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Abstract: In The Drover’s Wife, Henry Lawson presents us a typical image of an Australian bushwoman. Through the analysis of the protagonist, the author’s exquisite craftsmanship is exhibited vividly. The seemingly artless and plain sketch indeed reinforces the character of the bushwoman with sufficient courage, perseverance, ingenuity, and humor.
Key words: Henry Lawson; bushwoman; sketch
In the short story The Drover’s wife, Henry Lawson paints a realistic sketch of the harsh life of an ordinary woman in the Australian bush, condensing so many seemingly minor and negligible but virtually significant incidents in the life of the bushwoman into ten short pages. Even Edward Garnett, a well-known English critic, once commented that “even Tolstoy has never done better.”(Garnett 67) Such high praise makes with reason a good judgement of the great contribution Lawson has made to the native Australian literature.
About the story the characterization of the bushwoman might be the most remarkable. When a dangerous venomous snake slips under the house and treatened her four dear children’s lives, she piles her four children on top of a table and sacrifices a whole night’s sleep to keep watch for the snake. Women tend to be vulnerable but she shows great courage and bravery in the fight against the snake which is actually the representative of her enemy- the bush in a large sense.While waiting for the snake, the past incidences flashes through her mind one by one.
After the marriage to a drover, she has to suffer from a life of separation and loneliness. All her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead. And there are countless fights. True is it that the bushlife is tough, but the drover’s wife never loses her keen sense of humor which constantly saves her from tears and despair.
Harsh life doesn’t reduce her tenderness. Her love for her husband and children is beyond everything. Every time her husband returns, the woman is very happy. She usually gets him something good to eat, and tidies up the children. The bushwoman loves her children above all, but has no time to show it. The children have a very harsh impression of her. Still, in the last sentence we see proof of her love for them, “And she hugs him to her worn-out breast and kisses him; and they sit thus together while the sickly daylight breaks over the bush.”
All these reminisces help us get a full awareness of the hardship of bushlife and the most important of all, a much more rounded character although the physical description is brief, “she’s gaunt and sun-browned.”.
However, it seems that Henry Lawson has a very deep and underlying intention when writing the short story. He presents a vivid characterization of the drover’s wife but refuses to give the character a name. All we know is that she’s a drove’s wife. Besides, most of the short story is told in present tense. The reason might be that Lawson tends to tell us a story that might happen anytime in the nation and to present us an ordinary woman who is actually the representative for all the bush people who are brave, perseverant, courageous and strong-willed in general. With the whole life of the bushwoman laid before us, a kind of national spirit or ethics is also conveyed. Hence, a universality is achieved through the little sketch.
Henry Lawson depicts the bushlife as it is. For him although harsh and severe, the bush is quite unique and different from the European lands. It highly features this piece of native land and is revered as a source of national ideals. Romanticizing the bush in this way is a big step forward for Australians in their steps toward self-identity.
The point of view used in The Drovers Wife is the third person limited voice. Lawson has told the story from the bush woman’s perspective which allows us to see into her thoughts and feelings. Since the woman is the main character as well, we are given a complete and realistic portrait of a woman’s life in the bush.
参考文献
［1］陈正发，张明.大洋洲文学选读［M］.合肥：安徽大学出版社，2000.
Key words: Henry Lawson; bushwoman; sketch
In the short story The Drover’s wife, Henry Lawson paints a realistic sketch of the harsh life of an ordinary woman in the Australian bush, condensing so many seemingly minor and negligible but virtually significant incidents in the life of the bushwoman into ten short pages. Even Edward Garnett, a well-known English critic, once commented that “even Tolstoy has never done better.”(Garnett 67) Such high praise makes with reason a good judgement of the great contribution Lawson has made to the native Australian literature.
About the story the characterization of the bushwoman might be the most remarkable. When a dangerous venomous snake slips under the house and treatened her four dear children’s lives, she piles her four children on top of a table and sacrifices a whole night’s sleep to keep watch for the snake. Women tend to be vulnerable but she shows great courage and bravery in the fight against the snake which is actually the representative of her enemy- the bush in a large sense.While waiting for the snake, the past incidences flashes through her mind one by one.
After the marriage to a drover, she has to suffer from a life of separation and loneliness. All her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead. And there are countless fights. True is it that the bushlife is tough, but the drover’s wife never loses her keen sense of humor which constantly saves her from tears and despair.
Harsh life doesn’t reduce her tenderness. Her love for her husband and children is beyond everything. Every time her husband returns, the woman is very happy. She usually gets him something good to eat, and tidies up the children. The bushwoman loves her children above all, but has no time to show it. The children have a very harsh impression of her. Still, in the last sentence we see proof of her love for them, “And she hugs him to her worn-out breast and kisses him; and they sit thus together while the sickly daylight breaks over the bush.”
All these reminisces help us get a full awareness of the hardship of bushlife and the most important of all, a much more rounded character although the physical description is brief, “she’s gaunt and sun-browned.”.
However, it seems that Henry Lawson has a very deep and underlying intention when writing the short story. He presents a vivid characterization of the drover’s wife but refuses to give the character a name. All we know is that she’s a drove’s wife. Besides, most of the short story is told in present tense. The reason might be that Lawson tends to tell us a story that might happen anytime in the nation and to present us an ordinary woman who is actually the representative for all the bush people who are brave, perseverant, courageous and strong-willed in general. With the whole life of the bushwoman laid before us, a kind of national spirit or ethics is also conveyed. Hence, a universality is achieved through the little sketch.
Henry Lawson depicts the bushlife as it is. For him although harsh and severe, the bush is quite unique and different from the European lands. It highly features this piece of native land and is revered as a source of national ideals. Romanticizing the bush in this way is a big step forward for Australians in their steps toward self-identity.
The point of view used in The Drovers Wife is the third person limited voice. Lawson has told the story from the bush woman’s perspective which allows us to see into her thoughts and feelings. Since the woman is the main character as well, we are given a complete and realistic portrait of a woman’s life in the bush.
参考文献
［1］陈正发，张明.大洋洲文学选读［M］.合肥：安徽大学出版社，2000.