AustLit
Latest Issues
Notes
-
English translation of the title: From a New Literature : Australian Stories and Anecdotes
-
An anthology of Australian short stories collected, adapted and translated by Stefan von Kotze. Includes translated stories by Lawson, Dowell, O'Reilly and others.
Contents
- Der Brief The Letter That Came, single work short story
- Eine gluckliche Wahl A Happy Alternative, single work short story
-
Des Überländers Weib
The Drover's Wife,
Stefan von Kotze
(translator)
single work
short story
First appearing in The Bulletin in 1892, Henry Lawson's short story 'The Drovers Wife' is today regarded as a seminal work in the Australian literary tradition. Noted for it's depiction of the bush as harsh, potentially threatening and both isolated and isolating, the story opens with a simple enough premise: an aggressive--and presumably deadly--snake disrupts the working life of a bushwoman and her young children. Brave but cautious, the woman resolves to protect her children since her husband is, characteristically, away from home and of no help.
As time passes within the story, tension builds, and the snake's symbolic threat takes on layers of meaning as the sleepless heroine recalls previous challenges she faced while her husband was away. A series of flashbacks and recollections propel the story through the single night over which it takes place, and by the time the climax arrives--the confrontation with the snake--readers have learned much about the heroine's strengths and fears, most of the latter involving the loss of children and dark figures who encroach upon her small, vulnerable homestead. To be sure, this "darkness" is highly symbolic, and Lawson's use of imagery invokes Western notions of good and evil as well as gendered and racial stereotypes.
- Schatzhaus A Golden Shanty, Stefan von Kotze (translator) single work short story
- Die bose Nacht The Night We Watched for Wallabies, Stefan von Kotze (translator) single work short story humour