Techniques for a Changing Character: Analyzing Molly in The Drover's Wife by Leah Purcell Anonymous 12th Grade

The protagonist in “The Drover’s Wife” by Leah Purcell is Molly, known as the drover’s wife, whose perspective dominates the entire play. The play is centered around the hardships that she encounters at the time she is solely responsible for raising her four children in the bush. Purcell employs Molly’s personality to engage the audience constantly by provoking intense emotional responses to her actions through languages and dramatic tensions.

At the beginning of the play, Molly is presented as a strong woman who is being racist and fiercely antagonistic to the strangers, making her an unsympathetic character. The play commences with the intrusion of an injured aboriginal man. The depiction of a racist is apparent to the audience from Molly’s opening dialogue, “Don’t you move, ya black bastard!”, revealing that she is trapped in the mentality that all indigenous people are problems. Her strength is clearly demonstrated by the action that she points the gun at McNealy despite her heavily pregnant condition, proving not only her willingness to defend herself but also the fear of strangers. She also stabs McNealy in the thigh which exemplifies she will use violence as protection for herself and her children. Bush has always been...