Drover’s Wife Reflection Essay

The Drover’s Wife, whose writer is Henry Lawson, portrays a bushwoman who was left to live in a small house with four children and one snake-dog while her husband was away droving. One day, when a snake entered the house, her house-dog, her son, Tommy, and she tried to kill it, but it disappeared into the cracks. While sitting, sewing and watching for the snake all night, she thought of her past hard times such as droughts, floods, bulls, drunken man and swagman. Finally, when dawn approached, the snake came out; it was killed and burnt. The drover’s wife is the character whom I am interested in the most due to a few reasons. Firstly, she is a responsible wife and a protective mother; for instance, to maintain the properties her husband had earned for years, she struggled to dig an overflow gutter in a rainstorm, which was too hard for a woman. Also, she protected her children from danger by spending all night guarding them carefully. Lastly, she is brave; despite risks, she went into the flames just to save her baby. I think if other people face this situation, they might do nothing besides weeping. After reading this story, I have gained an important experience which is that woman, herself, has to be independent and responsible because living in society is complicated as she might encounter many difficulties and cannot always depend on other people or men. As can be seen, although the bonny drover’s wife was left with four children and had to deal with the hardships of life, she independently strived to protect herself and children and overcame each challenge. Although the story is short, it has captured almost all my attention and has provided many useful tips for livings; thus, I would strongly encourage my friends to read it in order to let them perceive the precious experiences and develop their personal growth.