The short story “No Place for Women” by Henry Lawson is a strong manifestation of traditional Australian values and a life hood of an estranged man. The story is about a lonely man, ‘Ratty Howlett’ who lives in an isolated hut far away from the town who shares his personal stories with strangers as he did not have any companions. This short story confers social and psychoanalysis literary criticism.
Psychoanalysis theory is intelligently intertwined by Henry Lawson most probably because of this story is a reflection of his personal life, being rejected by the women he loves and have to live in the bushes. Psychoanalysis in literature is an analogue of the daydream, a fantasy of the fulfillment of the unsatisfied wishes thus improves the unsatisfactory into reality. “She came back to me. First she’d come in the night, then sometimes when I was at work-and she had the baby.” Although Howlett’s wife is dead during childbirth but he still believes thathis wife is still alive and looks after his hut. This series of events is a result of the fact of Howlett could not accept the fact that his wife and her unborn child died. It is not completely his fault as he lives far away from the town and the only companion that he ever had was his wife.
As he is lives all by himself with no neighbors, thus he looks forward for a good companion not only to yarn but also to fill his loneliness. The townspeople often call him as ‘Ratty’, which was derived from the word rat because Howlett’s nature of always prying in travellers’ often has been annoyance among the townsman. But for Howlett he only desires for someone to share some stories with him. “And whenever he caught sight, over the scrub and through the quarter-mile break in it, of a traveller on the road, he would jump and make after him.” This nature of Howlett is an effect of the solitary life he lives. He would just dialogue with anyone he meets connotes to the reader, how desperately he requires a friend to converse with. Henry Lawson himself also been isolated by his society because of his alcoholic nature thus he may wish to convey his feeling of being isolated and the effects of being isolated by family and friends.
In the other hand, social criticism is also beautifully portrayed by Henry Lawson as a result of his love to the traditional qualities of Australians. According to Ann Jefferson social literary criticism is recognition of a literary work as a reflection to the environment. Henry Lawson creates an idealistic concept of mateship of Australians through his writing. He places friendship above all because of his personal life; when his family fails to accepts him, his friends helps him to rebuild his carrier as a renowned writer. Friendship in this story is viewed above all although it was the writer and Howlett first meeting, they managed to create an indestructible bond between them. Howlett even invites the writer to his hut. He rarely invites travelers to his hut but he allows the writer to go to his hut because he trusts the writer. The hut is the only place which reminds him to his wife, permitting someone to his hut is more to allowing the stranger into his personal life. Five years later when the writer returns to the village hevisitsHowlett. He finds out Howlett is not in a good shape thus helps him to regain his strength. “You wait here till I come back,” I said. “I’m going for the doctor.” A friend in need is a friend indeed; Henry Lawson manages to portray entirely the whole concept of mateship through Australian perspective.
The hardship of living in the bush is also described in the story. This setting of the story is Australia. Henry Lawson managed to describe everything about living in the famine. “He grew wheat among the stumps of his clearing, sold the crop standing to a Cockie who lived ten miles away, and had some surplus sons; or, some seasons, he reaped it by hand.” Howlett lives in remote hut far from the town thus he has to be hardworking to earn a living. He needs to harvest to eat and produce more for trade with a Cockie who lives far away from his hut. He has limited crop thus he lives in misery. The health of his horse is used as a symbolism that relates to his physical health. Horse can sense his masters feeling although the master tries to hold it back. Horses are very unique creatures as they are very sensitive to the surroundings . Thus thehealth of the horse in this story is closely related to Howlett’s health. Five years ago when the writer meets Howlett for the first time his horse was a spitting image of health and vigor, but now it is sick.
Henry Lawson manifests his innermost feeling through this piece of writing. The concept of hardship of living, mateship, loneliness and hallucination had been discussed to create awareness of living in a society. He manages to put all the pieces together when he managed to insert his personal experience so that this is not just a short story but a journal of his life. This story does not die with Henry Lawson but lives as long as there is a need for social communication in this world.
