Riders in the Chariot
Encyclopedia
Riders in the Chariot is the sixth published novel by Australian Author Patrick White
, Nobel Prize
winner of 1973. It was published in 1961 and won the Miles Franklin Award
in that year. It also won the 1965 Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society.
and traces their lives towards the point where they realise they share the same vision. We are introduced to each character in turn, and their personal struggles are explored against the backdrop of Sarsaparilla, a fictional mid-20th century suburb
in Australia
, often thought to be based on White's place of residence of that time, at Castle Hill
, Sydney
in New South Wales
. The novel combines literature, mysticism and suburban life in 1950s Australia.
The novel shows the ignorance and prejudice of the everyday people in reaction to the few who see the infinite, snowballing with catastrophic consequences
, a large and sprawling structure that is slowly falling into decay because of a lack of care.
The climax is a mock crucifixion of an old Jewish refugee (one of the four main characters) in the courtyard of the factory where he works. The owner of the factory fears to interfere, and a young aborigine says three times, that he does not know the victim.
in the Hebrew bible; visions that make them vulnerable to – and affect the way they deal with - the wily plotting of others.
They are Miss Mary Hare an eccentric heiress in a decaying mansion living with her housekeeper Mrs Jolley; Aboriginal artist Alf Dubbo, painter and sometime drunk; Mordecai Himmelfarb, Holocaust
survivor, professor and now migrant working in a machine shop, and Mrs Ruth Godbold, a kindly washerwoman.
/merkavah), as described in the Book of Ezekiel. Other symbolism includes the mysteries of the Book of Revelation
, with its Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the Seven Seals, along with biblical warnings about blood, fire, and destruction. As a symbol with a complex history in many cultures and artistic and religious traditions the chariot is most simply the vehicle for God's elect or chosen ones.
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White , an Australian author, is widely regarded as an important English-language novelist of the 20th century. From 1935 until his death, he published 12 novels, two short-story collections and eight plays.White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, shifting narrative...
, Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
winner of 1973. It was published in 1961 and won the Miles Franklin Award
Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
in that year. It also won the 1965 Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society.
The book
The novel is the story of the lives of four loosely connected people, whose common link is the mystic experience of the chariot of the title described in the Book of EzekielBook of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
and traces their lives towards the point where they realise they share the same vision. We are introduced to each character in turn, and their personal struggles are explored against the backdrop of Sarsaparilla, a fictional mid-20th century suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, often thought to be based on White's place of residence of that time, at Castle Hill
Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. The novel combines literature, mysticism and suburban life in 1950s Australia.
The novel shows the ignorance and prejudice of the everyday people in reaction to the few who see the infinite, snowballing with catastrophic consequences
Plot summary
The novel begins with the wild and mad Miss Hare, awaiting the arrival of a new maid to assist in the upkeep of her house, XanaduXanadu
-Description of Xanadu by Toghon Temur :The lament of Toghon Temur Khan , concerning the loss of Daidu and Heibun Shanduu in 1368, is recorded in many Mongolian historical chronicles...
, a large and sprawling structure that is slowly falling into decay because of a lack of care.
The climax is a mock crucifixion of an old Jewish refugee (one of the four main characters) in the courtyard of the factory where he works. The owner of the factory fears to interfere, and a young aborigine says three times, that he does not know the victim.
Characters
The main four characters are outsiders with deeply different lives made more difficult because they are religious visionaries. Each experience the same vision of four horses drawing a chariot into a shining future: the fiery chariot from the Book of EzekielBook of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
in the Hebrew bible; visions that make them vulnerable to – and affect the way they deal with - the wily plotting of others.
They are Miss Mary Hare an eccentric heiress in a decaying mansion living with her housekeeper Mrs Jolley; Aboriginal artist Alf Dubbo, painter and sometime drunk; Mordecai Himmelfarb, Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivor, professor and now migrant working in a machine shop, and Mrs Ruth Godbold, a kindly washerwoman.
Minor characters
Miss Antill, Eustace Cleugh, Cousin Eustace, Tom Godbold, Else Godbold, Norbert Hare, Frau Himmelfarb, Ruth Joyner, Norman Fussell, Fixer Jensen, Humphrey Mortimer, Miss Mudge, Harry Rosetree, Shirl Rosetree, Konrad Stauffer, Frau Stauffer, Ingeborg Stauffer, Bob Tanner, Ernie Theobalds, Miss Whibley.Symbolism
The primary form of symbolism within the book is through the chariot (or merkabahMerkabah
Merkabah is the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" , each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle...
/merkavah), as described in the Book of Ezekiel. Other symbolism includes the mysteries of the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, with its Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the Seven Seals, along with biblical warnings about blood, fire, and destruction. As a symbol with a complex history in many cultures and artistic and religious traditions the chariot is most simply the vehicle for God's elect or chosen ones.