Structure

The short story “The Drover’s Wife” by Henry Lawson has a linear plot structure. A small introduction starts off the narrative, outlining the setting: a “two-roomed house” (p. 1, l. 1), and a “big bark kitchen” (p. 1, l. 2), in the middle of flat country, far from “the nearest sign of civilization” (p. 1, l. 6). The characters are also briefly presented. The drover, who is “away with the sheep” (p. 1, l. 7), while “his wife and children are left here alone” (p. 1, l. 7). This builds suspense, creating the expectation of danger, which is fulfilled in the next paragraph when one of the children spots a snake (p. 1, ll. 8-9).

There are several flashbacks in the story, in which the drover’s wife remembers how she dealt with past challenges. One flashback mentions her fighting a flood all by...