I know my love

Catherine Gaskin, I KNOW MY LOVE,
Glasgow: Collins English Library, 109 pages, 1977

Summary:
Emma Brown was caught in a hotel called the Diggers’ Arms by the hotel owner, Will Gribbons. One day, as Emma saw a family from a window, she decided that they would take her to Ballarat, where the richest goldfields were. However, in order to escape from Gribbons, she had nothing to do but kill him. It was the Maguires that welcomed Emma as part of the family. There was the most beautiful girl who Emma had ever seen. Her name was Rose Maguire. Rose attracted every man including Tom and Adam, and Rose loved Adam too as Emma loved him. All of a sudden, the whole Ballarat had a fight against the police over the permit money on the goldfields. Adam got badly injured in the fight, and Emma helped him hide from the police by covering him with her own body. He luckily survived thanks to her. A while later, Adam asked Emma to marry him. However, apparently it was because he thought that there was a debt to pay. The Maguires happily celebrated their wedding except for Rose. Rose got so upset about that and decided to marry Tom right after their wedding. Even after she married Tom, she still tried to get Adam back from Emma. The battle of love between Emma and Rose went on and on.

Settings: Australia in the 19th century

Point of view: This story is told from the first person.

Conflict:
Emma was in a conflict with Rose. They kept fighting over Adam.

Climax:
Emma was quiet at first, but eventually everyone got to need her. Emma was a smart woman, and she attracted them in a way Rose could not do. Rose needed her too just like everyone, but now she thought she did not any more. Then Rose called Emma a taker and shouted that Emma took everyone from her. This was the climax of the story.
Symbol:
The symbol of this story is “ugliness of a beautiful woman.” As a love turned good friends into “strangers” in the end, love could change people both in a good way and a bad way. This story showed us that even if you are beautiful, you could look really ugly depending on what you do.

Irony:
Tom ran into a fire to help his father’s horses and ended in death. However, Rose doubted the death of Tom was actually not accidental but intentional, and said that that was at least what people in the town said.

Theme:
“Fierce love” is the theme of this story. Two women who loved each other just like a real family fought over a man. Love could sometimes make people really violent. Besides, love could also make good friends separate. The author tells us how love could be fierce.

Evaluation:
Emma is not really a beautiful or attractive woman, but she has her smart brain to take advantage of, and can use it for people. Rose is a very beautiful and attractive woman, but she did not have abilities to use like Emma. Both of them had different good points, and I thought it really interesting to see how those two women use their own abilities to get a man.

Moreover, I was really shocked to know that good friends could terribly fight over a man. I understand love is the most wonderful thing to have, and cannot lose it. However, I am scared what would happen to me if I loved the same person with my best friend. Even if I loved someone so much like Rose, I would never like to lose my mind or lose my friends.