Academic literature on the topic 'David Malouf'

The University of Queensland's Fryer Library is home to many fine literary vintages. Established in 1927 as the J.D. Fryer Memorial Library of Australian Literature in honour of a former Arts student and soldier in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), John Denis Fryer, the collection includes the papers of significant Australian journalists, novelists and poets, including Ernestine Hill, John Forbes, David Malouf, Bruce Dawe, Thomas Shapcott, Peter Carey and Oodgeroo Noonuccal among others.

This thesis develops a critical reading methodology entitled unprincipled formalism. This methodology is tested in close readings of three relatively contemporary Australian literary texts: David Malouf's short story "A Traveller's Tale" (1986) and novella Remembering Babylon (1994), and Peter Carey's short story "The Chance" (1978). Unprincipled formalism is developed in relation to three broad contexts: the fragmented state of the contemporary discipline of literary studies; the complex of international economic and social phenomena which goes under the general rubric of globalisation; and the specific Australian left-liberal literary critical tradition which I have termed, for convenience sake, the Meanjin literary formation. Unprincipled formalism does not draw a distinction between form and content. Unprincipled formalism is a critical methodology that is both avowedly socially concerned and strictly formalist. It is concerned with articulating and analysing the particular social and political interventions made by literary texts (as well as the resultant critical discussion of those texts) through a consideration of the formal techniques by which literary texts situate themselves as acts of communication. Principal among these techniques is the mise en abyme. The thesis provides a detailed analysis of debates around the mise en abyme informed by the work of theorists such as Ross Chambers, Lucien Dallenbach, Frank Lentricchia, Moshe Ron, Jacques Derrida and others. Politically, unprincipled formalism attempts to steer a middling course between neo-liberal triumphalism on the one hand and nostalgic left romanticism on the other. This involves on the one hand a critique of neo-liberalism drawing on the work of Charles Taylor, Stephen Holmes, John Frow and others, and on the other a critique of a nostalgic romantic tendency in "progressive" critical technologies such as postmodern and postcolonial literary studies.

This thesis develops a critical reading methodology entitled unprincipled formalism. This methodology is tested in close readings of three relatively contemporary Australian literary texts: David Malouf's short story "A Traveller's Tale" (1986) and novella Remembering Babylon (1994), and Peter Carey's short story "The Chance" (1978). Unprincipled formalism is developed in relation to three broad contexts: the fragmented state of the contemporary discipline of literary studies; the complex of international economic and social phenomena which goes under the general rubric of globalisation; and the specific Australian left-liberal literary critical tradition which I have termed, for convenience sake, the Meanjin literary formation. Unprincipled formalism does not draw a distinction between form and content. Unprincipled formalism is a critical methodology that is both avowedly socially concerned and strictly formalist. It is concerned with articulating and analysing the particular social and political interventions made by literary texts (as well as the resultant critical discussion of those texts) through a consideration of the formal techniques by which literary texts situate themselves as acts of communication. Principal among these techniques is the mise en abyme. The thesis provides a detailed analysis of debates around the mise en abyme informed by the work of theorists such as Ross Chambers, Lucien Dallenbach, Frank Lentricchia, Moshe Ron, Jacques Derrida and others. Politically, unprincipled formalism attempts to steer a middling course between neo-liberal triumphalism on the one hand and nostalgic left romanticism on the other. This involves on the one hand a critique of neo-liberalism drawing on the work of Charles Taylor, Stephen Holmes, John Frow and others, and on the other a critique of a nostalgic romantic tendency in "progressive" critical technologies such as postmodern and postcolonial literary studies.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Humanities
Full Text

