Jubilation Road: A Novel and Exegesis By Rasata Knight Doctor of Philosophy Swinburne University of Technology 2016 Abstract Jubilation Road tells the story of a town that sits by a slowly swelling river. As the river gradually grows out of control, so do the lives of the people who pass by it everyday until nature and man meet in a dramatic point of no return. The exegesis examines the potential relationships between nature, man and fiction against an eco-critical framework. It considers questions such as how nature might be represented in fiction, ways that character and landscape can be entwined in the production of story, and the uses and challenges of creating a multiprotagonist narrative. It also evaluates the application of theories of the shamanic and whether these can be used to shape narrative structure and character development within fiction. ii Acknowledgments I thank Dr Carolyn Beasley for her assistance and support throughout this project and Professor Josie Arnold for her commentary and her encouragement in getting me to the finishing line. My eternal gratitude to my partner Dr Kate Jackson for her support, intelligent critique, encouragement and abiding love. Kate’s nurturance in all areas of my life throughout this journey, particularly during times of illness and recovery, made this sometimes tortuous task possible. To the great spirits of nature – thank you. iii Dedication For my parents Elsa Marion Knight (6.8.1912 – 18.2.1996) and John Stanley (Jack) Knight (27.10.1908 – 25.1.2002) iv Declaration I certify that the thesis entitled ‘Jubilation Road: A Novel and an Accompanying Exegesis’ submitted for the degree of PhD contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma; to the best of my knowledge contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; and is not based on joint research or publications. The content of this artefact and exegesis was proof-read by professional editor Dr Rachel Le Rossignol. The work undertaken was in accordance with Current Australian Standards for Editing Practice and restricted to Standard D (Language and Illustrations) and Standard E (Completeness and Consistency). Dr Le Rossignol’s area of specialisation is similarly in eco-feminism and narrative. However, no advice was given on Standard C (Substance and Structure). Full name: Rasata Knight Signed:……………………………………………………… Date:………………………………………………………… v Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................... III DECLARATION .......................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................... VI JUBILATION ROAD: A NOVEL .............................................. 9 AN EXEGESIS TO ACCOMPANY ‘JUBILATION ROAD’ ........................................................................................ 414 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 415 Landscape, seasons and water Error! Bookmark not defined. Ecocriticism .......................................................................... 418 Realms of the imagination ....... Error! Bookmark not defined. SECTION ONE LANDSCAPE ....................................................... 421 The flood ............................................................................... 421 Humans as nature ................................................................. 424 Humans and landscape ......................................................... 426 Aboriginal Australians and the landscape ........................... 431 The land is knowledge ........................................................... 433 Developing character in the novel ........................................ 438 Plot, character and landscape .............................................. 442 Landscape and culture .......................................................... 449 vi SECTION TWO ECOCRITICISM .................................................. 453 Theories, society and nature ................................................. 453 Nature writing: a feminist perspective ................................. 458 Gender, nature and culture in literature .............................. 461 Environmental awareness ..................................................... 465 SECTION THREE SHAMANISM .................................................. 468 Healing and seeing ............................................................... 468 The shamanic state ................................................................ 471 The shamanic journey ........................................................... 476 SECTION FOUR MAGICAL REALISM ......................................... 481 Shamanic characterisation and magical realism ................. 481 Shamanic realism .................................................................. 484 Literary ghosts ...................................................................... 489 Shaman and artist ................................................................. 493 Optimal experiences ............................................................. 496 Dilemmas met in writing shamanic realism ......................... 498 SECTION FIVE THE MULTI-PROTAGONIST STORY .................... 501 Plural characters: plural voices ........................................... 501 Point of view ......................................................................... 502 The multi-protagonist narrative ........................................... 504 The catalytic event ................................................................ 506 Multi-protagonist narrative forms ........................................ 509 The story world ..................................................................... 511 Challenging social conventions ............................................ 514 vii Plot and character ................................................................ 516 CONCLUSION ............................................................................ 520 The flood metaphor ............................................................... 521 Landscape and characters .................................................... 522 Environment and shamanism ................................................ 524 Magical realism and shamanism .......................................... 526 Voice in the multi-protagonist novel .................................... 526 REFERENCE LIST .................................................................. 529 viii Jubilation Road: A Novel 9 1. Celeste loved her faded, antiquated house. She lay in her bed each night listening to its creaks and groans and murmured conversations. She heard its stories and sometimes talked to it about her life or her day. Or she listened to the myriad night scramblings in her matted garden, the end of which backed onto a thin trickle of water named Whistling Creek. There were only nine houses in Jubilation Road and Celeste Moon lived in the ninth at the leftover number forty two. When the railway line through the city of Redbrooke was re-routed to the south, the end of Jubilation Road was truncated and left lying like the severed tail of a lizard, still twitching with a half- life of its own, whilst the body moved on. The city council abandoned the leftover road and with typical creativity, re-named the city side Railway Avenue. It was rumoured at the time that eventually the houses would be bulldozed and the area reclaimed as wetlands. The scrubby belt with its dilapidated houses had no permanency about it, so the few residents enjoyed cheap rent, or in the cases of ownership, no ability to sell the houses. To reach Jubilation Road it was necessary to cross over the railway bridge and take a dogleg turn; except for the postman, most people missed it. 10 The houses were old weatherboard Queenslanders standing on stilt-like structures to lift them above the flood level. The gardens consisted mostly of long grass and rampant creepers, the occasional mango, fig or paw-paw tree and straggling bottlebrush hanging over rotted picket fences. On hot summer nights Celeste dragged her mattress out onto the deck and lay on her back to watch the night sky. She knew the flight paths of fruit bats and understood the whirring calls of tawny frogmouths down on the creek. She could track the seasons by the movement of stars and knew intimately the quarters of the moon. She lay sometimes in the embrace of the Milky Way as it whirled its billion smoky lights through the velvet darkness and she fell to sleep. Every screech or bark or whistle held meaning for her; the angle of a magpie’s flight, the third note of a butcher bird’s call, or the fold of a butterfly wing heralded its own message. Celeste heeded them all, drawing them to her like newspaper headings or TV news. She noted the pauses, the posturing, the reveille and the retreats, she read the day and night by its sounds and sights and eternal whisperings. She greeted each day like a prayerful monk, the dawn chorus a private aria sung for her benefit. 11 On weekdays she dressed at seven, ate a meagre breakfast of cereal and fruit, packed a lunch of cheese and lettuce sandwiches and backed her battered red Toyota four-wheel drive utility from the shed onto the potholed street. She arrived at Commercial and General Financial Services