The Fall Of Richard Mahony

Henry Handel Richardson, the famous Australian novelist in the 20th century, is known of her power to develop convincing central characters within the boundaries of the realistic method. She is expert in drawing extensively on the experiences of her own life as materials for her novels. The Fortunes of Richard Mahony is thought to be her finest work, which abandons the figure of successful emigrant constantly appearing in the former Australian novels. Instead, Richardson portrays a failed emigrant searching for a fortune in Australia that draws extensively on the life of her father. It is generally viewed among critics that it is a novel about an unfortunate emigrant inadaptable to the environment and people around him. A lot of essays were focused on the form — the narrative techniques, the writing style, ingenuity in weaving fact and fiction together, skillful changes of settings, etc. Character analysis remains far from thorough and pointed.This dissertation analyzes the fall of the protagonist, Richard Mahony in the external and internal respects by examining the historical context of the Australia society and the self-destructive factors in his character. An exploration is made to see how he is corroded by his congenital restlessness, pride and eccentricity and finally destroyed by his inadaptability to the environment in which he finds himself. A 'misfit' in a strange and disturbing country and an idealistic and proud dreamer hoping to make a fortune, Mahony is bound to be a failure.This dissertation is composed of the following parts:The introduction part makes a general review of the life and works of Richardson. Chapter two analyzes the process and causes of Richard Mahony's deterioration, especially that of his physical and mental deterioration. The third chapter focuses on the protagonist Richard Mahony's character by giving a thorough analysis of it and also unfolds before the reader's eyes Mahony's conflicts with those around him and his inadaptability to the society. The conclusion recapitulates the finding of the study.