The aim of this thesis is to assess David Malouf’s contribution to the field of gender and men studies in his fiction books. In order to do so, I have proceeded by offering a close reading of each of his novels so as to emphasise those parts of the plot where gender and masculinities are more relevant, and from here engaging in a series of theoretical discourses as I saw convenient in the course of my analysis. We read his largely autobiographical novel Johnno in the tradition of the Bildungsroman. In this tradition, the main characters fulfil themselves when they meet the roles that society expects of them. Therefore, becoming a man or a woman means meeting these expectations. In Johnno, Malouf offers an alternative form of successful socialisation that redeems the main character, Dante as an artist but is also built on personal tragedy. We use Judith Butler’s studies on the performativity of gender, Hélène Cixous and Julia Kristeva’s ècriture feminine and their distinction between symbolic and semiotic language, Eve K. Sedgwick and René Girard’s studies on homosocial desire and triangulation, and Simone the Beauvoir and Pierre Bourdieu’s ethnographic research on women and Kabyle society, respectively, to read An Imaginary Life and Harland’s Half Acre. In An Imaginary Life, Malouf fictionalises the life of the poet Ovid in exile. In Rome, Ovid defies patriarchy and the Emperor writing a poetry that is uncivil and gay. In his exile in Tomis, Ovid decides to raise a feral Child against the advice of the women in the village, who end up using their power, based on folklore and superstition, to get rid of them. In Harland’s Half Acre, Malouf creates a male household where women are mostly absent, and a female one where the women are the main actors and men play a secondary role. When the main character of the novel, Frank Harland, finally recovers the family estate for his family’s only descendant, his nephew Gerald, the latter commits suicide. One of Malouf’s main concerns in his writings, the outcome of the novels privilege a spiritual sort of possession over one based on the values of patriarchy, that is, bloodline succession by right of the first-born male child, hierarchical power relations and ownership: Ovid survives in his poems thanks to the human need for magic and superstition, and so does Frank in his art. Michael S. Kimmel and R. W. Connell’s studies on men and masculinities, and historical research on Australian identity as it was forged during the colonial period and the World Wars help us read Fly Away Peter, The Great World, Remembering Babylon and The Conversations at Curlow Creek. In Australia, national identity and definitions of manhood are closely tied to frontier and war masculinities. In these novels, Malouf portrays the Australian legend: sceptical of authority, easy-going, egalitarian, larrikin, resourceful, etc. Unfortunately, the legend had a destructive effect on women and the feminine, and that is the reason why we recover from oblivion the important role that women played in the construction of Australia. Edward Said’s research in Culture and Imperialism, Homi Bhabha’s notions of hybridity and mimicry, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness provide us valuable tools to analyse class and ethnic issues when we ask ourselves what it means to be a man in Remembering Babylon. Margaret M. Gullette’s studies on the representation of age bias in literature and Ashton Applewhite’s research against ageism provide the theoretical framework for Ransom, where Malouf tells the story of Priam’s ransom of his son Hector, urging us to wonder what kind of heroism is left to a man in his old age. Finally, we offer a close reading of the outcome of the novels, where the agents of transformation are always male or involve male characters: Dante and Johnno, the eponymous hero of the novel; the Child in An Imaginary Life; Digger and Vic in The Great World; Gemmy in Remembering Babylon or Priam and Achilles in Ransom. In this way, we hope to better understand and more clearly render the world of men that Malouf portrays in his novels.
L’objectiu de la tesi és valorar la contribució de les obres de ficció de David Malouf als estudis de gènere i de masculinitats. Per tal d’aconseguir-ho, hem dut a terme una lectura fidel de les seves novel·les tot emfasitzant aquells elements de la història on el gènere i les masculinitats són més rellevants, i a partir d’aquí hem emprat una sèrie de teories que consideràvem adients en la nostra anàlisi. Hem llegit la seva novel·la àmpliament autobiogràfica, Johnno en la tradició de la Bildungsroman. En aquesta tradició, els personatges principals es realitzen quan compleixen les expectatives que la societat espera d’ells. Així doncs, fer-se un home o una dona vol dir complir aquestes expectatives. A Johnno, Malouf ens dóna una forma alternativa de socialització exitosa que redimeix al personatge principal, Dante, però que també s’erigeix sobre una tragèdia personal. Emprem la recerca de Judith Butler sobre la “performativitat” del gènere, l’ècriture feminine d’Hélène Cixous i Julia Kristeva i la distinció que