Has your thinking about the story, The Drover s Wife been challenged or reshaped by this transcript of Dr.

Tasker s lecture?

Dr. Tasker has positioned the Drover s wife as forlorn, burdened with responsibilities for herself and her children. Her duties restrict her individual freedom and the audience generates a sense of pathos towards her hard work as a mother and housewife. The audience has to empathise the drover s wife past experience of losing a ten month old son, which also may be the reason why she is so afflicted with pain and stress. Dr. Tasker s lecture about The Drover s Wife has made me ponder the barriers and obstacles a wife has to overcome in order for her family to obtain a living standard. She constantly works hard in order to lift up beyond a mother s expectations. The events that have happened in her life such as the killing of the snake, firing bullets at a mad bullock ,and fighting crows and eagles suggests her perseverance to perform her duties in order to protect her family. It is in fact true that she is a representative figure in the story as it could relate to all women during the time period. The wife is portrayed as a strong woman who completes a man s work while her husband is away. Therefore, Dr. Tasker s lecture has challenged me to think twice about a woman s hard work and realize that life isn t easy as we all suffer pain and responsibilities throughout our lives.