Robbie Arnott’s magical realism novel Flames embarks on a journey through Tasmania to meditate on the complexity of human emotion and our relationship with nature. Centred in the natural world, Flames asks us to reject anthropocentrism and to consider the ways in which we are a reflection of, and a part of, the natural world.
Characterised by its frank portrayal of hardship and oppression, Franklin’s writing reflects the social and political movements of federalism and female suffrage, emphasising the disempowerment of women in Australia while celebrating the Australian working class and natural environment with a strong sense of patriotism.
Romantic works are often centred around the life experience of individuals within both the spiritual and physical realms; they attempt to capture individual variations in perception, multiplying and co-existing truths, and the capacity the receptive consciousness has to filter and re-create reality.