fan entre llenguatge semiòtic i simbòlic, els estudis de Eve K. Sedgwick i René Girard sobre desig homosocial i el triangle amorós, i la recerca etnogràfica de Simone the Beauvoir i Pierre Bourdieu sobre la dona I la societat Kabyle, respectivament, en la nostra anàlisi d’An Imaginary Life i Harland’s Half Acre. A An Imaginary Life, Malouf narra la vida del poeta Ovidi a l’exili. A Roma, Ovidi desafia el patriarcat escrivint una poesia que és impertinent i divertida. Al seu exili a Tomis, Ovidi decideix criar un nen salvatge, contradient el consell de les dones del poble, que acaben utilitzant el seu poder, basat en les tradicions populars i la superstició, per lliurar-se’n. A Harland’s Half Acre, Malouf crea una llar principalment masculina on les dones hi són absents, i una de femenina on les dones porten les rendes de la casa i els homes hi tenen un paper secundari. Quan el personatge principal de la novel·la, Frank Harland, finalment recupera l’herència de la seva família i la vol entregar a l’únic descendent que queda de la família, el seu nebot Gerald, aquest es suïcida. Un dels temes més recurrents a les novel·les de David Malouf, el desenllaç de les novel·les privilegien una possessió de tipus espiritual per damunt d’una possessió basada en els valors del patriarcat, és a dir, la descendència basada en els fills legítims o de sang i els privilegis del fill primogènit, relacions jeràrquiques de poder i la propietat. Emprem els estudis sobre homes i masculinitats de Michael S. Kimmel i R. W. Connell, la recerca històrica de la identitat Australiana tal com es va forjar durant el període colonial i les dues Guerres Mundials en la nostra anàlisi de Fly Away Peter, The Great World, Remembering Babylon i The Conversations at Curlow Creek. A Austràlia, la identitat nacional i les definicions de masculinitat estan estretament lligades a les masculinitats de fronteres i de guerra. En aquestes novel·les, Malouf representa la llegenda del típic Australià: escèptic de l’autoritat, relaxat, igualitari, malparlat, informal, amb recursos, etc. Malauradament, la llegenda va tenir un efecte molt destructiu en les dones i els valors femenins, i per això recuperem de l’oblit l’important paper que van jugar les dones en la construcció d’Austràlia. La recerca d’Edward Said a Culture and Imperialism, les nocions d’hibridització i mimetisme d’Homi Bhabha, i la novel·la Heart of Darkness, de Joseph Conrad, ens proporcionen eines valuoses per la nostra anàlisi de qüestions ètniques i de classe quan ens preguntem què vol dir ser home a Remembering Babylon. Els estudis de Margaret M. Gullette sobre els prejudicis de la representació de l’edat a la literatura, i la recerca d’Ashton Applewhite contra els prejudicis de l’edat, ens proporcionen el marc teòric de la nostra lectura de Ransom, on Malouf explica la història de Priam, que rescata el cos del seu fill Hèctor de les mans d’Aquil·les, tot preguntant-nos quin tipus d’heroisme li queda a un home quan es fa vell. Finalment, oferim una lectura atenta de la resolució de les novel·les, on els agents del canvi són sempre masculins o impliquen personatges masculins. Per exemple, Dante i Johnno, l’heori epònim de la novel·la; el nen salvatge a An Imaginary Life; Digger i Vic a The Great World; Gemmy a Remembering Babylon o Priam i Achilles a Ransom. D’aquesta manera, esperem entendre millor i transmetre més clarament el món dels homes que Malouf ens representa a les seves novel·les.

Landscape is an enduring feature of Antipodean settler literature. Postcolonial fiction in New Zealand and Australia draws on pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial narratives of landscape to create compelling representations of place and people. In the adult fiction of New Zealand author Maurice Gee and Australian author David Malouf, characters typically turn to the landscape at moments of crisis or transition. Close analysis of Gee’s and Malouf’s fiction demonstrates that the physical environment serves as a touchstone for personal and national identity throughout personal and national histories. From childhood to old age, characters seek self-definition by locating themselves within their physical environment, rather than by directly referencing their social or cultural context. Individual life stages are shown to be analogous to early stages of national development for New Zealand and Australia – the journey from colonial child to mature identity for both the individual and the nation is figured through landscape images. However, Gee and Malouf also use the relationship between characters and landscape to reflect social attitudes and values, demonstrating a connection between confident identification with the ‘other’ of the landscape and the ability to integrate meaningfully with the ‘others’ of human society. Thus landscape functions in these texts as a means of both reflecting and constructing identity in postcolonial New Zealand and Australia.

Thesis (PhD--English)--University of Auckland, 2009.
"Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy in English, the University of Auckland, 2009." Includes bibliographical references.