Mary Austin - The Land of Little Rain

Austin Portrays Desert as Both a Place of Unrest and Beauty

Mar 1, 2009 John Hansen

Austin's use of desert imagery reveals a place in which human sensibilities cannot survive, but where glimpses of hope and beauty are set forth.

In Mary Austin’s The Land of Little Rain, we can see a desert landscape which has elements of majestic beauty, but is portrayed as being harsh and uninviting:

“There are hills, rounded, blunt, burned, squeezed up out of chaos, chrome and vermilion painted, aspiring to the snow-line. Between the hills lie high level-looking plains full of intolerable sun glare, or narrow valleys drowned in a blue haze. Where the mountains are steep and the rains heavy, the pool is never quite dry, but dark and bitter, rimmed about with the efflorescence of alkaline deposits.” (Austin 1)

The Landscape

The above passage shows a desert where the physical grandeur is dominant, and where the elements are not people friendly. That is, Austin shows a desert landscape that is inconsistent with peaceful human coexistence: the desert hills are “blunt,” are “burned,” and are “squeezed up out of chaos.”

In the next line, Austin repeats the notion that the desert landscape is stern and even oppressive: “plains full of intolerable sun glare, narrow valleys drowned in a blue haze.”

Again, in the final line, Austin describes the desert mountains where the rains are “heavy,” and the pool is “dark and bitter.” One could say that Austin’s desert landscape represents elements which are uninhabitable, and even self-destructive (dark and bitter water).

A Message of Hope

There are vestiges of hope in Austin’s landscape. That is, although the hills are “blunt and burned,” and are “squeezed out of chaos,” this depiction is qualified with simplicity and beauty: “vermillion painted, aspiring to the snow-line.” Thus, out of the chaos, Austin’s desert hills aspire to the beauty of the snow-line. Moreover, even though the desert pool is “dark and bitter,” it is also portrayed with visions of hope: “rimmed with efflorescence of alkaline deposits.”

Austin’s desert imagery is revealed in a somewhat menacing tone: “chaos; intolerable glare; the pool is dark and bitter.” Thus, Austin’s landscape would appear to repel the idea of giving human comfort. However, Austin does leave her readers with visions of beauty and hope, which have been captured in her text—and while the desert is typified as being dark and difficult, it still retains a quality of majestic beauty and grandeur.

Austin uses different forms of imagery to illustrate and enhance her message. That is, the desert landscape is used to project the dominant and elegant forces of nature. In the end, Austin effectively uses specific words and detailed descriptions to bring attention to the interplay between the human psyche and the forces of nature.

The copyright of the article Mary Austin - The Land of Little Rain in American Fiction is owned by John Hansen. Permission to republish Mary Austin - The Land of Little Rain in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Mary Austin

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