Will and Sal

Will and Sal's relationship has a very strong underlying theme of power. Throughout the book, the power dynamic continuously shifts. At the beginning, Sal is seen as the powerful one as her family is more well-off and well-respected within the community. Once she marries Will, she is no longer respected and the power is then given back to Will. Then, Will becomes a convicted felon, and during their time in Australia, Sal is meant to be Will's master. I thought it was interesting how they joked about this and how, although it is funny, in a way, it is true that she as a person should have more power than Will. Will becomes obsessed with owning land and sort of disregards Sal's opinion when they move down river to their settlement. He shows power over her during this as he is the 'man of the house' and makes life-changing decisions for their family. Throughout the book I have always found Sal to be an extremely caring and supportive wife, who always adds humor to lighten the mood when things look grim. However, I have seen Will as less of a kind-hearted character and at times believe he is undeserving of Sal. I wonder if Sal notices how greedy he can be at times without regard for others. Is she secretly the same way?