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Nick’s Father
The Indian woman is the reason for Nick’s father’s trip to the “Indian camp.” She has been in labor for two days and requires medical attention because her child is being born in breech position (meaning bottom instead of head first). She is subjected to great pain throughout the story, both in enduring a complicated childbirth and a surgery without anesthetic. Her screams echo through the camp. In the face of great pain, she demonstrates strength, and is ultimately able to survive the operation, successfully delivering a baby boy with the help of Nick’s father. Her husband, however, commits suicide at some point during the operation. (Note that the story refers to the woman as "Indian," which is now considered outdated terminology for American Indian/Native American people.)
The Indian Woman Quotes in Indian Camp
The Indian Camp quotes below are all either spoken by The Indian Woman or refer to The Indian Woman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Indian Camp
Quotes
Inside on a wooden bunk lay a young Indian woman. She had been trying to have her baby for two days. All the old women in the camp had been helping her. The men had moved off up the road to sit in the dark and smoke out of range of the noise she made. She screamed just as Nick and the two Indians followed his father and Uncle George into the shanty.
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“Listen to me. What she is going through is called being in labor. The baby wants to be born and she wants it to be born. All her muscles are trying to get the baby born. That is what happening when she screams.”
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“Oh, Daddy, can’t you give her something to make her stop screaming?” asked Nick.
“No. I haven’t any anesthetic,” his father said. “But her screams are not important. I don’t hear them because they are not important.”
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Later when he started to operate Uncle George and three Indian men held the woman still. She bit Uncle George on the arm and Uncle George said, “Damn squaw bitch!” and the young Indian who had rowed Uncle George over laughed at him.
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Get the entire Indian Camp LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Indian Woman Quotes in Indian Camp
The Indian Camp quotes below are all either spoken by The Indian Woman or refer to The Indian Woman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Indian Camp
Quotes
Inside on a wooden bunk lay a young Indian woman. She had been trying to have her baby for two days. All the old women in the camp had been helping her. The men had moved off up the road to sit in the dark and smoke out of range of the noise she made. She screamed just as Nick and the two Indians followed his father and Uncle George into the shanty.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Listen to me. What she is going through is called being in labor. The baby wants to be born and she wants it to be born. All her muscles are trying to get the baby born. That is what happening when she screams.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Oh, Daddy, can’t you give her something to make her stop screaming?” asked Nick.
“No. I haven’t any anesthetic,” his father said. “But her screams are not important. I don’t hear them because they are not important.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Later when he started to operate Uncle George and three Indian men held the woman still. She bit Uncle George on the arm and Uncle George said, “Damn squaw bitch!” and the young Indian who had rowed Uncle George over laughed at him.
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