Although she is often perceived as a writer of the local, the rural or the regional, Thea Astley herself notes writing by American modernists as her primary literary influence, and emphasises the ethical value of transnational reading and writing. Similarly, she draws parallels between writing of the American ‘Deep South’ and her own writing of the ‘Deep North’, with a particular focus on the struggles of the racial or cultural outsider. In this article, I pursue Astley’s peculiar blend of these literary genres — modernism, the Gothic and the transnational — as a means of understanding her conceptualisation of kindness and community. Although Astley rejects the necessity of literary community, her writing emphasises instead the value of interpersonal engagement and social responsibility. With a focus on her first novel, Girl with a Monkey (1958), this article considers Astley’s representation of the distinction between community and kindness, particularly for young Catholic women in Queensland in the early twentieth century. In its simultaneous critique of the expectations placed on women and its upholding of the values of kindness and charity, Astley considers our responsibilities in our relations with the Other and with community.

中文翻译：

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Thea Astley 的“深北”现代主义，或关于（不）善意

尽管她经常被视为当地、乡村或区域的作家，但西娅·阿斯特利本人也注意到美国现代主义者的写作是她的主要文学影响力，并强调跨国阅读和写作的伦理价值。同样，她将美国“深南地区”的写作与她自己的“深北地区”写作进行了比较，特别关注种族或文化局外人的斗争。在这篇文章中，我追求阿斯特利对这些文学体裁——现代主义、哥特式和跨国——的独特融合，作为理解她对善良和社区的概念化的一种手段。尽管阿斯特利拒绝文学社区的必要性，但她的写作却强调了人际交往和社会责任的价值。专注于她的第一部小说《有猴子的女孩》（1958），本文考虑了 Astley 对社区和善良之间区别的表述，特别是对于 20 世纪初昆士兰的年轻天主教女性。阿斯特利同时批评了对女性的期望以及对善良和慈善价值观的坚持，同时考虑了我们在与他人和社区的关系中的责任。