Book | Chapter
On becoming an Australian
the journey of Patricia Pengilley
pp. 291-307
Abstract
The chapter focuses on the Anglo-Indian-Australian author, Patricia Pengilley (1926–2010) and her autobiographical novel The Tiger and the Kangaroo Went to Sea: On Becoming an Australian (1999). The author focuses on the conflicting and evolving experiences of Pengilley as a diasporic Anglo-Indian-Australian. The chapter examines the intensities and intimacies of the contact zones, where Pengilley struggles with her Eurasian, colonial, English, Indian and Australian selves in order to claim a space of her own in her adopted country. As Pengilley encounters the process of diasporic cultural translation on her way to becoming an Australian, the author argues that the essence of diasporic identity and belonging are not characterized by homogeneity or separateness, but can be articulated in terms of multiple possibilities and positionalities.
Publication details
Published in:
Das Devaleena, Dasgupta Sanjukta (2017) Claiming space for Australian women's writing. Dordrecht, Springer.
Pages: 291-307
Full citation:
Dalal Sanghamitra (2017) „On becoming an Australian: the journey of Patricia Pengilley“, In: D. Das & S. Dasgupta (eds.), Claiming space for Australian women's writing, Dordrecht, Springer, 291–307.