The Drover's Wife Play Quotes

The issues of violence in nineteenth-century, Australia is conveyed through Leah Purcell’s play, ‘The Drover’s Wife’, demonstrating dangers that the characters faced, through Barbara Baynton’s short story, ‘The Chosen Vessel’ depicting the threat of sexual violence as well as through Louisa Lawson’s essay, ‘The Australian Bush-Woman’, which conveys male violence against women in the nineteenth-century, Australia.
Throughout Leah Purcell’s play, ‘The Drover’s Wife’ Molly is secretly scared and prepared for any dangers that she may face and this is evident through her stating, “I always have it loaded”, (p.17) referring to the gun that she always has on hand. This conveys the danger that the drover’s wife had experienced from the bullock and utilises a gun in order to protect herself as well as her children. Additionally, stage directions are utilised throughout the entire play in order for the audience to visually see as well as to experience what is happening and the characters actions. This is evident through, “she lifts his torn and tattered shirt with the rifle, and there is a very infected stab wound on his lower back” and “McPharlen rapes Drover’s Wife” (Purcell p.1). Furthermore, this demonstrates that the violence that the …show more content…
This is evident through, “But in the past, when she had dared to speak of the dangers to which her loneliness exposed her, he had taunted and sneered at her” (Baynton p.2). Baynton symbolises “dangers” as the threat of sexual violence towards the wife. Furthermore, this demonstrates that the wife was terrified more of her husband even with the threat of sexual violence that she had encountered from the swagman. Moreover, the husband calls his wife “cur”, (Baynton p.1) suggesting that other males won’t view her as an attractive female as well as denying her female