Chapter 8, Recharting the Globe Summary and Analysis

While in retrospect, Conway was glad she did not get the job at External Affairs, she was, in her twenties, depressed about the professional barriers faced by women. Her sympathy with other women gave her new sympathy from her mother, who was falling deeper into alcoholism and filthy language. Women had no creative expression for their talents and so they often manipulated their children. Conway even wondered whether she wanted to try to be a part of the Australian scholarly world at all. However, luckily, Conway met a young man who had returned from doctoral work in the United States; he helped her think less parochially.

Conway went with her mother to England and Europe. The trip was wonderful, despite her mother being difficult. However, seeing the buildings she had read about was a bit...