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Dissertation / Doctoral Thesis DISSERTATION / DOCTORAL THESIS Titel der Dissertation /Title of the Doctoral Thesis „The Representation of Aboriginals in Contemporary Indigenous Australian Literature“ verfasst von / submitted by Mag. Birgit Abigail Hartl angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doktorin der Philosophie (Dr.phil.) Wien, 2017 / Vienna 2017 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 092 343 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Dissertationsgebiet lt. Studienblatt / Doktoratsstudium der Philosophie Anglistik und field of study as it appears on the student record sheet: Amerikanistk Betreut von / Supervisor: Emer. o. Univ.-Prof.Dr. Margarete Rubik (Professor Emerita) ABSTRACT Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit der Analyse von Romanen, die von australischen Aboriginal Autoren verfasst wurden, und die Darstellung von Aboriginals und deren Situation in Australien am Ende des 20ten und Anfang des 21ten Jahrhundert. Diese Analyse hofft dadurch, auf die problematische und unfaire Situation aufmerksam zu machen, in der sich die indigene Bevölkerung Australiens befindet. Die Studie betrachtet politische Linien und deren Auswirkung auf die indigene Bevölkerung Australiens im historischen Kontext, in dem sie in den Werken vorkommen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden relevante politische Geschehnisse recherchiert und mit Bezug auf die Romane interpretiert. Es wurden Werke von erfolgreichen Aboriginal Autoren ausgewählt, die in ihren Romanen deutlich auf die problematische Situation ihrer Bevölkerungsgruppe hinweisen, und gleichzeitig eine bedeutende Rolle für die positive Identifizierung von Aboriginal Lesern mit den Charakteren in diesen Romanen spielen. Die Darstellung von positiven Vorbildern für die indigene Bevölkerung ist von großer Wichtigkeit, da das öffentliche Bild von Aboriginals großteils verzerrt ist, und daher wenig fördernd für ein positives Selbstbild der indigenen Bevölkerung ist. Alle ausgewählten Aboriginal Autoren haben einen Universtätsabschluss, und sind sich ihrer Verantwortung für ihre Gemeinschaft und für die Aufrechterhaltung ihrer Kultur bewusst. Die Romane wurden thematisch gruppiert, und deren Analyse fand unter Miteinbeziehung von politischen Gegebenheiten im Kontext statt. Diese Studie zeigt deutliche Misstände auf, die das Leben von australischen indigenen Bevölkerung erschweren. Weiters weist sie darauf hin, dass aufgrund von rassistischen Einstellungen der australischen Bevölkerung gegenüber ihren indigenen Mitbürgern großer Handlungsbedarf besteht, diese von Vorurteilen geprägten Einstellungen zu revidieren, um den Weg in eine gemeinsame Zukunft, die die Gleichstellung der indigenen Bevölkerung und gleichzeitig eine Anerkennung und Wertschätzung der Kultur der Aboriginals garantiert, zu ebnen. 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 2. Centuries of Struggle .................................................................................................... 8 2.1. Changing Policies .................................................................................................. 9 2.2. Gaining Momentum ............................................................................................. 13 2.3. The Past is a Country in the Present .................................................................... 18 2.4. All is not well ....................................................................................................... 23 3. Development of Aboriginal Literature ....................................................................... 30 3.1. Finding a voice ..................................................................................................... 31 3.2. First publications .................................................................................................. 35 3.3. Spreading the word .............................................................................................. 37 3.4. Fiction as the Means to Recovery ........................................................................ 39 4. The Dilemma of Postcolonialism ............................................................................... 42 4.1. Discussion of the Term ........................................................................................ 42 4.2. The Fourth World ................................................................................................ 43 4.3. Rejection of the Notion of Postcolonialism ......................................................... 45 5. The Past as a Way to the Future – Alexis Wright’s Plains of Promise and Kim Scott’s Benang ............................................................................................................................ 49 5.1. Dealing With Past Policies ................................................................................. 50 5.2. The Effects of Forcible Removal in Plains of Promise ....................................... 53 5.2.1. Loneliness and Abuse.................................................................................... 55 5.2.2. Being Brought Up White............................................................................... 61 5.3. Opening the dialogue in Kim Scott’s Benang ..................................................... 65 5.3.1. Managing Life in New Circumstances .......................................................... 68 5.3.2. Understanding the Past and its Consequences .............................................. 73 5.4. Self-determination as a Way Forward ................................................................. 77 2 5.4.1. The Difficulty of Being Accepted as presented in Benang ........................... 78 5.4.2. Indigenous Australians’ Political Movements in Plains of Promise............. 83 6. The World’s End – Outback Communities in Kim Scott’s True Country and Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria ..................................................................................................... 88 6.1. Challenges in Remote Indigenous Communities ................................................. 89 6.2. The Problem with Education as presented in Kim Scott’s True Country ............ 94 6.3. The Problem with Alcohol as presented in True Country ................................. 101 6.4. The Trouble with Mining in Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria ................................ 106 6.5. Life in remote Aboriginal communities in Kim Scott’s True Country and Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria ................................................................................................. 112 6.5.1. Inferior Living Standards ............................................................................ 112 6.5.2 Assertion of Power Through Violence ......................................................... 115 7. Indigenous Women’s Challenges in urban settings as presented in Melissa Lucashenko’s Steam Pigs and Anita Heiss’s Not Meeting Mr. Right .......................... 123 7.1. Challenges of Indigenous Women in Urban Areas............................................ 124 7.2. Domestic Violence in Melissa Lucashenko’s Steam Pigs ................................. 132 7.3. Learning about Being Aboriginal in Melissa Lucashenko’s Steam Pigs ........... 138 7.4. Educating the non-Indigenous Reader in Anita Heiss’s Not Meeting Mr Right 143 7.5. Defying Stereotypes in Anita Heiss’s Not Meeting Mr Right ........................... 150 7.6. Empowering Indigenous Women as presented in Melissa Lucashenko’s Steam Pigs and Anita Heiss’s Not Meeting Mr Right ......................................................... 156 7.6.1. The Notion of Feminism ............................................................................. 157 7.6.2. Personal Growth .......................................................................................... 162 8. The Quest for Connection in Tara June Winch’s Swallow the Air and Terri Janke’s Butterfly Song ............................................................................................................... 169 8.1. Challenges of Disconnection ............................................................................. 170 8.2. Homelessness in Tara June Winch’s Swallow the Air ...................................... 178 8.3. Dispossession in Terri Janke’s Butterfly Song ................................................. 184 3 8.4. The Journey of self-discovery as presented in Tara June Winch’s Swallow the Air and Terri Janke’s Butterfly Song ........................................................................ 193 8.4.1. Discovering Family History ........................................................................ 193 8.4.2. Overcoming a crisis of identity ................................................................... 199 9. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 208 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 214 Index ............................................................................................................................. 229 Appendix ...................................................................................................................... 232 4 1. Introduction Contemporary Indigenous Australian Literature is a tool for Indigenous writers to draw attention to the situation
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