Ruby believes that Hazel made a life in Hobart Town for herself that wouldn't have been possible in Great Britain. Do you agree?

Ruby believes that Hazel made a life in Hobart Town for herself that wouldn't have been possible in Great Britain. Do you agree? Was she better off for having been arrested and transported? Do you think Hazel was an exception, or did transport provide more options for others as well?

I agree. She was now living in a country that had yet to establish stringent laws on education and acceptance. I can’t say that she was better off arrested, but being transported provided opportunities for her that would not have been available in Great Britain

those that transited were generally lower class and they had a country to make so skill was probably more useful to succeeding than rank.

I think it was good in some ways that Hazel had to leave her mother and London, I'm not sure how else she could have escaped that life of crime. I do think there were more chances for her to make a better life in Hobart Town.

Yes, I don't think she would have ever been able to increase her social status in Great Britain. She would definitely not ended up the wife/partner of a doctor practicing medicine.

Yes, I agree with the above. A life in Britain with a criminal/prostitute mother who didn’t seem to care about her? She would never have been able to raise herself above her station in England. Definitely a horrendous start to a new life in Australia, but it offered a new beginning.

I do agree. I think all of us are on the same page with what Hazel's life would have been like if she had stayed in Great Britain, status is everything. Even though Hazel's mother had given her skills that could have helped her, her mother's behavior became a hinderance.I don't think she could have gotten away from that living in Glasgow.

Absolutely! The die was cast had she stayed in England: A life of poverty, lack of education and subjugation from all areas.
I'm always reminded of the Joseph in the Bible with situations like this. Some really bad things happened but he came out ahead.

Totally agree that Hazel made a better life for herself in Hobart Town than in Great Britain. Her knowledge of herbs for healing would never have been appreciated in England. She probably would have been viewed as a witch. In Hobart Town, her healing remedies were accepted and gained her status that would have been impossible at home.

I agree, if she had stayed in Scotland she wouldn't have been able to overcome her poverty

Hobart town was a place that Hazel could be her own person. She would never have connected with a doctor and married him in Great Britain, just because they probably wouldn't have even been allowed to be in the same social circle. Her past and her mother's past would have anchored her in poverty. Since so many of the residents were ex-cons... she and the others could begin anew.

Being transported was Hazel's saving grace. She knew she had to serve the time, but at least she held on to hope that after the sentence there would be new possibilities. Had she stayed in Great Britain, her fate would have been so much worse.

Absolutely. New world - more opportunity - less class structure. She wouldn't have ended up the way she did had she not been sent there. She was smart, resourceful and a survivor. I really liked her as a character.

Hobart Town was a Godsend for Hazel.

The new settlers in Australia had far more freedom from class and restrictions than the suffered in England. A developing society with a great deal of space and the need for virtually all skills provided unlimited opportunity along with austerity and some hard times.