A Bushwoman's Virtues: Characterization and the Symbolism of The Drover's Wife Anonymous 12th Grade

The main character in “The Drover’s Wife” by Henry Lawson is the drover’s wife, whose perspective dominates the entire story. The play is centered around the hardships that she encounters at the time she is solely responsible for raising her four children in the bush. The author shaped Molly into a courageous, protective and independent bush woman through the emphasis of her experiences.

Although she is being isolated from the metropolis, she is still caught up into the various frills of civilization by the fact that she reads the Young Ladies Journal. Her ideal life is in sharp contrast with her real-life which aims to stimulate the understanding of her eagerness and situation. Molly is living a life far from which she desires to have, experience in the outside cities. She also uses the magazine to give her company as she keeps guard. This demonstrates that she consistently desires to maintain the connection with social world no matter the struggles she undergoes through.

However, their finances were depleted after they underwent a draught, and this forced them to leave their comforts and face a more solitary existence in the outback. From this experience, she gained the ability to accept her fate and the harsh life she was...