A Post-Colonial View on David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon - Summary

 

Frederick, Suresh (2021). “A Post-Colonial View on David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon” (Co-author: Silvia Olives G) in Multicultural Education (ISSN:1068-3844) Vol 5, Issue11, 2021. 195-198.

 

Summary

In “A Post-Colonial View on David Malouf’s Remembering Babylon”, Suresh Frederick and Silvia Olives G. analyse how Malouf’s novel explores the deep complexities of colonial identity, cultural displacement, and hybridity. They argue that the character of Gemmy Fairley—an English boy raised among Aboriginal Australians—functions as a powerful symbol of Australia’s own fractured identity, positioned between its colonial past and its indigenous presence.

The essay situates the novel within postcolonial theory, drawing particularly on Homi Bhabha’s ideas of hybridity and otherness. Gemmy embodies both settler and native yet belongs fully to neither. His liminal status disrupts colonial binaries of “civilised” versus “savage” and forces the settler community to confront their own insecurities. Frederick and Olives show that Gemmy’s presence unsettles the colonial imagination, exposing how fears of contamination and loss of authority permeate settler consciousness.

Language becomes another site of struggle in the novel. Gemmy’s fragmented speech, silences, and the settlers’ attempts to interpret his story highlight the tension between colonial discourse and indigenous modes of knowing. The authors argue that this reflects a larger conflict between the dominant imperial narrative and the marginalised voices it seeks to suppress. By examining Gemmy’s failure to be fully understood or assimilated, Frederick and Olives reveal how colonial power works not only through physical control but also through epistemic violence.

The paper further emphasises the role of memory and belonging. Gemmy’s in-between identity raises questions about national history and cultural reconciliation. His very existence resists neat categorisations, reminding readers that colonial nations like Australia are built on hybridity, fracture, and unresolved tensions rather than purity or uniformity. In this sense, Malouf’s narrative challenges the myth of a singular national identity and points toward a more inclusive and pluralistic understanding of belonging.

In conclusion, Frederick and Olives argue that Remembering Babylon is far more than a story of cultural contact. It is a postcolonial critique of colonial power, language, and memory, exposing the fragility of colonial authority and celebrating the possibility of hybrid identities. The novel, they suggest, encourages readers to re-imagine Australia’s origins as complex, unsettled, and inherently hybrid, thereby offering a framework for cultural reconciliation and ecological belonging.