The Grass is Singing

When colder weather hits, Mary feels almost healed and returned to her energetic self. Even Dick notices her change in spirit. He asks her to accompany him on the lands and she eventually agrees, but takes no part in helping him run the farm. Moreover, she knows that the minute she suggests something, he will become defensive. The two even begin to get along well, signaling that they might be repairing their damaged marriage. Dick soon gets ill with malaria, however, and the narrative notes that their lives might have played out differently had he not gotten sick.

Dick has never been sick before, and so approaches his sickness like a child. He is fearful, sullen, and depressed, and acts out in tantrums, all of which Mary finds frustratingly immature. Mary does not like asking favors of Mrs. Slatter, but she sends a note and Charlie brings a doctor. The physician notes the impoverished conditions of the Turner house and tells Mary that she herself is ill and needs a vacation to the coast. Mary takes offense to the doctor’s tone-deaf comments. How is she to take a vacation with no money? And how are they to fix the house and cut back the bush from the house without money? She also takes offense later when the doctor, seemingly understanding just how poor they were, tells Mary to pay him when she can.

Mary looks after Dick as he fights malaria, increasingly annoyed by his depression. One day he mentions the land and the workers, and Mary realizes that he wants her to look after the farm work. She does not want to involve herself with farm or the natives, whom she despises, but eventually decides to look after the farm. She makes several excuses on the day she decides to drive out and see the workers, then finds courage by bringing the sjambok with her. When she arrives on the land, she finds that the workers have indeed shirked their jobs. As the boss is sick, they have all gone to their homes on the compound. Enraged at this “cheekiness,” Mary drives to the compound with the intent of forcing the workers back to their jobs.

The native compound disgusts Mary, and she wears her disgust plainly on her face. She finds the head worker and realizes that he, like most of the others, is drunk. They have  given themselves a vacation of sorts due to Dick being sick. Their behavior reinforces Mary’s hatred, and she tells the native to make sure all the men are assembled and ready for work within ten minutes’ time. She sees the look of anger on the native’s face, and the comical looks of the native women who are watching the scene. Mary is furious when only a handful of workers stumble back to work, and she makes a mental note to dock the pay of the workers who do not return. She spends the rest of the day watching the natives work, taking delight in having something to do. She is relentless, however, and drives them harder than Dick does, angering them even further.

Though initially reluctant to get involved with the workers, Mary takes delight in bossing the natives around. She finds herself to be more efficient of a leader than Dick ever was. She then looks at the running of the farm in detail, and in horror, looks at Dick’s books to find that he truly is incompetent with how the place is run. Mary looks over the books and immediately realizes how to fix things to make a profit, and decides to discuss the matter with Dick once he fully recovers.

The relationship between Mary and the natives sours even further when they come to collect their earnings and, as promised, Mary docks money from the workers who did not show up for work previously. Mary tells the workers to quit if they want to, as she will not back down. She also says they should be ashamed for how they are treating her, though she hopes Dick does not hear the commotion, fearing that he will be even angrier when he realizes how cross she has made the natives. Some in fact quit, while others protest but then leave.

The day before Dick returns, Mary watches some of the natives as they haul material. One of the natives stops for longer than allowed, and when Mary tells him to return to work, he says exasperatingly that he wants water in English, which is considered rude. The other workers laugh lightheartedly, but Mary takes it as a severe insult and strikes at the worker with the sjambok, drawing blood. She is immediately fearful that the native will attack her, but he does nothing and soon returns to work. Though farmers are not supposed to hit their workers, Mary views the scene as a victory but does not tell Dick about the altercation.

Dick returns to work after beating malaria. Mary is soon angry that she is not included in the running of the farm as she has been doing quite well she thinks without him. Mary eventually talks to Dick about the running of the farm and shows him how they are losing money. Though he seems angered, he allows her to demonstrate and finally asks her what they should do. His simple smile and acquiescence angers Mary as she feels that her victory over him is for the good of them both. Though Dick is mostly annoyed, he also feels shame at Mary having to point things out. Interestingly, though, he also feels love for Mary, despite everything. He loves how strong and smart she is, despite his parallel dislike of her telling him how to run things. Mary finally suggests that they grow tobacco, like many other farmers, to turn a profit and make up for their losses. Dick realizes that her intent is to make a profit from tobacco, a crop he strongly dislikes, and then leave for the city, which he also dislikes. He calls her “boss,” annoying Mary, who ends the conversation by storming off. Dick later informs Mary that he is working to construct the barns necessary for growing tobacco. This quiet defeat and acknowledgment gives new life to Mary. She places her hope this time in tobacco, while Dick silently wonders what would happen if he fails once again.