From the beginning, Caroline is described by her own sister, Ginny, as different; she was not the typical farmer's daughter. She is sensible, thorough, and very meticulous in her speech and actions; she is independent as a woman. Caroline's traits are the reasons why she does not seem to fit in with her family. Her father's pride is hurt by Caroline's unsure words about his proposition to split up the farm between his daughters.
Many instances of Caroline's distinct personality can be found throughout the book; however, glimpses of her true care for her father seem to appear few, but they show that she is not simply a cold hearted lawyer. In a passage on page 124, Caroline and Ginny argue:
"'He was drinking and driving?' [. . .] 'Talk to him. Take his keys away to have to. [. . .] 'Why isn't he working?' [. . .] 'I knew this whole thing would blow up. As soon as [Ty and Pete] started running things.'"
While it seems like Caroline speaks with an annoyed and aggravated tone, she does not simply throw blame on her father. She does care that he does not drink and drive, and she did only speak with concern when she questioned his initial proposal. While Caroline may not fit in with the personality of her home, she does, in a gritty lawyer-like way care for the well being of it.
I agree completely, Caroline may not seem like she wants anything to do with running the family farm, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't care about her family. She loves her father like any other daughter does but simply would rather follow her own interests, rather then obey her fathers irrational commands. This creates a similarity between A Thousand Acres and King Lear because Cordelia didn't want to obey her fathers irrational wish to express how much she loves him, but in the end she loves him the most. This parallel between the books, makes me think that A Thousand Acres could end the same way, with Caroline loving her father more than Ginny or Rose.
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