The Post-colonial Explorer: Rodney Hall's "The Second Bridegroom"

Abstract

This article preovides a postcolonial reading of Rodney Hall's novel, "The Second Bridegroom". In a number of his novels Rodney Hall has engaged in a re-examination of Australian history through an interrogation of alternative experiences of the process of discovery and settlement. In particular he finds in the myths and facts of nineteenth century exploration, with their constant reiteration of the gulf which separated desire from fulfilment, an adequate representation of the difficulty faced by post-colonial societies in feeling at ease in their new homeland. Hall's fiction brings a post-colonial sensibility to bear on the story of the discovery and exploration of Australia. By doing so, he continues the exploration of his homeland and the task of completing the tantalisingly unfinished maps of its spiritual terrain.