Bush and City in Australian Drama (1 Viewer)

[VonDavis]

If anyone could help me .... I have read The touch of Silk-Betty Roland over and over again and the reviews said that it was about an aboriginal in a white society, But I never got that impression.
My concept of the play is that it about a French lady who is married to a man who is impacted by his mother's word's (just the basic rundown)
Can anyone give me their interpretation?

 

[_muse_]

what? an aboriginal in a white society? are you sure the review didnt say that she was LIKE an aboriginal in white society? cause i guess i could see how that works...
my interpretation is pretty much the same as yours except that she is not only impacted by his mothers words but by a number of other things as well (homesickness, not being accepted by some of the ladies in town, her difference in elegance from the women in the town [hence the bush and city bit]) but i could be wrong...

 

[VonDavis]

Thanks for clarifying that for me .... And yeh all the reviews (well 2 out of about 100) said that it was about an aboriginal in a white society.
Thanks

 

[elsi]

A Touch of Silk is about an outsider - Jeanne, living in the Australian Bush. The play is about Mrs Davidson and Jeanne, and their world views on how to be. Jeanne's is flirtatious, fun, loving, caring, warm, sympathetic. Mrs Davidson's is hard, practical, serious. Jeanne is the city, Mrs Davidson is the bush.
The play is mainly about a battle of their two ways of living. It shows us the myth of the bushman, which before this play was portrayed as happy-go-lucky, can-do-all, loveble and handsome, has it's darker side of xenophobia (fear of people from other countries because they are different).

We see the good and bad of both points of view, but in a way, Mrs Davidson wins - Jeanne's actions, although caring and with good intention, contribute more directly to the demise of Jim, especially when she forgets to tell Jim about the broken fence. But then again, so does the egging of Mrs Davidson.