Literary Analysis Report: Course Name, Semester 1, 2024

This report presents a literary analysis of two key questions. The first question examines Eleanor Dark's novel "Prelude to Christopher," focusing on the character of Linda and her struggle with societal expectations regarding motherhood and gender roles. The analysis highlights Linda's questioning of traditional gender roles and her pursuit of self-actualization, arguing that she is not 'mad' but rather a character who refuses to conform to societal norms. The second question analyzes Patrick White's "Down at the Dump," comparing it to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and exploring its critique of Australian society. The report focuses on the character of Daise, who is presented as an outsider, and her ability to perceive the flaws and immorality of the society due to her non-conformist nature. The report references several scholarly articles to support the analysis and provides a comprehensive overview of the themes and arguments presented.

Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW
LITERATURE REVIEW
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1LITERATURE REVIEW
Question 1: Is Linda ‘mad’?
Eleanor Dark’s famous novel “Prelude to Christopher” (1934) is often considered to
be the first Australian modernistic novel and highlights the “the urge of Dark to speak the
naked truth” (Carson 2013). The novel takes the help of the stream of consciousness,
flashbacks, internal monologues and other literary techniques to shed insightful light on the
aspect of gender policies (Ailwood 2010). For example, it is seen that the central lacuna of
the novel is Linda’s dilemma whether or not to have a child. Furthermore, it is seen that her
decision is largely influenced by the misconstrued Eugenicist experiment and this in turn
elevates her fears that the child born would be genetically inferior (Gildersleeve 2016).
However, rather than merely being concerned with genetics she is confused whether or not
she should take a stance against the age-old tradition that the women should bear the child
(Ailwood 2010). She questions the structured gendered roles as well as the societal
performance that the women are required to perform. Thus, it can be said that rather than
being mad Linda is a character who refuses to abide by the societal conceived notions of
women and decides to embark on the path of self-actualisation.
Question 2: Patrick White's “Down at the Dump”
Patrick White's “Down at the Dump” is often considered to be a modern-day retelling
of William Shakespeare’s famous play “Romeo and Juliet” albeit in an Australian setting
(Henderson and Lang 2015). However, one of the most important aspects of the work is the
fact that rather than presenting a romantic setting the concerned work seeks to ridicule or
criticise the Australian setting and thereby shows its true nature. Furthermore, the majority of
the characters of the work like Daise and others are shown as complete outsiders to the
normal Australian society because of their character traits or behaviour. For example, Daise
is being shown by White as a sexually non-conformist who refuses to abide the set standards

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that the women of the society portrayed in the novel (Wolfe 2015). This character trait of
Daise not only sets her apart from the society but at the same time makes the other characters
of the novel look upon her as a complete outsider (Henderson and Lang 2015). However, by
assuming the role of the outsider she is being able to objectively understand the society and
thereby realise its immorality, follies and foibles and others which the other characters of the
novel fail to realise or understand for that matter.

3LITERATURE REVIEW
References
Ailwood, S., 2010. Anxious Beginnings: Mental Illness, Reproduction and Nation Building in
‘Prelude’and Prelude to Christopher. Katherine Mansfield Studies, 2(1), pp.20-38.
Carson, S., 2013. Conversations with the Land: Environmental Questions and Eleanor
Dark. Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, pp.191-196.
Gildersleeve, J., 2016. Traumatic cosmopolitanism: Eleanor dark and the world at
war. Hecate, 41(1/2), p.7.
Henderson, I. and Lang, A. eds., 2015. Patrick White Beyond the Grave. Anthem Press.
Wolfe, P., 2015. Laden choirs: the fiction of Patrick White. University Press of Kentucky.