Remembering Babylon: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Five months after Gemmy began living with them, Jock McIvor constantly tries to convince his neighbors—especially Barney Mason—that Gemmy is harmless. Even so, Jock is still ill at ease around Gemmy. He had agreed to let him live with them at the request of Ellen and the children, but internally he feels a revulsion towards the man; Jock thinks that Gemmy seems “pathetic,” and whenever Gemmy tries to touch Jock out of appreciation or affection, Jock gets angry. Jock’s appeals to Barney not to worry are thus only half-honest, but Barney is a natural worrier as it is. Barney distrusts Gemmy, and Jock resents the distance the situation puts between himself and his closest friend.

In such isolation, good neighbors are a critical asset, and Jock and Barney’s wives and children are close to each other. But when Gemmy arrives, Barney begins watching the boundaries of his property, always checking to see if someone has trespassed, though he never finds signs that someone has. Jock meets the “ritual complaint” with “ritual reassurance.” Ned remarks, however, that he wonders if Gemmy is in secret contact with his former tribesmen and notes that Jock should be worried about leaving Gemmy around his wife. Jock is embarrassed and disappointed that none of the other men defend him, not even Jim Sweetman. However, Jock now begins to recognize the shallowness and posturing of these men, something that he never used to consider. It saddens him to realize it.

Watching Jock react to Gemmy, Ellen thinks back to the version of her husband she was initially attracted to, a ruddy “mixture of forcefulness and almost girlish modesty.” In their early years, although they talk of moving to Canada, together they choose Australia instead, drawn to its sunlight and open air. However, as soon as they arrived in Brisbane, “Jock turned gloomy, and she saw for the first time that the sunniness she had seen was not his real nature.” Life in Brisbane is harsh and the people dour, so they move to Darling Downs for menial work. Ellen gives birth to Janet, then loses a boy and a girl. Jock’s gloom worsens. When land to the north opens, they move again to homestead, but the harshness of the environment makes Jock even more stern and joyless, taking the last of his youthfulness out of him.

Although Ellen misses home like Jock does, she is tough and cares little for what others think of her, putting all her energy to meeting “the demands of the moment.” The other wives visit sometimes, always with nervous question about Gemmy, fearful of what he represents. Ellen chides them and reminds them that Gemmy is white. She has her own fears, which arise sometimes at night when she’s thinking about the strange man sleeping next to their hut, but she breathes deeply until they pass.

Each morning, before sunrise, Ellen rises, lights the fire, and coaxes everyone else from sleep. In the waking hours, Jock’s gloom is always at its worst and the household cannot function without her pushing them forward and setting the pace for the day’s work ahead. Lachlan always drags his feet as well, trying to avoid his chore of chopping wood until Ellen threatens him with a stern voice.