The Themes In Hannie Rayson’s Hotel Sorrento Essay, Research Paper

HOTEL SORRENTO

One of Hannie Rayson’s main concerns in her play Hotel Sorrento is the characters’ need to face the truth about themselves and the past. This issue is present throughout the play and is weaved into the themes of loyalty versus truth and the intimate bond between sisters to reinforce the powerful link between literature and real life. Rayson also looks deeply at the nature of Australian identity, the relationship between cultural identity and literature and the power of art to transform.

Rayson investigates the theme of loyalty, truth and betrayal through the characters’ need to face the reality of the past. Each character voices an opinion on which they see to be more important, truth or loyalty. For example Marge believes that loyalty can be followed like a religion. “Once you’ve signed up you don’t have to ask so many questions.” By this she is suggesting that loyalty can be followed blindly without questioning the people or events that are being protected. Edwin agrees with Marge’s thoughts on this subject. “I think that people hold on to these things, like the notion of loyalty, or truth, as if they were unassailable.”

As the play develops the sisters become aware that they must put aside loyalties and begin to confront their past so that they can reconcile their differences and begin to enjoy the future. This is shown by Meg’s conflict of emotions when dealing with her country and family.

“If you ask the average Brit what he knows about Australia, he’ll probably say Fosters and vomit. The trouble is that your average Aussie bloke on the loose in London regardless of whether he’s backpacking or wheeling and dealing, does nothing to dispel this image. When I meet Australians over here I take some comfort in the fact that it is only a minor outbreak. At home we’re talking epidemic!”

Because of the high esteem Australians hold for loyalty and mateship Meg was unable to confront her past. This was especially true in the Moynihan family because Wal was brought up believing that loyalty was “unassailable” even if it meant sacrificing the truth. Australian ideals and beliefs have destroyed Meg’s family and in the process she has lost her respect for Australian men and Australian culture.

Meg uses her identity as an expatriate to condemn Australian men and Australian culture.

TROY: He said that people only travelled when they needed to run away.

EDWIN: Well two of his daughters did travel. What did he say about that?

TROY: He said they were running away.

As Wal suggests Meg’s status as an expatriate also stems from the sisters’ inability to deal with the past. Because she was unable to confront the truth surrounding Gary’s death due to what she believed to be loyalty toward her family Meg was forced to escape Australia’s suffocating culture.

Through Meg’s expatriate eyes Rayson looks at the changes that Australian culture and identity has undergone over a ten-year period. Meg sees Australia as a country that “honours ordinariness” and is “rife with xenophobia and anti-intellectualism.” This is a very limited view of Australian life and relies heavily on her family influences of drinking, fishing, mateship and the role of the mother.

Australian identity is an important issue in the play because it deeply involves the observer characters of Marge, Dick and Edwin. Each character’s opinions are influenced by their relationship with Meg and her novel. For example Edwin’s view on Australian identity, becomes contradictory as the play progresses. He begins to recognise Meg’s need to accept her identity as an Australian so that her family can begin to reconcile their differences. For example on his arrival in Sorrento he states that:

“This town feels like everyone in it was born into middle age. D’you know, the only conversations I’ve had since we arrived, have been about children and compost.”

As he begins to realise that Australia and Sorrento are an important part of Meg’s life, his views on Australian culture begin to soften.

“It isn’t as harsh. The light. In fact it is very gentle . very mellow.”

Dick’s views on the issue of Australian identity are clouded by his journalistic approach to conversation. He is always trying to get a reaction from Meg by expressing views that attack the foundations of her beliefs.

“These bloody smart arse expatriates. I mean what is it that that makes them think that living elsewhere automatically qualifies them to make sweeping generalisations about this place. Things change. The woman hasn’t lived here for ten years. Look what’s happened in that time.”

One of the most calculated statements on this issue comes from the character of Marge.

“Australia can’t be contained in this sort of broad brushstroke you’re asking for. Great big vision makes very empty pictures if you don’t attend to the details”

Marge is indicating that Australia is made up of millions of individuals and that it is unfair to make sweeping generalisations about their cultural identity.

The sisters seem to experience a love/hate relationship with family life. On one hand it holds the key to fond childhood memories of Sorrento and their parents. The restoration of family life promotes the girls into the roles that make them feel secure within the family. For example Pippa becomes the insecure, immature and inadequate baby of the family. She must believe that by acting in this manner her sisters will forgive her act of betrayal toward them.

“You think I’m still an angry young thing, don’t you? You may think this is bullshit, but I’m a different when I’m away. I’m a different person. If you met one of my friends in New York and you said, ‘Pippa’s such a cot case isn’t she?’ they wouldn’t know what you were talking about”

The girls’ memories of Sorrento also include information they would rather leave buried in the past. Their need to function as a ‘normal’ Australian family overshadows their ability to confront their problems. It takes Meg’s book Melancholy to delve into the girl’s dilemmas and assess whether or not they wish to continue pretending.

“I wanted to see if I could fit into this family again. I wanted to see if the three of us could be together. I want to know now, whether you two think it’s possible? You’ll never forgive me, will you, for writing about something that we couldn’t talk about”

The refusal by Pippa and Hilary to recognise Meg’s book as an attempt to examine and better understand the truth about their family and themselves shows that literature does not always have the desired effect of the author. Meg’s need for reconciliation and her honesty about their problems did change the sisters, but it also destroyed their relationship. As Meg says to Troy “That’s the thing you have to be careful about with fiction. It leads us to believe that reconciliations are possible.”

Melancholy is seen by Dick as: “A very nice, sentimental, lightweight piece of fiction.” He thinks “Great literature awakens us to our humanity It certainly isn’t about gender politics, that’s for sure.” He is incapable of understanding the novel because he has not experienced the emotions the novel raises. Meg uses literature as a form of therapy. Her book has the power to deal with the guilt and anger she has experienced after Gary’s death. This is the reason that Marge enjoys the novel. She can relate to the character’s emotions and draw on the therapy that the book radiates. “I was so much like Helen” she comments, referring to the character of Helen in Melancholy.

Hannie Rayson effectively uses Hotel Sorrento to explore the themes of loyalty versus truth, the intimate bond between sisters, the nature of Australian identity, the relationship between cultural identity and literature, the power of art to transform and the characters’ need to face the truth about themselves and the past. The themes are intertwined to bring the characters and events to life, with the use of problems and dilemmas that the ‘ordinary’ Australian can relate too. None of the themes stand alone in importance and all build on each other to develop a play “Of great poignancy and reverberation.”