The Odyssey Of The Elected Hero--On The Theme Of Patrick White's Voss

Patrick White is one of the best-known writers in the English speaking world, and the only Australian writer yet to have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Swedish Academy's commendation refers to the author's epic and psychological narrative art as having introduced a new continent to literature. Being a modern writer, White chooses psychological exploration as his major thematic concern. The basic theme in his works is mankind's search for a meaning for, and a value in existence.In his epic-like novel Voss, White deepens such a theme. To search for the ultimate truth of the psyche of modern man^he sends his elected hero on an arduous and painful odyssey of self-exploration, self-discovery and self-ratification. Through analyzing and diagnosing the spiritual problem of man, he endeavors to convey his understanding of the ideal psychological state of modern man: that is, a recognition and acceptance, with a humble and innocent mind, of all the personalities of self, no matter superior or inferior.This thesis attempts a Jungian analytic psychological reading of the novel Voss, with the focus placed on the themes as well as its development. So far as the process of exploration is concerned, it is found that the protagonist embarks on his exploration from the outer husk of his self (persona), to his individual self, and then to the innermost center of his psyche (the core of being), where all kinds of archetypes lie. This is a painful process of analyzing and ratification. To reach the ultimate truth requires a lot of courage and efforts, for Voss, as an image of modern man, has all the falsehood of modern man, which may results in his biased conclusion. Voss's final attainment very much depends upon the outside powers. As an unavoidable agent of psyche, these-powers mainly originate from his shadows and anima, symbolized by the members of expedition group, and his counterpart, Laura. By projecting his shadows on his subordinates, Voss recognizes his inferiorities as well as his merits and come to terms with the humble and innocent self. At the same time, by way of a symbolic marriage with his anima, he requites his feminine inclination and reaches the completeness of his personality. Through the above analysis, the author finally comes to the conclusion that this novel is an epic psychological odyssey of a modern 'elect' towards a full consciousness of his personality, who becomes an insightful modern man in the real sense.