Francesca Cricchio
English 48B
January 31st, 2011
“She was the walking woman. That was it. She has walked off all sense of society-made values, and, knowing the best when the best came to her, was able to take it.” (892)
“Sometimes Austin celebrates the borderland as a place to think beyond the confines of gender; sometimes she couples women and nature through mutual strength and resistance to male domination. Often, by picturing the land as a mistress, Austin creates a feminine land that counters domestic ideology and conjoins women and nature not as a victims but as powerful allies." From the book Studies in American Fiction by Stacy Alaimo.
The Walking Woman, written by Mary Hunter Austin is that tale of woman by the nick name of “Mrs. Walker” who mysteriously travels by foot all across California. Austin, who has been searching all over for this enigma finally finds the walking woman at a “Warm Spring in the Little Antelope”. There the two sit and Austin learns a little bit about the walking woman. It is stated that she once had a child, but quickly lost him after birth. She writes, “The baby had not stayed long enough for that”. The walking woman also tells Austin about Filon Geraud, a sheep rancher, whom Austin helps greatly during a storm. Together the two herd Filon’s sheep, and through working hard as “one sort and one mind”, Filon and Mrs. Walker become romantically involved. Several months later Mrs. Walker’s son is born, but quickly passes away. With a strong ache in her heart, Mrs. Walker packs her small black bag and continues on her journey to find herself in the middle of nowhere.
This is a magnificent story of strength and willingness to make decisions that go against the norms of society. The Walking woman depicts the freedom of those who are strong enough to decide for themselves. As quoted above, “knowing the best when the best came to her, was able to take it” Mrs. Walker was courageous enough to move on to something more before she fully even let go. While the rest of society is finding ways to cope with hard situations, or hoping for a better solution, Mrs. Walker decides to continue on an undefined path. I cannot even begin to say how many times I have waited and hoped for something better to come along instead of taking initiative and changing my ways. Wether it be relationships with the people I love, and hoping that they will change or realize they are doing something wrong. Or the way I am constantly worrying about finding a decent job. The Walking Woman demonstrates the courageousness that is hidden in each and every one of us, but masked by the fears and pressure of fitting in to society. Mrs. Walker throws every norm out the window, and steps downs a path of happiness and serenity. Austin writes, “and that led to the Walking Woman saying that there were three things which if you had known you could cut out all the rest, and they were good any way you got them, but best if, as in her case, they were related to and grew each one out of the others.” (890) Perhaps it was the loss of her infant, or the ability to be her true self around Filon that gave her the mindset to get up and leave whenever she wanted. Whatever it was, it made her into an excellent definition of the freedom that most of us know, many of us want, and few will ever truly have.
