The environment that the drover’s wife lives in is a very bushy, dry and drought conditioned “The drought of 18- ruined him”. The landscape shapes her character because she is isolated from civilization and there needs to be independent “bushes all around with no horizon” this builds up her character of not being a stereotypical female. She has sacrificed her femininity because “Her surroundings are not favourable to be development of the ‘womanly’ or sentimental side of nature”. The quote breaks the stereotypical female image as she gave up being a woman
in order to live with her surroundings. The environment she lives in is life threatening “the fire threatened to burn her out” this states that the drover’s wife is a strong individual woman who is capable of handling life threatening situations. The drover’s wife fights many battles without her husband, and each struggle makes her stronger.
The drover’s wife is described by the narrator as “gaunt, sun-browned” which achieves the concept that she is weak, thin and endangered to the severe elements of the bush. She is also portrayed as a brave woman, “not a coward” as she has to take care of her four children alone for several months while her husband is out droving. The snake bit is only one of the many incidents she has to take care of. When she first spots the snake she acts with calmness and simplicity. She makes sure her kids are calm and not stressed about the situation. “Now then, don’t frighten the child. Go to sleep” this builds up her character of being calm and is able to mange herself without her husband and is able to take care of any situation. The drover’s wife says she “is used to being left alone. She once lived like this for eighteen months” this portrays that she is an independent women taking the male role while her husband is out droving. She misses her husband terribly, but even though they are apart she is use to it “they are used to being apart, or at least she is”. She is a self-supporting character that is able to do things independently.