A Gendered Bush: Mansfield and Australian Drovers’ Wives

Abstract

Discusses contemporary rewritings of Lawson's 'The Drover's Wife', including versions by Murray Bail, Frank Moorhouse, Barbara Jefferis, Anna Gambling and Ola Masters/ Argues that these re-creations are also closely related to Katherine Mansfield's 'The Woman at the Store' (1911), and respond to the gender of their authors: 'whereas male renderings direct their effort towards breaking the myth of 'Australian bush realism', the women concentrate mainly on the character of the woman as such, on the gaps left in the original text.'

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Published 1 June 1991 in European Perspectives: Contemporary Essays on Australian Literature. Subjects: Australian culture, Bush, Gender roles, Myths & legends, New Zealand literature & writers, Women, Henry Lawson.

Cite as: Carrera-Suarez, Isabel. ‘A Gendered Bush: Mansfield and Australian Drovers’ Wives.’ Australian Literary Studies, vol. 15, no. 2, 1991, doi: 10.20314/als.9116cdf314.