23 Australian Prose Writings by Writers of European Descent: Patrick White: Voss

Dr. Mrinmoy Pramanick

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.

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.

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;).

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;). These three phases of White’s writing shows how much involved he was with his narrative and style of writing and making of his characters. These initiatives are changed in every phases and each phase of writing has its own distinctiveness. In the last phase he includes two novels, like A Fringe of Leaves and The Twyborn Affair where protagonists or central characters are achieving self-discovery (Hansson, Karin).

Patrick reflected the conflict between an individual and the universe in his different writings. He portrays the tragedies of life in different contexts in different writings. The man was observed in his writings as a very micro unit in the context of the universe where the man is negligible creature almost. White adopted Australian aboriginal myths in his several writings. Being mystic he presented his experience of God-Man relation into his literature.

Patrick White like Christina was a modernist writer who refused the nationalistic approach in literature along with the use of bush myths. He even refused realism as a method of writing literature or as an idea of writing literature. Some of the critics comment that  White used a postmodern narrative style of self-reflexivity ( POSTMODERNISM IN AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE ).

Reading Voss

The novel Voss was published in 1957. The novel is divided into sixteen chapters. Patrick is one of the finest poets in Australian literature who vividly portrayed differences of Australian landscape in his poetry and moreover he is a poet of ‘mythic landscape of mind’ (White, Patrick;). Such mind and art is also truly reflected in this novel.

This novel is based on the life of Ludwig Leichhardt who was a 19th century Prussian explorer and suddenly disappeared while he was travelling somewhere near to Australia (Patrick White). This novel is mainly based on two main characters, one is Voss, a German man and Laura, once an orphan lady. Laura’s uncle Bonner is the patron of Voss’s journey. During his exploration in the parts of Australia, Voss collected few samples of settlers and aborigines. This is how the invasion of the European anthropologists happened in different lands and knowledge about the oriental/colonial/imperial subjects. But this novel is not a traditional historical novel. This is psychological novel too, moreover it has its own spiritualism (Voss: Summary).

Laura and Voss’s relationship is parallel, drawn in the novel which is again connected with the expedition itself and this relationship also will play a key role in deciding the fate of the expedition. Voss is not only a mere explorer to the land but he himself is an investigator who engaged himself with the spiritual discovery of one’s oneself.

Voss appointed four members in Sydney in his team and one among the members namely Harry Robarts idealized Mr. Voss. There are many common and small characters in the novel what shows the reflection of the greater society though the novel is going to talks about psychology and spirituality in some extent. Middleclass household of the patron Bonner, his servant Rose etc. brought the signs of wider society with their commonness and complexities.

Wataru Sato claims that the journey of Voss is a psyche of a modern man. Through the journey of Voss, a modern ego is searching for mythical man of the Australian coast (Sato). Many people says that the exploration of Voss and all does not include any female character but Satu comments that is not the case. During the exploration Laura is connected through thoughts with Voss and Voss is controlled by Laura who is no more a secondary character but one of the primary two characters of the novel (Sato).

In the very beginning of the novel, Voss was introduced as he went to Bonner’s house. Voss and Laura’s conversation gradually brings different aspects of nature of men and women, Laura’s impression about her own land etc. Their conversation gradually brings the reader into the imagination, thoughts and landscape of mind of Laura. Voss is not only a story of a journey, or diversity of land and people or it is not only concentrate on Voss but the author with his deepest care portrayed the psyche of Laura. Laura is known to the reader with continuous revelation of deepest of her mind and beautiful stream of consciousness which have been reflected through her thoughts and acts. Author keeps on talking about the human psyche and complexities of human nature throughout this novel in different contexts. Laura and Voss is found complementary to each other. Novel also offers an intended meaning of the narrative, that the Voss and Laura both makes a complete concept of human being which is  so deeply attached with the nature and landscape. Laura, at the end of the novel was in search of her own country, country where she wanted to live actually. Since the very beginning of the novel Laura was seemed to be very ignorant and indifferent about her native land. Her relation with Voss might make her having a desire of a man, a land which is not only limited within the knowledge of a country which is typically known as her country. She uttered, “It is not my country, although I have lived in it” .

