Robinia: "Insufficient force" is certainly *one* attitude expressed in the song, viz. by the maid of Scalleter, who taunts Willy with that very "failing" ("couldna prove a man"). But I hope & believe that we are meant equally (and perhaps even more) to admire Eppie's *sufficient* force in resisting him. As I argued earlier in this thread, this song appears to represent a culture in which physical courage (and likewise, I should add, prowess & determination) are admired in women as well as in men. One could make a nice collection of songs about women who bloody well knew what they wanted & how to get it.