In reading this short story, I have come to understand the circumstances of a true outback Australian who is lazy, has a problem with alcohol and treats his partner with disrespect. Barbara Baynton wrote this with a sense of humour, however, a sense of feminism was also portrayed in the story even though it was not a problem back then. Basically, this story is about a couple that are out camping, the male domination of making his partner do everything, when suddenly a tree collapses on her. This change comes upon suddenly, paralyzing her making her `useless' to the male. So he sticks her in a man made hut with the dog and inquires about another female to fulfill the duties that she is unable to do now that she is paralyzed.

The key characters in this story written by Barbara Baynton are of course the couples that...