Ray Bradbury's "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" tells of how a family moves from Earth to Mars because a nuclear war breaks out on Earth. The father of the family, Harry Bittering, becomes suspicious of specters, or some other supernatural forces, which he believes have become angry at the Earthlings' attempts to colonize the Martian soil. Meanwhile, his children are becoming increasingly foreign-looking, and Martian dialect is creeping into the whole family's speech. While Mr. Bittering, gets cold feet and complains, his wife, Cora, comforts and cares for the entire family, and also, seemingly unknowingly, foils Harry in many of his attempts to avoid a Martian lifestyle and return home to Earth.

Bradbury illustrates Cora as a caring, concerned wife and mother of three. The only reason she decides to keep her family on Mars is because, "`One day the atom bomb will fix Earth. Then we'll...