Antonia approaches the prospect of raising her child by
herself with an attitude of strength and determination. Mrs. Stevens says about
Antonia,
"Antonia's got on fine. She'd loved (the baby)
from the first as dearly as if she'd had a ring on her finger, and was never ashamed of
it...no baby was ever better cared for" (Book IV, Chapter
3).
After the man who had
promised to marry Antonia impregnates her and abandons her, Antonia returns home in
disgrace. She accepts the consequences of her mistake with quiet steadiness, working
tirelessly on her family's farm each day like a man, and enduring the abuse of her
brother Ambrosch. She is "crushed," but maintains an unconquerable dignity, and when her
baby is born, she cares for it with love and tenderness, even though her brother wants
to drown it "out in the rain barrel." Antonia is "a natural-born mother," and tells Jim
that, here at home in her beloved countryside, she knows what she must do. Antonia is
going to cherish and care for her baby,
and
"...see that (her) little girl has a better
chance than (she, Antonia) ever had" (Book IV, Chapter
4).
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