Here you will get the detailed summary of IGNOU MEG 08 Block 7 – The Solid Mandala: Patrick White.
We have provided the summary of all units starting from unit 1 to unit 6.
Introduction
Block 7 of MEG-8 presents a comprehensive study of The Solid Mandala by Patrick White, one of Australia’s most distinguished writers and Nobel Laureate (1973). The novel is a subtle exploration of family, identity, duality, and spiritual fulfillment, set against the backdrop of Australian suburbia. Through the lives of twin brothers Waldo and Arthur Brown, White examines rationality vs intuition, conformity vs individuality, and the spiritual emptiness of modern life.
Unit 1 – The Novelist and the Novel
This unit introduces Patrick White as a writer and contextualizes The Solid Mandala in his body of work.
Key Points:
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White is known for his spiritual depth, psychological complexity, and symbolic prose.
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The Solid Mandala (1966) focuses on Waldo and Arthur Brown, twins who are psychological opposites.
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The novel explores Australia’s cultural vacuum, the need for spiritual anchoring, and the search for meaning in a materialistic world.
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The title’s use of “Mandala” symbolizes unity, balance, and the quest for wholeness in Eastern philosophy.
This unit sets the thematic and philosophical tone of the novel and positions Patrick White as a novelist of inner transformation.
Unit 2 – Openings and Preoccupations
This unit looks at the beginning of the novel, its mood, setting, and White’s central concerns.
Focus Areas:
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The novel opens with Waldo’s and Arthur’s reflections, offering contrasting perspectives on shared events.
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The setting is Sarsaparilla, a fictional Australian suburb that reflects stagnation, isolation, and cultural sterility.
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Key preoccupations:
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Loneliness and alienation
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Ordinary life as profound and symbolic
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The role of memory and subjective experience
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The novel is slow-paced, meditative, and deeply introspective.
White is concerned with what lies beneath the surface of ordinary life, especially in a society that lacks spiritual and artistic vitality.
Unit 3 – Denizens of the Australian Emptiness
This unit examines the characters and community that populate the novel, especially focusing on the Australian cultural context.
Highlights:
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Waldo Brown: Intelligent, self-important, emotionally repressed. Represents Western rationalism, logic, and control.
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Arthur Brown: Innocent, simple-minded, emotionally open. Represents intuition, spiritual openness, and compassion.
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Other minor characters (Mrs. Poulter, Mrs. Dun, Miss Glasson) represent emotional denial, social superficiality, and the blandness of suburban Australia.
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The novel critiques Australia’s cultural identity crisis, showing its people as emotionally starved and spiritually lost.
The “emptiness” is both geographical and psychological, suggesting a lack of rooted identity or spiritual anchoring in postcolonial Australia.
Unit 4 – Message in Motifs
This unit explores the symbols and motifs that carry the deeper meanings in the novel.
Major Motifs:
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The Mandala: Symbol of spiritual unity and wholeness. Reflects the need to balance Waldo’s intellect with Arthur’s heart.
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Books and knowledge: Waldo’s obsession with learning masks his inner insecurity and lack of empathy.
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Stones and objects: Arthur collects simple objects (e.g., marbles, stones) as symbols of beauty and personal significance.
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Water and cleanliness: Recurring symbols of purification and rebirth, particularly linked to Arthur.
This unit demonstrates how White uses symbolic layers to enrich the philosophical and spiritual depth of the narrative.
Unit 5 – Techniques
This unit looks at the literary style and narrative structure of the novel.
Narrative Strategies:
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Dual perspective: The novel alternates between Waldo’s and Arthur’s internal monologues, creating a polyphonic narrative.
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Stream of consciousness: Used to delve into the inner psychological lives of both twins.
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Symbolism and myth: White uses spiritual, Eastern, and Western imagery to elevate the ordinary into the metaphysical.
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The language is dense, poetic, and introspective, requiring slow and careful reading.
This unit positions White’s style as modernist, influenced by writers like Woolf and Joyce, yet uniquely shaped by Australian settings and postcolonial concerns.
Unit 6 – Perspectives
This final unit brings together critical interpretations of the novel and evaluates it from various angles.
Perspectives Offered:
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Psychological: The twins represent two halves of the self; Waldo the ego, Arthur the soul.
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Postcolonial: The novel critiques Australia’s cultural mimicry of the West, highlighting the absence of indigenous or authentic identity.
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Spiritual/Philosophical: Arthur, often dismissed as ‘retarded’, is actually the true spiritual core of the novel.
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Feminist and social readings: While the novel centers on male characters, it reflects gendered limitations and roles in mid-20th century suburbia.
The unit encourages readers to see the novel not just as character study, but as a meditation on human wholeness, societal shallowness, and the redemptive power of love and humility.