summer of the 17th doll

Many critics have claimed Ray Lawler to be the first dramatist to successfully contrast the harsh Australian bush to the evolving Australian city but this indeed is not the case. We must take a step back from the year 1955 to recognise Betty Roland’s revolutionary text The Touch of Silk, which was written 27 years prior. The Touch of Silk showcases the lives of an assortment of characters that are situated in the inhospitable landscape of north-west Victoria. The play focuses on the relationships between the characters, especially between Jeanne and the entire township. Rola

The audience is positioned to pity Jeanne, we sympathise for her when she is referred to as a “kid” and we loathe the way in which Mrs Davidson treats her. But the final argument that places the city as far superior is undeniably the ending. In the conclusion of the play Jeanne decides to keep husband Jim from being placed in a mental hospital by lying to Hughes by saying that Jim caught her having an affair with Clifford Osborne therefore having “reason” to murder Osborne. By doing this Jeanne realises she not only stakes her own reputation but also Osborne’s, especially as they are not guilty.

This can be linked to the earlier mentioned composer Ray Lawler. Lawler acquired success through his play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll which Biddy Allen stated in the Argus

Some topics in this essay:
II Scene, Touch Silk, DAVIDSON She’s, Monsieur Osborne…my, Roland Jeanne, Jeanne Roland, Ray Lawler, Betty Roland, Clifford Osborne, Australian Australian, ray lawler, touch silk, bush city, word choice roland, city bush, word choice, roland highlights, australian life, bush audience, australian bush, choice roland, city bush audience,