Vision and Style

Many readers of Patrick White have been troubled or repelled by the complexity of his style, and this book addresses the issue by showing that White’s stylistic involutions and obliquities are functional rather than affected, and bear closely on the moral vision of the writer.

            Concentrating on five novels-Voss, Riders in the Chariot, The Solid Mandala, The Vivisector, and The Eye of the Storm- and subjecting each to detailed stylistic scrutiny, Edgecombe finds thematic justification for the unusual disposition of syntax, synaesthesia, and symbolism. By selecting five novels only and focusing largely on the interconnection of style and vision, the author avoids the synoptic approach that characterizes earlier books about White. This limitation in range was made in order to intensify the depth of analysis.

Rodney Stenning Edgecombe is Lecturer, Department of English, University of Cape Town, South Africa.