The feminine themes grew from the development of independence of women. Many women left behind to work the farm whilst their men travelled looking for employment or droving cattle for months at a time. These women developed an independence that pioneered the revolution of the new Australian women. ‘The Gold-fields Girls’ (LCS12 Anthology 2009, p31) describes the changing attitudes of women compared to the British girls. They were outgoing and in charge of their own lives; ‘The Women of the West’ (Evans cited in LCS12 Anthology 2009, p52) infers that it was the hearts of the women that formed the Nation through their loneliness and suffering. This suffering of families and women was presented as a reliance on men who failed to meet their responsibility. Men’s weaknesses continues in My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin (1901, p17) where her father drinks and squanders the family’s wealth forcing the family into poverty. Domestic duties and education consumed much of her female characters lives, with marriage dominating the younger women concerns. For the less well off farming families, girls were a burden if they could not help work the farm. Franklin (1901, p36-37) supports this when she packs off her main character Sybylla to her grandmother for care and education. Women’s presence in society had a soothing role. Poems such as ‘The Women of the Future” (Luftig cited in LCS12 Anthology 2009 p 114) or the character of Doreen in ‘The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke’ (C.J. Dennis cited in LCS12 Anthology 2009 pp123-139) or Mrs Yabsley and Ada in the novel Jonah (Stone 1911) present an prospective from a woman’s view. Many women relied on men as dependants as they were not able to earn an income easily whereby they required the support of men to survive comfortably. Women who left their husbands were destitute as single mothers or forced to remarry where possible. In Stones novel ‘Jonah’ Mrs Yabsley a single mother attempts many times to marry her daughter Ada to Jonah the father of her baby, so Ada would have some security (Stone 1911, p13). Jonah, like most men traditionally bonded to their mates rather then their women, preferring to be with the Push living on the street (Stone 1911, p30-31). Feminist historians find in women’s private letters how women contributed to the domestication of men. Marilyn Lake (Historical Studies 1986) points out that the history of women could not exclude men therefore men’s history should not exclude woman. The contest between men and women was in essence a contest to control the national culture through domestication (Lake 1986 p116). This theme of female suffering caused by male domination is commonly found without much change over the century. Inequality of the sexes was accepted, and this theme is cited in many writings of the time.
Inequality affected the single women financially in the both the bush and the city as seen in Jonah (Stone 1911) where women struggled to survive as men roamed the streets in groups of larrikins. Larrikins of the early 20th century were an extension of the rebellious nature that had roots back to the convicts. Convicts dreamed of joining the bushrangers such as ‘Jim Jones at Botany Bay’ and ‘Bold Jack Donahoe’. A culture had developed that despised authority, written in ballads of bushrangers where the subjects were heroes, considered brave and virtuous. The authorities were cruel and savage in their punishment as Frank the Poet laments in his writing. Although the subject changed, anti-authoritarian sentiment themes found in poems like ‘Licence Hunting’(LCS12 Anthology 2009, p32), ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’ (LCS12 Anthology 2009, p38) and ‘Waltzing Matilda’ (Paterson cited in LCS12 Anthology 2009, p76) with the police seen as the villain and the lawbreaker the hero. The Eureka Stockade massacre demonstrates the extent that many men went to, to support their mates (Wilde, Hooton & Andrews OCAL 1994). An antiauthoritarian culture started right back in the convict days. A real dislike for the law and the soldiers developed a camaraderie that continued through the gold rush era into the bushranger’s period. Many of The Bulletin’s articles and its writers focused on this virtuous folk hero type, creating a folklore and legend cult admired by the readers. This loyal bonding was a theme found in many stories, some true and some not so true, yet the essence of their concerns was to stand up for their rights and fight the law if need be. True mateship!
Mateship was strongly characterised through the words of the writers. The ‘Ballad of Eureka’ immortalised the bonds of the miners, “These diggers fought like heroes…they lived good mates together, and good mates together died” (Daley in LCS12 Anthology 2009, p85). Mateship is a masculine trait, developed through necessity when men outnumbered women twenty to one, a fact that ensured that many men would never marry. The camaraderie linked to the nomadic bush worker created a relationship between men as Marilyn Lake (Historical Studies 1986, p120) states “men had a love called mateship”. The theme of mateship weaves throughout the history of Australian literature, perhaps well demonstrated in The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke (1915) by C.J. Dennis (cited in LCS12 Anthology 2009, pp 123-141). The Sentimental Bloke has two mates, Doreen and Ginger Mick, each holding a very special place in his heart. Dennis (1915) reproduced the series of poems read by men in the trenches during the First World War and those at home. Mateship was a strong theme that provided a crutch to lean on for many diggers. The Anzac Legend built on these themes, constructs the foundation keystone for the Australian national image.
In conclusion, the major recurring themes and concerns in these literary texts contribute to the character of the Australian nation in many ways. Women were seen as second class and subservient, answering to the needs of men. A male dominated population focused on the concerns of men, women were poorly represented until the end of the nineteenth century. The masculine themes of bushrangers and gold diggers centralised the characterisation of Australia as male. Gold miners fought for their rights with an antiauthoritarian zealousness, a theme that is commonly found throughout the next century. Women had their story too, somewhat different and domesticated. The life of women had different concerns, survival after the failures of men and the ramifications when isolated by social unacceptance. The Larrikin image came from an antiauthoritarian and a male dominated landscape on the streets. This urban image, not dissimilar to the bush ranger also carried the theme of mateship, an image found throughout Australian literature. The themes of masculinity, feminism, and anti-authoritarianism are found in the battles of Eureka and the awkward relationship of men and women, but the essence of mateship is the building block of a good Australian yarn and the foundation of a nation.
Reference List
Grant, D. Newman, J. & Seal, G (eds), An Anthology of Australian Verse and Song Black Swan Press, 1993 cited in Anthology LCS12, 2009, ‘Writing the Nation: Australian Literature to 1950’, Curtin University of Technology, Perth.
Franklin, M., (1901), My Brilliant Career, edited by Bruce K. Martin 2008, Broadview Editions, Canada.
Lake, Marilyn ‘The Politics of Respectability: Identifying the Masculinist Context’, Historical Studies, Vol. 22, No86 April 1986, pp 116-131.
Lawson, Henry ‘Captain of the Push’ pp 61 – 63 in Anthology, LCS12 Writing the Nation: Australian Literature to 1950 2009 Curtin University of Technology, Perth.
Glynn, Sean 1975, ‘Towards an Urban Interpretation of Australian History’, Urbanisation in Australian History, 1788 – 1900, (2nd edn), Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, Ch. 4, pp 61-80.
Reader LCS12 2009, cited on 2 January 2010.
Stone, Louis Jonah, (1911) 2003. Richmond Ventures Pty Limited, Griffin Press, Adelaide, South Australia.
Walter, James ‘Defining Australia’ in Whitlock, Gillian and Carter, David (eds) 1992 Images of Australia: An Introductory Reader in Australian Studies, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, pp 7-22.
Wilde, William H. Hooton, Joy and Andrews, Barry 1994, The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature, (second edition) Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
