A Thematic Study Of Voss

Patrick White is one of the best known Australian writers in the world. In 1973, he was awarded Nobel Literature Prize "for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature" by Swedish Academy. His works have been translated into French, German, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Chinese Japanese, and a few other languages. In his works, there is a skillful combination of European traditional culture and Australian reality, and his own personality, which makes his works full of distinguished attractiveness. The popularity of Patrick White's works shows that he has a worldwide effect upon literature, personally, culturally, and reasonably.Patrick White came from an established Australian family whose parents are Anglican prayers. Young White received excellent education in England, and traveled most European countries. Therefore, European cultures had an immense influence on his writing. Meanwhile, White was greatly influenced by Greek mythology, Judean-Christian attitudes and mysticism. White also showed a strong interest in Eastern philosophy, such as Hinduism, and Buddhism, etc. Gradually, Patrick White transformed himself from an atheist to a believer of God, a super power outside human being; then to an advocate of religious pluralism. Besides, the suffering White experienced led to his favor in Emerson's Transcendentalism. He believes that suffering and humility is the only path to achieve transcendence as well as the ultimate truth, which is shown clearly in the hero Voss'physical and spiritual exploration.Patrick White is also deeply influenced by Carl Jung's psychology, which he takes as his literary guides. He believes that the world consists of two layers:the physical world and the spiritual world. The physical world is the surface layer. The spiritual world lies in human heart, beneath the physical world, but it is exactly the real world White attempts to discover. Therefore, the discovery of conflicts in human mental world becomes White's constant pursuit in writing. White intends to tell us the truth of existing in his novels, and to show his concerns with human life and society.In his novel Voss, Patrick White expresses his understanding towards God:suffering is the only path to God. Through suffering and humility, the explorer as well as the arrogant "superman" Voss achieves the core of being at his tragic death, realizing his failure before God:he is never his own God. This is a painful process of analyzing and recognition. To reach the ultimate truth requires a lot of courage and efforts. The hero Voss, as an image of modern man who is rootless and godless, has all the weakness which may result in his biased conclusion. Through the painful odyssey of self-exploration, self-discovery and self-recognition of Voss, and through analyzing and diagnosing Voss'spiritual problem, White endeavors to convey his understanding of the ideal psychological state of a 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. Through the above analysis, the author finally comes to the conclusion that this novel is a psychological odyssey of a modern man towards a full consciousness of his personality by suffering and humility.