The Drover’s Wife
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Themes
All Themes Humankind vs. Nature Gender Colonialism and Racism Isolation and Vulnerability Thwarted Desire and Poverty
Quotes
Characters
All Characters The Bushwoman Tommy Alligator The Drover King Jimmy
Terms
All Terms Drover Bush Squat Gin Sundowner/Swagman Perambulator
Symbols
All Symbols The Snake The Hollow Woodpile The Young Ladies’ Journal
Literary Devices
All Literary Devices Dialect Flashbacks Frame Story Genre Imagery Mood Motifs Setting Style Tone
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The Drover’s Wife

by

Henry Lawson

Sundowner/Swagman Term Analysis

A sundowner or a swagman is an itinerant worker in the Australian bush. The bushwoman is sometimes visited by sundowners and swagmen who demand things from her when they realize that her husband is away.
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