Eleanor Dark's Double Identities In The Timeless Land

Eleanor Dark is no doubt an important figure in Australian literary history. Among all her literary works, The Timeless Land, as a best-seller in Australia and USA, deserves more attention. Much research has been done on this book from many different perspectives, but it is quite regrettable that till now very few critics have noticed Dark's double identities in The Timeless Land.In this thesis, by comparison with the Australian literary tradition and historical records, the textual analysis reveals that Dark is a post-colonial writer in her subversion of the colonial discourse and a colonial writer in her justification of British settlement in Australia.As to her identity as a post-colonial writer, it is manifested in her depiction of the aborigines. In the novel, Dark has elevated the aborigines to such a place as is comparable to that of the whites that the previous colonial view of them is thoroughly undermined and meanwhile using this novel as her mouthpiece, she has succeeded in giving a voice to the aborigines who had been written out of the record by conventional historical accounts. In all, equality, justice, subjectivity and virtues have been restored to the aborigines so that they are no longer subject to any imperial, colonial or racial force. In this aspect, Dark can be regarded as a post-colonial writer.But, Dark is not a constant post-colonial writer throughout the whole novel. In her portrayal of the early white settlers, she sides with the white settlers and portrays them as humanitarians and pioneers, rather than killers and invaders. For the friendship which is pervasive in her novel, there is no historical record to vouch. And from time to time, she lets her aboriginal characters stand out to acknowledge the white people as good people and their presence as valid. In this aspect, she acts as a colonial writer to justify the British settlement in Australia.According to the historical-biographical approach to literary works, a novel can be seen, if not exclusively, as a refection of the author's life and times. Therefore, a close look at Dark's personal and social background may shed light upon her double...