Abstract:
This PhD thesis explores the Aotearoa / New Zealand influence in the post-World
War II writing of English author, Anna Kavan. In response to her provocatively
worded 1943 Horizon-published article on the socio-cultural features of that country, I
sought evidence of the source of her apparent disdain. Imperialist in tone and
disparaging of the post-colonial Other, the article contributed to the reflective
dialectic of national identity of her temporary home.
The discovery of unpublished and not previously discussed short stories, written
during Kavan’s stay in Aotearoa / New Zealand, revealed a contrarily positive
perspective, and offered an anomalous body of material that illuminate the early
wartime experiences of the residents of Auckland's North Shore. Comparison
between the stories in the manuscript and work published by Kavan since World War
II exposed the compellingly autobiographical nature of her writing.
This revelation was underscored by a second discovery, that of a previously-unseen
cache of correspondence, letters sent from Kavan to her Aotearoa / New Zealand
lover, the conscientious objector and author, Walter [Ian] Hamilton. The letters,
unpublished short stories, and published work, collectively manifest an intertextuality
which reinforces their status as autobiographical. Close analysis has determined that
much of Kavan's 'fiction’ is in fact thinly disguised life-writing, a construct which
would otherwise be unnoticed, in the absence of back-grounding evidence. This
thesis further proves Kavan's authorial appropriation of thematic aspects of the
Aotearoa / New Zealand vocabulary, geography, and historical aesthetic.
The thesis also corrects extant inaccurate biographical material, particularly with
respect to the years 1939 - 1943. Discovery of a small collection of photographs,
featuring Kavan in a New Zealand context, has added impetus to the move to install
her as a transient constituent on the continuum of New Zealand literature.
