Cirrus@Austlit

Schaffer considers the place of women in Lawson's fiction in relation to the many constructions of an authorial identity that supports various critical perspectives. Schaffer demonstrates that women are a signifier of lack within the discourse on the Australian tradition that uses Lawson as an example. This discourse, Schaffer argues, establishes a bond between the writer and his audience that stabilizes and solidifies the construction of a masculine national identity.