| Jessica Margaret Anderson is a well-known Australian novelist and short story writer.The book Tirra Lirra by the River,published in 1978,was Anderson's fourth novel,and has propelled her into the stardom of Australian literature.Tirra Lirra by the River tells the story of the protagonist Nora Porteous' constant escape from her current life,which she regarded as a pit filled with darkness,and her final reconciliation with herself.At the beginning of the story,Nora,in her seventies,returned to her childhood house.Bedridden,she began to collect the memories of her life:in order to leave her childhood house that she had always hated,she married Colin Porteous,whom she didn't love at all.However,it was only after she got married did she realize that she had fallen into another trap.After her divorce,she went to London and moved in with several of her friends.Now,at an old age,she returned to Brisbane.Faced with all this abnormal normalcy,she finally felt at ease.Because of the constant "escape" Nora had experienced and her pursuit of a sense of belonging,she had once lived in or stayed at several houses.This thesis intends to analyze the images of these houses and explore the representation of these images,by using Henri Lefebvre's theory of space.By comparing the differences of the descriptions of these houses and analyzing their representations,the thesis intends to argue that the changes in the portrayals of these houses reflect the changes and growth the protagonist Nora had gone through.In the book,Nora finally returned to her childhood house from which she had once desperately wanted to escape,and finally felt at ease and a sense of being in control.This arrangement of plot indicates that the author Jessica Anderson thought that in the male-dominant world of Australia in the 1900s it was problematic for women to search for a sense of belonging in marriage and even in family.Only through constantly striving for one's interests can women experience growth and find inner peace. |
PDF Full Text Request