Paper: 07; Module No: 23: E Text (A) Personal Details: Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad Paper Coordinator: Prof. Suchorita Jadavpur University, Kolkata Chattopadhyay Coordinator for this Module Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad Content Writer: Dr. Mrinmoy Pramanick University of Calcutta Content Reviewer: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad Language Editor: Prof. Tutun Mukherjee University of Hyderabad (B) Description of Module: Items Description of Module Subject Name: English Paper No & Name: Paper 07: Canadian, Australian and South Pacific Literatures in English Module No & Name: 23; Australian Prose Writings by Writers of European Descent: Patrick White: Voss Pre-requisites: A brief knowledge about Australian prose is required. Objectives: This module aims to make students interested in Patrick White and in his contribution to the Australian prose writing. Key Words: Australian Prose, Patrick White, Voss 1 About the Module This module gives glimpses of Australian prose tradition and it situates Patrick White in the context of it. Module talks very briefly about bio-note of Patrick White and his contribution to Australian prose and his achievements. After that module talks about major works by Patrick White and discusses especially on Voss. Later reception of White in the literary world beyond Australia is discussed and a brief critical appreciation is presented here. At the end of the module you will find conclusion and a summary of the whole discussion. Students are suggested to consult the reference and further reading list to have wider conception about the writer in particular and Australian prose tradition in general. Introduction If we see the history of literature of Australia and New Zealand we can find a collective values in spite of all the differences and conflicts. Different cultures and traditions like the indigenous culture and the cultural hegemony of the colonizers and European descent it is amazing to see how the new culture of the nation has been emerged with the references of both. Authors have beautifully addressed the question of conflicts and differences. Australian literature consists of both the oral and written heritage. And these two heritage is built from the cultural resources respectively of the indigenous people and the European invader into the land. Later the indigenous written literature has been developed with the adaptation of different literary genres from the west. There are two different world views in constitution of the community. The community of the white people finds their cultural heritage from the Europe and from the settlers in the land and the indigenous people finds their cultural heritage from the cultural resources of the indigenous culture. But these two different world views have been addressed simultaneously in contemporary Australian literature as two parts of the same system. Before the European settlement in Australia in 1778, there was no written literature in Australia. The aboriginal community brought their traditional stories, myths, legends, and dreamtime stories through their orality or through performance or painting. Australian English literature started its journey since very beginning of colonization in Australia. And later with the emergence of different aboriginal authors English literature of Australia unfolds its new horizon. English literature of Australia can be divided in three major categories, and those are, English literature by the Europeans, English literature by the authors of European descent and the English literature written by the aboriginal authors. 2 Early English literature in Australia is significant today for their historical and social value but not for their literary value per se. 20th century observed that the Australian English literature is recognized by the readers and critics beyond Australia. And it is also found that the literature of 20th century is thematically different than the literature of the 19th century. Gradual transformation from rural life to urban life can be observed in the literature of these two centuries. Besides this the concept of cosmopolitanism also has been reflected in the literature. With the emergence of the aboriginal writings in Australian English a new horizon was unfolded in the history of Australian literature and such literatures were critically acclaimed in different parts of the world (History of Literature Introduction). Patrick White: An Introduction Patrick White was born in 1912 in Knightsbridge, London, and he passed away in 1990. He born to the Australian parents. In his early age of just six months, his parents came back to Australia. During his schooldays he used to stay in a boarding school in South Wales. White went to England to study literature in the King’s College, Cambridge University, from 1932 to 1935. During his study in England he realized his sexual feelings for the men but like many others he was afraid to express it (Patrick White). He is one of the most renowned and well-known Australian author to the world. He wrote almost twelve novels and almost thirty short stories. He was also a playwright and screenplay writer. One of his stories was adapted into film (Life of Patrick White). His creation in prose includes, Happy Valley (1939), The Living and the Dead (1941), The Aunt's Story (1948), The Tree of Man (1955), Voss (1957), Riders in the Chariot (1961), The Solid Mandala (1966), The Vivisector (1970), The Eye of the Storm (1973), A Fringe of Leaves (1976), The Twyborn Affair (1979), Memoirs of Many in One (1986), The Hanging Garden (2012) and collections of short story are The Burnt Ones (1964), The Cockatoos (1974), Three Uneasy Pieces (1987), and an autobiography Flaws in the Glass (1981)1. Besides this he wrote quite a good number of poems and few plays as we mentioned earlier. 1 Information regarding publication and publication year has been taken from the Wikipedia page on Patrick White following this link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_White 3 Patrick won several prestigious awards for his different literary contributions. It is worth to mention that he is the only Nobel Laureate from Australia till date. His work Voss was recognized by the government of Australia for the first time and he was awarded Miles Franklin Literary Award, same award again went to Patrick for his another novel Riders in the Chariot, and again further in 1968 for his book The Vivisector. A new horizon was introduced to the Australian literature observed a path breaking experience when Patrick was honoured with the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his contribution in literature. White was identified as “Existential Explorer” and a statement was made by Karin Hansson on the comment of the Nobel committee on Patrick’s works which is, “When Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973, the Swedish Academy's commendation referred to the author's epic and psychological narrative art as having introduced a new continent into literature” (Hansson, Karin;). Patrick’s art of storytelling and his historical importance as the most prominent author of the continent who made the continent to get a permanent position in the map of the world of literature. In the article posted on the site of the Nobelprize.org, Karin Hansson historicise Patrick’s works and divides works in several parts. It is argued that Patrick carries the legacy of both the Europe and the Australia. A wide experience of his living in different parts of the world including Middle East and Greece brought different world views into his writings. One side he was influenced by his knowledge and study of literature in Europe another side he was also influenced by his experiences in staying in Middle East and Greece as a serviceman. His stay in Middle East and Greece made him remind about his own country Australia (Hansson, Karin;). According to Karin Patrick was very much influenced by European epic style, Greek mythology and Judeo-Christian mysticism, psycho analysis of C.G. Jung and the thought of stream of consciousness being influenced by James Joyce. Karin divides his literary life in several parts, as we mentioned earlier. According to Karin, first phase of Patrick’s writer’s life includes the books like The Aunt's Story and The Tree of Man, the second phase of his literary life includes Voss, Riders in the Chariot, and The Solid Mandala. The third phase of his literary career is divided on The Vivisector and The Eye of the Storm. A Fringe of Leaves and The Twyborn Affair are included in the last phase of his literary life by the critic Karin (Hansson, Karin;). 4 Patrick White: Prose Writing Patrick was very much interested and he had his own experience with the nature and rural life, which have been portrayed in his The Aunt’s Story (1948) and The Tree of Man (1955). The Tree of Man received wider reception from the Europe. Karin Hansson mentions that, these two novels focused on the humanity and this is for the first time. Themes like madness and sanity, reality and illusion, communication and existential questions are addressed in these novels (Hansson, Karin;). In later phase, in Voss, Riders in the Chariot, and The Solid Mandala, according to Karin, we find novels based on more than one central characters or protagonist; whereas in the first phase novels were written based on one protagonist. White always addresses contrast and contradiction from his position in his writing. One side he talks about humanity and man’s power and in other novel he speaks about divinity and high spirituality with mysticism. The third phase of his writing included novels like The Vivisector and The Eye of the Storm is quite interesting. These two novels are based on the single protagonists but all of them are ‘dominated by the image of the Eye, which is given a multidimensional function’ (Hansson, Karin;).