Gender and Power Theme Analysis

The mid-19th-century settlement in the Australian wilderness is a patriarchal society, governed and operated by men, with women relegated primarily to keeping the home or supporting their husbands. Despite this social system, women in the novel play a critical role, exhibiting strength in the face of men’s weakness. The book contrasts men’s power, which is all about being perceived as strong and dominating, with women’s power, which is based upon their own quiet, internal strength and surety of conviction. Ultimately, the novel suggests that although men have more social authority, women are just as powerful and are often the true sources of strength in their communities.

Although the men of the settlement occupy leadership roles, their belief in their own power is fragile and dependent on their peers’ perception of them, suggesting that men’s patriarchal power is far flimsier than it first appears. In the first scene of the novel, young Lachlan “captures” Gemmy by pretending a stick he is holding is a rifle and marching Gemmy into town as a hostage. For Lachlan, the feeling of dominating another person and the brief admiration he receives from the adults make him feel powerful, like a “real” man. However, that feeling of power vanishes with just a quick cuff from Jock, demonstrating that Lachlan’s manly power is merely a fantasy. As Gemmy later observes to himself, “His power lay in your recognizing that he possessed it,” suggesting that Lachlan’s sense of power is really only others’ perception of power. While Lachlan’s power fantasies seem like the whims of a child, the adult men of the settlement display much of the same behavior. Just as Lachlan dwells on being perceived as powerful, so too do Jock and the other patriarchs of the settlement spend much of their time concerned with whether their neighbors perceive them as tough, masculine, and strong. When Gemmy shows any physical affection towards Jock, Jock immediately becomes self-conscious and uncomfortable, afraid that being seen held onto or hugged by Gemmy will make him seem weak or effeminate. This insecurity and need to project an image of masculine power suggests that for the men of the settlement, their belief in their own power or strength is actually quite frail.

In sharp contrast to the self-consciousness of the settlement’s men, the women in the novel, though often dominated by men, are invariably tough, hardworking, and self-confident. In contrast to Jock’s need for others to perceive him as powerful, his wife Ellen carries none of the same insecurity and instead commits herself to the challenges before her: “She lived in the demands of the moment […] and was too high-spirited, too independent, to care whether other women approved of her.” Although Jock and Lachlan are gripped with gloom and inertia each morning, Ellen pushes them and the other children to rise for the day and set about their work, “establishing the precarious order that […] would make the day lurch and move forward on its ordinary course.” Ellen’s strength and drive create a marked contrast to Jock, Lachlan, and all the other men’s general insecurity and lack of motivation. Though Ellen’s daughter Janet is frustrated by Lachlan’s assumptions that “he was superior, should take the lead in all their doings, and that she must naturally yield to him,” Janet exhibits the toughness and strength of character that Lachlan himself desires but lacks. When Gemmy is attacked and abducted from the McIvors’ home in the middle of the night by vindictive settlers, Janet waits outside in the darkness—while Lachlan sleeps inside like a child—for Jock to bring Gemmy back, with no fear of the dark wilderness surrounding them or the danger that might be hiding there. The quiet internal strength she shows here confirms for Janet’s parents and herself that in spite of Lachlan’s bravado, she is the strongest, most powerful child in the family. When Gemmy needs more protection than the McIvors can give him, he is taken to Mrs. Hutchence, an older woman who lives in the biggest house in the settlement, miles from anyone else, with a young woman named Leona. Like Ellen and Janet, Mrs. Hutchence and Leona are notably self-assured and capable, maintaining their home and property without the aid of a patriarchal figure. That Mrs. Hutchence’s house seems the safest place for Gemmy to stay once again suggests the power of the novel’s women, with or without men present.

Overall, this contrast between men and women’s power in the settlement suggests that, although men are attributed more social authority, women are the true source of a community’s strength. Although the men are technically the leaders of both their families and the settlement community, they are so concerned with the perception of their frail power that they rarely find the strength to act—though both Jock and Lachlan eventually develop in this regard. Meanwhile, the women in the book consistently demonstrate their own strength and initiative, even if their small society offers them less authority or potential for their futures. Through the example of the settlement, the novel indicates that despite women’s societal disempowerment, they may be stronger and more capable than their male counterparts.