The Search for Self in Tirra Lirra by the River Essay -- Tirra Lirra b

The Search for Self in Tirra Lirra by the River It has been suggested that Tirra Lirra by the River feces be regarded as a novel which aims eventu each(prenominal)y at a better understanding2. In my opinion understanding is achieved at deuce levels in the novel. The first type of understanding is personal and introspective, and is discovered by the central character. The other is societal, achieved through allegory and symbolism, and aimed at the reader. Jessica Anderson aims to develop this dual understanding through the exploration of two primary(prenominal) themes the quest for self-knowledge, and the consequences of gendered societal repression. In this essay I will explore these themes, and how much Nora and the hearing respectively finally understand in relation to them. The Quest for Self-Knowledge Nora Porteous, the main character of Tirra Lirra by the River, embarks on a voyage of self denudation as an elderly lady - mostly while in put out recovering from pneumoni a. As physical exertion, which the reader later discovers has been her usual reception to periods of waiting, is denied her, she begins to explore her inner military personnel of imagination and memory. Her most important discovery is that she has lived under the curse of an imbalance between imagination and genuinelyity all her life. This imbalance is signified by Noras many correlations to Tennysons Lady of Shallot, and by the chasm between her physical appearance and actions and her inner character. One of the most self-evident traits shared by the Lady and Nora, is their desire for the perfect social world of Camelot. Noras Camelot is a region of her mind, where infinite expansion was possible and is more real than the discomfort of knees imprinted by the cane of a chair (... ... from p. 61. Willbanks, p. 62. Pam Gilbert, Coming show up From Under Contemporary Australian Women Writers (London Pandora, 1988) p. 140. Elaine Barry, The Expatriate Vision of Jessica Anderso n, Meridian 1 (3) (1984), 3-11. This from p. 8. Alfred Tennyson, The Lady of Shallot, In Elaine Barry, Fabricating the Self The Fictions of Jessica Anderson (Queensland UQP, 1992), Appendix 2. Elaine Barry, Fabricating the Self The Fictions of Jessica Anderson (Queensland UQP, 1992), p. 89. Barry, Meridian, p. 9. Barry, Fabricating, p. 83. Roslynn Haynes, Art as Reflection in Jessica Andersons Tirra Lirra by the River, Australian Literary Studies 3 (12) (1986), 316-323. This from p. 318. Willbanks, p. 60. Barry, Fabricating, p. 73. Barry, Meridian, p. 7. Barry, Fabricating, p. 74. Willbanks, p. 60. Barry, Fabricating, p. 71. Willbanks, p. 62.