These two opposing stands could find their own existence in Judith Wright’s early years of writing. Although she tends to have the positive one, there is occasional evidence of her rejection of native things of this country. This alienation germinates when she was young, which largely has derived from the growth environment in her family, a New England pastoral aristocracy. However, rather than focusing on the unfamiliarity of the new country as many other European writers have done, Wright never fails to discover and admire the natural beauty of Australia. The unknown plants and animals in the local area become important images in her early poetry. Be it the vitality or the unfamiliarity of Australia’s scenery, Wright in this period focuses on the materiality of the environment, the elementary level of the concept of place raised by Lawrence Buell, with much attention to the physical characteristics of land (2005, p.63).
Even in her whole life, Australia’s local sceneries stay charming in her mind, for which she has stated outright appreciation for more than once. In general, Wright, who has a broad mind to explore and accept the newly discovered continent, has displayed a vision distinct from and even ahead of that of most European in Australia.
2.2 Underlying Sense of Alienation from Australia
Judith Wright was born in a traditional pastoral family in Armidale, a small city in New South Wales. Her families were members of Colonial Squattocracy, a privileged group in Australia whose conservative values were an important influence on Wright’s upbringing. After over a century since colonial dispossession had begun, there existed the consensus that this continent was a “land of exile” (1966a, p. xii). This collective sense of alienation largely derives from an unfamiliar historical and geographical context of the new environment, which makes it difficult for the newcomers from the European continent to adapt into. Under strict British education, Wright was infused with a preconception from a young age that Australia was a dispossessed land. The undeveloped living condition, bleak wilds, and uncivilized local people have altogether intensified European repulsion against the land. If the objective cause of this aversion is unchangeable, there are subjective causes which are so deeply rooted that they are not willing to change. Simply put, it is the arrogance of the superior class of power, namely, the colonizers that let them look down upon Australia. Such an atmosphere of hostility used to surround young Wright, tempting her to perceive Australia in the same way once in a while. After all, it is not easy for a young girl to get rid of a national stereotype. The preoccupation often blurs her self-identification as a European Australian and gets her just-set-up sense of belonging to Australia wavering.
Chapter Three Longing for Belonging to Australia in Middle Years ................. 32
3.1 Guilt to the Land ............................ 32
3.1.1 Land Dispossession ............................... 34
3.1.2 Environmental Destruction .................. 36
Chapter Four Establishment of Rootedness in Australia in Late Years ........... 50
4.1 Harmonious Relationships with Land ......................... 50
4.1.1 Conservation of Terrestrial Environment .......................... 50
4.1.2 Conservation of Oceanic Environment ........................... 54
Chapter Five Conclusion................................... 66
Chapter Four Establishment of Rootedness in Australia in Late Years
4.1 Harmonious Relationships with Land
Getting used to a place includes an attachment to its loveliness and also tolerance of its dark side. The ambivalent sense of belonging to the land in the ori
