The Drover's Wife by Murray Bail

Damn, its a rate shame that i couldn't actually read this short story myself as it sounds like the author indeed has their facts straight... I think that everyone that lives in Adelaide understands just how small it is, despite us having a resonable population of 1.7million people. It seems like wherever you go in this world, the chance of bumping into a fellow Adelaidian is very high, hence meaning that it is very hard to escape from whats going on. My most recent experience of this was when the school took me to Canada, the amount of people living there that either know a person from Adelaide, or even use to live in Adelaide is insanely remarkable! It would been hard to comprehend that the woman in this story would be found, as finding one person out of 1.7million is slim, however it does seem that whoever you speak to or meet in the proximity of Adelaide that they will know somebody that you do, so eventually the person would be found, there's no escaping this tight society...

And as for the picture link mentioned in previous comments, it would appear that the woman had much reason for her disappearance, the hot country side wouldnt be my ideal place to be, especially when im unhappy and alone.... I sure do hope that this response was done correctly, i have the feeling i didnt do it good...

Mr. Hislop

This story is an interesting spin off of the original but stretches the story to a point where it is almost unrecognisable and has very few parallels to the classic. The woman in this story seems not to be very committed to her children at all especially when considering the commitment to her children shown by the woman from the original story. However the story is made more interesting by looking at the painting from which the story is based on, as the old saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.

Andrew Bolt

I agree that at that time Adelaide was a small town where everybody knew everything about everyone, but I don't think that Hazel's disappearance is so impossible. There are a lot of reasons as to why a woman would need to leave the town, from collecting firewood to bringing fresh water. Therefore no-one would notice if Hazel went away. Even if someone did, they would completely forget about it in two days. And once the woman was away... Well, if you could walk for 20 miles without meeting anyone, how hard would it be to hide if you wanted to?

And about not being "energetic or even enthusiastic", I think a bushwoman doesn't need to be any of this. Working hard all day in the summer heat, struggling to feed the family -- no-one would have a lot of energy left. You can see that the woman is dressed in a way very suitable for work - a wide-brimmed hat, sturdy shoes and a dress that is both light and protects against sunburn.

Besides, Murray Bail had said that "Hazel was basically shy .... quiet, generally non-committal" Why should she be enthusiastic, if her personality isn't anything like that?

Svetlana. 

This response is very in depth and accurate. It is evident that he did not know his wife very well and that he is quite an old man. Also, it is assumed that the author of this piece, Murray Bail, is very observant in that he describes many possible meanings behind seemingly meaningless details.

This is a fantastic response to the original story and painting.  There is similarities between the two stories, for example the protagonists both telling their children off; and references to the original text all the way through the story, eg. the snake under the house.  Murray Bail writes of the time as if he was around then, though he was born in 1941.

The best thing is the way that Bail makes the story believable after seeing the photo.

G 

This is a fantastic response to the original story and painting.  There is similarities between the two stories, for example the protagonists both telling their children off; and references to the original text all the way through the story, eg. the snake under the house.  Murray Bail writes of the time as if he was around then, though he was born in 1941.

The best thing is the way that Bail makes the story believable after seeing the photo.

G 

As this text is not working for me and other students all I can do is response to the statement. Adelaide is a city were whenever you go outside you will always bump into people that you know, this is why it is true that you can not hide anything from anyone as gossip travels. As for the wife, all there is is a image found at http://www.abc.net.au/arts/drysdale/paintings/30.htm this portrays an older lady that doesn’t look to energetic or even enthusiastic. 

Farid Shahin