Maggie is presented as a wise, experienced character. She has been married to William for 30 years and so she knows the habits of her husband very well: the fact that he has never left the cows unmilked tells her that something momentous has happened to him. Her first reaction to the thought of what William has done is “You daft, stupid bugger William Jones”( 14) which shows that she puts private, family matters over wider issues such as her country’s involvement in the war.
However, in an effort to keep the women calm and together as a team, she suggests that the men’s leaving has been an attempt to protect the women, showing her wisdom and forward thinking. Sheers presents her as a mother figure to the women; “Always Maggie leading, playing the role of the mother, the aunt. ” Here, the repetition of two strong female roles emphasises her dominant role as the matriarch of the valley which is again shown later in the novel (124, 125) where Maggie takes control of Sarah’s attempts to sheer the sheep.In fact, in Chapter 3 she becomes the unofficial leader of the women; in the scene around Maggie’s table (54), Maggie’s calm is contrasted with the rising panic of the younger women, Mary and Menna. Later (116) Sarah’s first reaction to Albrecht’s first appearance is to go to Maggie, although she knows that Maggie has now been proved wrong about Germans not bothering to come to the Olchon valley.
This incident, where Sarah privately questions Maggie’s authority, also sows the seeds for Sarah’s increasing independence that reveals itself towards the end of the novel.At the start of the novel, because she has a radio, Maggie has a clearer sense of what is happening in the outside world than Sarah; Maggie’s radio, which had been “their one intermittent contact with the outside world” picks up only static which intensifies the women’s feelings of isolation and the reader’s fear. Maggie’s sense of her own position as leader is also shown when we discover that she “had felt instinctively that she and Albrecht understood each other”.She is “quietly grateful” for the help of Sebald on the farm; this contrasts with Sarah who does not show open acceptance of Albrecht’s help although he would like her to. Maggie’s acceptance of help from the Germans (192-193) is an act of self-preservation in the face of the harsh winter but is seen as “”treason” by Mary (192).
Sheers uses Maggie’s visit to the Court where the Germans are staying to demonstrate her strategic nature as a good leader.Here she repeats the official government line that she and the others will offer no assistance to the Germans. Yet as she leaves, we find out that what she had really wanted was details about the fate of her husband and the other men. In contrast to this, Sheers also shows a sensitive side to Maggie as he presents her as a lonely character as she misses her husband (196) and is reminded of him whenever she sees the colt that they had foaled at the end of the summer.In the second half of the novel, Maggie’s presence fades for a time as the action turns back to Sarah and Albrecht and Bethan and Gernot and the developing thaw in the winter weather.
Then when a chapter opens with Sarah’s abrupt “Maggie, you can’t. It’s madness”, we know just how far the roles of the two women have changed. Sarah objects strongly to Maggie’s plans to exhibit her colt at the Llanthony agricultural show with the help of the German soldier, Alex. Maggie is shocked by the attitude of some of the townsfolk, some of whom have accepted the German occupation.
Others though have not and Maggie suspects it is the judges’ displeasure at seeing Alex with Maggie that results in Glyndwr’s lack of success in the show ring. Maggie’s behaviour is viewed as an act of collaboration by George Bowen who shoots the horse with a sniper’s rifle fitted with telescopic sights. Ultimately, then, Maggie is presented as failing in her leadership of the women, as her decision to attend the show proved fatal for the characters’ escapism in the protection of the valley.
