Significant Relationship in Patrick White’s The Aunt’s Story

Abstract

The Aunt’s Story is perhaps Patrick White’s most famous and detailed work of the disintegration of identity. It is about freedom. The whole plot deals with Theodora Goodman’s struggle for a free world in which she can attain truth. The Aunt’s Story is primarily concerned with Theodora’s attempt to attain some sort of epiphany, particularly when she yields to moments of close relationships with other characters and the landscape. However, this communion is thwarted on the grounds that it threats her spiritual world. This work explains Theodora’s spiritual odyssey by highlighting her childhood recollections and her most important relationships with the other characters such as Frank, Clarkson, and Moraitis. It will explain Patrick White’s rationale behind emphasising spirituality and ignoring the physical world. In the end, it will put White’s philosophical dichotomy of spiritual development and physical nature under scrutiny in the light of Western Philosophy.