The power of place: landscape in New Zealand children’s fiction, 1970 - 1989

Abstract

…without the power of place, without that discovery of a special country of the mind right for this tale, the story could not have been told … Eleanor Cameron New Zealand children’s fiction shows a remarkable rise in quality during the 1980s. By this time, writers have developed a post-colonial, post-provincial awareness of a New Zealand cultural identity and a confidence in their perceptions and technical skills to explore their fictional concerns in a recognisable New Zealand landscape. The distinctive characteristics of the New Zealand landscape are a result of the country’s largely tectonic and volcanic origins. The landscape is inherently dangerous. This thesis shows that writers increase the significance of their children’s fiction when they choose to call on that danger and internalize its power. The maturing of New Zealand children’s fiction, though associated mainly with the 1980s, is discernible from 1970 on. The choice of 1970 to 1989 inclusive for this study, therefore, provides a time-span of two decades for comparison. This thesis is the first of its kind. Indeed, research carried out as its foundation, and recorded in the Appendix, proves that serious critical commentary is woefully lacking for New Zealand children’s fiction. Yet the genre has reached international recognition, most notably for the award-winning novels of Margaret Mahy. This thesis, therefore, makes an initial and important contribution to critical studies of an internationally valued body of children’s fiction. To highlight the thematic and technical achievements of New Zealand children’s writers, this study is divided into two parts, ‘Seascapes’ and ‘Landscapes’. The two chapters in Part One explore the way the sea permeates the New Zealand consciousness. Seascapes highlight the isolation of island settings, the sense of betrayal when danger violates the protection of a harbour, and the contribution of beaches to the significance of dividing lines, physical and symbolic. The four chapters in Part Two trace the impact and significance of danger in landscape features such as mountains, bush, hill country and plains, lakes, rivers, caves and tunnels, the last pair being particularly powerful through psychological associations. The emphasis is always on a ‘relational’ reading, exploring how the landscapes relate to the point of view or outlook of the characters or the structure or theme of the novel itself. The development of writers’ literary skills, as in shifts of time, voice and tense, enhances the art of their narratives and the establishing of characters and themes in their settings. The conclusion is that the dangerous characteristics of the New Zealand landscape have provided writers with scope to explore and develop themes and human relationships in an exciting and experimental way with a uniquely New Zealand voice. Moreover, in the highlighting of landscape and themes concerned with conservation, this study draws attention to what humanistic geographers call the fundamental problem of the Age: survival on this Earth. These are important achievements for New Zealanders. Not only do expressions of their national identity in their children’s fiction contribute to their feelings of self-worth, but also this fiction on an international level can make a contribution towards increasing understanding and tolerance of different points of view.