Perspective

The story of Rabbit-Proof Fence is written in the third person narrative. The author is the daughter of Molly, one of the girls who escaped from the Moore River Settlement where she and her two cousins were sent to school. There is a natural sympathy that Doris Pilkington, the author, has for the girls—although there could be few people, related or not, who would not sympathize with the girls and admire the unbelievable feat that they achieved.

In her research and preparation for the book, Pilkington was able to interview some of the principals of the story including her mother, Molly, and Daisy, the youngest of the trio. Pilkington singles out Daisy as contributing much of the information about the trip back. In one incident, the girls are frightened by a "Marbu" in the forest. They reportedly saw the beast and described it as an evil...