shaped by the landscape that she inhabits.
Setting
The House
Quaint, minimalist, having just the bare necessities of life. “The kitchen has no floor or rather, an earthen one- called a “ground floor”.
The two-roomed house is built of round timber, slabs, and stringy-bark, and floored with split slabs. A big bark kitchen standing at one end is larger than the house itself, veranda included”.
Characterization
Gaunt sun-browned bush woman”
She is not a coward
She is used to being left alone
As a girl she built the usual castles in the air, but all her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead.
Literary Techniques
Imagery
The surrounding landscape as described by Lawson provides the reader with a visual image of the Australian Bush, this image also extends to reflect the appearance of the persona and her children a product of the environment and their experiences.
Flashbacks
In her husbands absence “she fought a bushfire”, “a flood”, “and the pleura-pneumonia”, and “a mad bullock”. She has also needed to protect herself and the family from the odd “villainous looking sundowner”, “gallows-faced swagman” and black-bellied snake. She also finds times to shoo the “cows