Voss’s life in Germany and his beginning of journey from there to a new land to be explored goes not only through Voss’s physical journey but it goes simultaneously with the journey of his deep psyche. Author writes, “…and the green forests of Germany had begun to flow, and yellow plains unroll, he did wonder at the purpose and nature of that freedom. Such neat trees lined the roads. He was wondering still when he stood on the underside of the world, and his boots sank into the same, gritty, sterile sand to which he used to escape across the Heide. But the purpose and nature are never clearly revealed. Human behavior is a series of lunges, of which, it is sometimes sensed, the direction is inevitable” (Voss 185). This is how the nature, landscape, human nature and stream of thoughts meets in Patrick’s Voss. Whole narrative of the novel crafted in this way. Immense number of images have been created to describe the mind and nature. Voss is a multifaceted man. He is a cartographer, he can be an anthropologist and he can be a silent, amused observed of nature. Sometimes he himself appears as a part of nature.

Conclusion

Master artist and a craftsman of high quality Patrick White moved from one horizon to another horizon of thought in different steps of his life as an author. None of the novels written by him is technically much similar. He adopted different styles and idea to make his characters. Sometimes, the protagonists present contradictory thoughts and different conflicts. Patrick White experimented with his own experiences and the experiences he gathered to create his protagonists. Not only had that different philosophical ideas reflected in his novels. His novel Voss cannot be situated any definite narrative or in any definite idea of making the protagonist. His protagonist is always on the way of becoming throughout the novel. Times show different types of becoming of the protagonist and it is the complexity in the character of the novel of White.

To know White, is to know the historical and political and philosophical complexities in intellectual thoughts of the literature of Australia. White throughout his life, through his writings addressed different kinds of complexities prevailed in the culture, society and mind. His extensive experiences of travelling across the continents brought different worldviews, even simultaneously many worldviews in a same novel. Moreover, we can find an  ontological reading with this novel that is in 20th century, in Australia, Europeans and Australians stay together, and this is the nature of 20th century. Fighting against colonial hegemony is reconstructing own identity stronger but not fighting against the culture and people of European descent. If we read Kari Hulme’s renowned book The Bone People, we can see her deepest respect to this pre-given but modern context of a nation where voice of resistance will be there but not the cultural hatred as the coexistence is reality and better culture dialogue has to be made together by the equal and sustainable living of the people.

Summary

In this module we have learnt about Australian prose tradition and we have discussed very briefly in the growth and development about the English literature in Australia. We have tried to historicise Patrick White in the very context of the Australian English literature. His contribution in literature, influence and reception also are discussed here. Nobel Prize related articles are referred here in this module to get glimpses about the reception of the author among the wider readers’ world as well as White’s reception in the sphere of critical thoughts and intellectual writings on literature. We have briefly discussed about White’s writing style and common contexts and characteristics of his writings. Patrick’s novel Voss is discussed here especially with the reference of his other novels and writings. Students may follow the list of sources in reference section and also the further list section. The module’s aim is to make student more interested in the topic.

References:

• ” POSTMODERNISM IN AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE .” n.d. 18 December 2017.<http://www.pulib.sk/elpub2/FF/Kusnir1/pdf_doc/6.pdf>.
• Hansson, Karin;. Patrick White – Existential Explorer. n.d.<https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1973/white- article.html>.
• History of Literature Introduction. n.d.<http://www.websterworld.com/websterworld/aust/h/historyofliteratureintion498.html >.
• Life of Patrick White. National Library of Australia, n.d.<http://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/c0305_ed_patrickwhite_worksheet_final_lo wres_0.pdf>.
• Mitchell, Adrian C.W. ;. Australian literature. n.d.<https://www.britannica.com/art/Australian-literature>.
• Patrick White. n.d. 18 December 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_White>. Sato, Wataru . “A Role of Woman in Australian Colonial History:.” n.d.<http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/cg/law/lex/kotoba05/satou.pdf>.
• Voss: Summary. n.d. 18 December 2017. <https://www.enotes.com/topics/voss >. White, Patrick;. Voss. Vintage, 1994. ebook.