On some contexts of Joan Lindsay’s "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18778/1505-9057.50.13Keywords:
Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging RockAbstract
Joan Lindsay’s novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock , which dates back to mid-1960s enjoys a cult status in Australia. It has been adapted many times, notably by Peter Weir in his film, which – in Europe – is considered a starting point to discuss the meanings of the book; this leads to numerous explicative transgressions departing from the sense of the original work. The pseudo-historic quality of the novel and the counterfeit esoteric epilogue published after Lindsey’s death, which contrast with the realistic quality of the book, further complicate the picture. However, the wide spread interpretative proposals within psychoanalysis and gender studies fail to acknowledge the work as a whole, as they tend to be partial and focus mostly on Weir’s film. Ignoring the postcolonial context, such as the Stolen Generations, as well as mythological determinants (beliefs of Indigenous Australians rather than Mediterranean people) results in stripping the novel from its home culture and, as a consequence, in the flawed or incomplete interpretations. In addition, the film’s metaphysical ambience leads to exaggerated interpretations. The paper aims to unscramble and rearrange interpretations of Lindsay’s work by explicating and exemplifying political, social, symbolic, artistic, genre-related and other contexts. In so doing, the author hopes to refresh the Polish reader’s memory of the novel obscured by Weir’s mosaic.
Downloads
References
Barrett Donald, Notes and documents: Some correspondence with Joan Lindsay, “Australian Literary Studies” 1989, t. 14, nr 1, s. 104–107.
Google Scholar
Bladen Victoria, The Rock and the Void: Pastoral and Loss in Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock and Peter Weir’s Film Adaptation, “Colloquy” 2012, issue 23, s.159–184.
Google Scholar
Bloom Harold, Lęk przed wpływem. Teoria poezji, przeł. Agata Bielik-Robson, Universitas, Kraków 2002.
Google Scholar
Ho Elizabeth, Neo-Victorianism and the Memory of Empire, Continuum, London–New York 2012.
Google Scholar
Lindsay Joan, Piknik pod Wiszącą Skałą, przeł. Wacław Niepokólczycki, Książka i Wiedza, Warszawa 1991.
Google Scholar
Lindsay Joan, The Secret of Hanging Rock, with Commentaries by John Taylor, Yvonne Rousseau and Mudrooroo, ETT Imprint, Port Campbell 2016.
Google Scholar
Loder John, Australian Crime Fiction. A Bibliography 1857–1993, D.W. Thorpe, in Association with the National Centre for Australian Studies, Port Melbourne–Victoria 1994.
Google Scholar
McCulloch Janelle, Beyond the Rock. The Life of Joan Lindsay and the Mystery of Picnic at Hanging Rock, Bonnier Publishing Australia, Richmond–Victoria 2017.
Google Scholar
McKenzie Brett, The Solution to Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock? https://www.mck.com.au/the-solution-to-picnic-at-hanging-rock/ [dostęp: 17.07.2017].
Google Scholar
Mudrooroo [Johnson Colin Thomas], Mitologia Aborygenów, przeł. Mirosław Nowakowski, Dom Wydawniczy Rebis, Poznań 1997.
Google Scholar
O’Neill Terrence, Joan Lindsay: a time for everything, “The La Trobe Journal” 2009 May, nr 83, s. 41–55.
Google Scholar
Read Peter, The Stolen Generations: The removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883 to 1969, New South Wales Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Sydney 1981.
Google Scholar
Rousseau Yvonne, The Murders at Hanging Rock, Sun Books, Melbourne 1988.
Google Scholar
The secret of Hanging Rock. Joan Lindsay’s final chapter with an introduction by John Taylor and a commentary by Yvonne Rousseau, Angus & Robertson Publisher, Sydney 1987.
Google Scholar
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.