‘Rough Architects’: New Zealand Literature and Its Institutions from Phoenix to Landfall

Hilliard, Christopher

doi:10.1017/cbo9781316050873.011

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 1905 the Evening Post claimed the ground was ‗one of the most vital of the causes for the increasing number of divorce decrees'. 48 It was removed as a ground for divorce in 1907 but, in 1920, it again became a ground for divorce. 49 This ground continued to cause disquiet after its reintroduction.…”

Section: Macgregor and Robert Mcnab Liberal Member Of The House Of Representatives Formentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women who formed relationships with American soldiers, based in New Zealand from 1942 to 1944 (primarily in Wellington and Auckland), were considered to be ‗indulging in sexual sedition,' by many New Zealand men, particularly those in the defence forces, despite the fact that the Americans were Allies. 48 The American presence provoked similar sentiments in Australia and Britain, and Americans were viewed as a threat to British masculinity. 49 American soldiers were seen as exotic and romantic in their uniforms.…”

Section: Illustration 31 Cartoon Showing Large Numbers Of People Entering the Divorce Court And Putting The Blame On 'Warriors' Wives Whomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In his answer he denied committing adultery with Hector's wife Mary Ann, but stated, if it is proved he committed adultery as alleged in paragraph 3 and 4 of the said petition and that the Petitioner has suffered damage in consequence thereof then he says the Petitioner on or about the 15 th day of February 1920 agreed with co-respondent to accept the sum of £250 in settlement of such damages and the Petitioner received from the co-respondent the sum of £25 and a promissory notes for £225 due 15 th day of February 1921. 48 Rather than leaving the decision up to the jury, who not only decided if damages should be awarded, but also the amount of the damages, litigants came to their own agreements which were less public and could also take into account chattels, the custody of children and the re-marriage of the wife. In most cases, these arrangements never appear in the divorce file so it is impossible to know how common such agreements were.…”

Section: Source: Wellington Divorce Databasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is a big request I know, but as it is our intention to marry just as soon as I'm in a position to do so, I ask it for my future happiness for we love each other and I would like to start off right when the time does come when I shall be free to re-marry'. 48 Her husband ignored her request and petitioned for divorce on the ground of adultery, naming Cordner K. as the co-respondent. In a communication from a husband's solicitor to his wife's solicitor in 1942, it was suggested that, ‗if the wife sees fit to take any proceedings against her husband, to save embarrassment, we can arrange for our client to be at our office at any convenient time for the purpose of service of any documents'.…”

Section: Chapter Five Privacy Prurience and Publicity: Suspicions And Surveillance In The Divorce Proceedingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bradbury, looking at Canada, has argued that post-World War II there was an even greater emphasis placed on sex in marriage, along with love and romance. 48 As was evident in the British constitutional crisis of 1936, when Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, divorce also involved religious views about marriage. The Christian church's view of marriage remained largely unmoved by legal changes and social trends.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Loosening the Marriage Bond: Divorce in New Zealand, c.1890s - c.1950s

Brown¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Based on a detailed examination of 2,195 divorce case files generated by applications to the Wellington Supreme Court, the study explores the changing frequency and character of the divorcing population in New Zealand between 1898, when the grounds for divorce were extended under the Divorce Act, until c.1959. The end point is set by access limits to divorce case files, the beginning of Marriage Guidance, and the establishment of a 'normal' pattern of divorce following the postwar spike. The study examines how and why New Zealanders divorced in increasing numbers over the period. In particular, it looks at the increase in divorce during and after the two world wars. The rate peaked in the immediate postwar years and remaining at levels about those pre-1914 and pre-1939.The study also looks at how war contributed to an underlying and on going change in attitudes towards marriage and divorce, not solely attributable to the immediate crisis of enlistment. The study explores the social and cultural factors influencing the decision to divorce including gender, class, religion, and the desire for, or presence of, children. Among other factors, it inquires into the reason why those who divorced in New Zealand were primarily working class, in contrast to their English counterparts, reflecting different class-based perceptions of morality and respectability. It will explore the growing emphasis on sexual pleasure and on women's attainment of social and sexual rights as contributing to the increase in divorce. The public nature of divorce proceedings through this period, with cases being heard in open court and few limits on newspaper reporting, operated as a means of social control and public surveillance. The discussion focuses on how the courts contributed to the construction of definitions of normative behaviour of husbands and wives, judged individuals' abilities to be suitable mothers and fathers and awarded custody of children. The court also adjudicated issues of acceptable and illicit sexual behaviour with gender expectations as part of the considerations. Although those who flouted expected marital norms could risk ostracism or public condemnation, the thesis also shows that this power diminished as divorce became more common. The thesis concludes with an examination of marriage guidance as a public recognition both of the potential for divorce and of the belief that marriages took effort to maintain and that advice and guidance support could help 'unstable' marriages regain stability. In the post-World War II period there was also an acknowledgement that some marriages could not be 'saved' with divorce being the only alternative. Regardless, of such interventions, the changes in attitudes about divorce, made divorce an increasingly acceptable solution to unhappy marriages. Divorce, as this thesis will argue, did not 'break' the marriage bonds but rather, loosened them.

show abstract

Section: Macgregor and Robert Mcnab Liberal Member Of The House Of Representatives Formentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Illustration 31 Cartoon Showing Large Numbers Of People Entering the Divorce Court And Putting The Blame On 'Warriors' Wives Whomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Source: Wellington Divorce Databasementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chapter Five Privacy Prurience and Publicity: Suspicions And Surveillance In The Divorce Proceedingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Loosening the Marriage Bond: Divorce in New Zealand, c.1890s - c.1950s

Brown¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Metafiction and the Postwar Novel

Dean¹

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This book examines the origins, poetics, and capacities of self-reflexive fiction across the globe after World War II. Focusing on three authors’ careers—J. M. Coetzee, Janet Frame, and Philip Roth—it seeks to circumvent the large-scale theoretical paradigms (such as ‘postmodernism’) that have long been deployed to describe this writing. The book does so by developing new terms for discussing the intimacies of metafictional writing, derived from the writing of Miguel de Cervantes and J. L. Borges. The ‘self of writing’ refers to the figure of the author that a writer may imagine exists independently from discourse. The ‘public author as signature’ represents the public understandings of an author that emerge from biography and the author’s corpus itself. The book shows how these figures of authorship are handled by authors, as they draw on the materials offered by their own corpora and communities of readers. Sometimes, this book shows, authors invent distinctively literary ways of adjudicating enduring political debates: the responsibility of a novelist to the political aspirations of a community, the ability of the novel to pursue justice on behalf of others, and the public good that literature serves. Yet this is not a story of unmitigated success: the book also demonstrates how metafiction can be used as a way to close down interpretive schemes and to avoid contributing to public value. Through a close focus on literary environments, the book ultimately gives a finer-grained account of the history of postwar metafiction, and offers new ways of theorizing the relationship between fiction, life-writing, and literary institutions.

show abstract

Copyright Page

Dean

2021

Metafiction and the Postwar Novel

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

‘Rough Architects’: New Zealand Literature and Its Institutions from Phoenix to Landfall

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Loosening the Marriage Bond: Divorce in New Zealand, c.1890s - c.1950s

Loosening the Marriage Bond: Divorce in New Zealand, c.1890s - c.1950s

Metafiction and the Postwar Novel

Copyright Page

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About