The Drover's Wife Analysis
The Drover’s Wife by Murray Bail and The Drover’s Wife by Henry Lawson are stories that remind me of a conflict between two people. There are always two sides to every story. When I first read Lawson’s version of The Drover’s Wife, I felt remorse for the wife. It was heartbreaking to read about the horrific situations she had to go through. “She is used to being left alone. She once lived like this for eighteen months” (Lawson, 744). The description of her is an independent, strong woman. She became someone who learned how to live without her husband. Additionally, she fights to survive. Through, specific situations she protected her children and strived for survival. Consequently, to her husband’s absent she began to depend on Alligator. Therefore,
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Bail wanted to provide a different view of the story. Let everyone know we cannot trust what we see or read. There is always a story that is not being told. Bail’s version of The Drover’s Wife shows the type of person the husband was. At first, I felt remorse for the husband; it sounds as if she was the one who left him and ended up with the Drover. “That a woman has left a husband and two children” (Bail, 789)? Moreover, he continues by saying “....as if it were my fault” (Bail, 789). As the story continues, I see how maybe it might have been the way he treated her which caused her to leave. The section where he discusses her falling and telling her “Come on don’t be stupid. Get up” (Bail, 790). By speaking to her in this manner, he was showing her how he truly felt about her. He thought that he could continue to mistreat her, and she wouldn’t leave. Besides, some of the things that annoyed him were things that were out of her control for example: “The sight of sweat under her arms, for instance, somehow put me in a bad mood” (Bail, 790). In the end, he realized how awful he was treating her “When I realized she had gone I sat for nights in the lounge with the lights out” (Bail, 791). Nevertheless, it was too late by the time he realized all of
Bail wanted to provide a different view of the story. Let everyone know we cannot trust what we see or read. There is always a story that is not being told. Bail’s version of The Drover’s Wife shows the type of person the husband was. At first, I felt remorse for the husband; it sounds as if she was the one who left him and ended up with the Drover. “That a woman has left a husband and two children” (Bail, 789)? Moreover, he continues by saying “....as if it were my fault” (Bail, 789). As the story continues, I see how maybe it might have been the way he treated her which caused her to leave. The section where he discusses her falling and telling her “Come on don’t be stupid. Get up” (Bail, 790). By speaking to her in this manner, he was showing her how he truly felt about her. He thought that he could continue to mistreat her, and she wouldn’t leave. Besides, some of the things that annoyed him were things that were out of her control for example: “The sight of sweat under her arms, for instance, somehow put me in a bad mood” (Bail, 790). In the end, he realized how awful he was treating her “When I realized she had gone I sat for nights in the lounge with the lights out” (Bail, 791). Nevertheless, it was too late by the time he realized all of