The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
'My Place and Don't Take Your Lore to Town are two monumental works in Australian Aboriginal women' s life story. By depicting the Aboriginal people's true life in contemporary society, both works show great concern for the survival of the Aborigines. And because of this, critics often assume that they are similar in every aspect. However, as far as the Aboriginal people' s self-representation is concerned, the two books stand for the two different stages in Swan Hall' s "representation" theory, and thus have different characteristics.' (Publication abstract)
'Barbara Baynton was one of the most important women writers who were active at the turn of the 20* century, when Henry Lawson and "Banjo" Paterson' s robust nationalism were more dominating voices. Baynton' s, which was definitely a feminine one, was a dissident voice. The present work aims to discuss the theme of motherhood in her only novel, Human Toll, to explore Baynton s effort in subverting the prevailing self-confident bush mythology which was best represented by the idea of "mateship".' (Publication abstract)