Shadows Without Light : Zen and Blackfellas in "Cloudstreet"

概要

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For three years I participated in a Sydney conference called "Religion, Literature and the Arts(1997-1999)". Though only one formal paper was presented on Winton, in general discussions an enthusiastic and sizeable Christian contingent talked dearly of Winton as one of their own. While there is much in his work to support the idea that he is a Christian writer of sorts, Winton's existential view is far more electic and varied than expressive of allegiance to one faith or one tradition. There is much in Cloudstreet that is redolent with aspects of Zen Buddhism, ones which also find expression in the Australian Aboriginal world view which he includes in the novel. This paper recognizes that it is reductive both in its treatment of Buddhist philosophy and Aboriginal spirituality, only scratching the surface of both. It also does not seek to denigrate a Christian interpretation of the work, or argue that other traditions being described herein are some how"better". What it attempts to do in its explication de texte is to explore aspects of the characters' lives as Winton describes them which do not sit comfortably with mainstream Christian thought. Winton, probably unconsciously, includes both Buddhist and Aboriginal perspectives in Cloudstreet in a vigorous and poetic attempt to describe the complex lot of each of his characters and the mysterious universe they perforce inhabit.