Australian Studies, Vol 2

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Patrick White's Sense of History in 'A Fringe of Leaves'

Elena Ungari

Abstract


‘The historical novel can only represent our ideas and stereotypes about that [historical] past’, asserts the philosopher Fredric Jameson in his analysis of postmodernism and its link to history. In this paper I intend to explore the ways in which Patrick White treats the theme of history in A Fringe of Leaves (1976); I will argue that this novel confutes Jameson’s statement, while it shows the metaphorical meaning that “history” acquires in the literary text. Finally, I will try to assess the aim and function of White’s historical reconstruction in the Australian context of the 1970s.

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