Thea Astley's Failed Eden

In the critical attention given to Thea Astley's fiction there has been little written about her use of landscape. This is surprising because Astley is often identified as a 'regional writer' with a body of work that is strongly associated with coastal north Queensland, and there is l...

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Main Author: Genoni, Paul
Format: Book Chapter
Published: Cambridge Scholars Press 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36225
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author Genoni, Paul
author_facet Genoni, Paul
author_sort Genoni, Paul
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description In the critical attention given to Thea Astley's fiction there has been little written about her use of landscape. This is surprising because Astley is often identified as a 'regional writer' with a body of work that is strongly associated with coastal north Queensland, and there is little doubt that she evokes the landscapes of her novels as a memorable element within their drama.This paper suggests an approach to landscape as it is used by Astley, and in doing so argue that it is interconnected with both her characterisation and her moral positioning. The image she uses to forge this connection is the Garden of Eden, which is of course for Judeo-Christian cultures the iconic representation of both perfect physical beauty and an ideal moral state.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-362252017-01-30T13:54:26Z Thea Astley's Failed Eden Genoni, Paul Eden Thea Astley Gardens in literature Catolicism in literature In the critical attention given to Thea Astley's fiction there has been little written about her use of landscape. This is surprising because Astley is often identified as a 'regional writer' with a body of work that is strongly associated with coastal north Queensland, and there is little doubt that she evokes the landscapes of her novels as a memorable element within their drama.This paper suggests an approach to landscape as it is used by Astley, and in doing so argue that it is interconnected with both her characterisation and her moral positioning. The image she uses to forge this connection is the Garden of Eden, which is of course for Judeo-Christian cultures the iconic representation of both perfect physical beauty and an ideal moral state. 2006 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36225 Cambridge Scholars Press restricted
spellingShingle Eden
Thea Astley
Gardens in literature
Catolicism in literature
Genoni, Paul
Thea Astley's Failed Eden
title Thea Astley's Failed Eden
title_full Thea Astley's Failed Eden
title_fullStr Thea Astley's Failed Eden
title_full_unstemmed Thea Astley's Failed Eden
title_short Thea Astley's Failed Eden
title_sort thea astley's failed eden
topic Eden
Thea Astley
Gardens in literature
Catolicism in literature
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36225