Norman and Nietzsche: The Political Project of Lindsay's The Magic Pudding

Abstract

Australian artist and writer Norman Lindsay (1879–1969) wrote 11 novels and two children's books, one of which—The Magic Pudding first published in 1918—remains a national classic. This article argues that readers and critics have long misunderstood Lindsay's intention in writing this lengthy cartoon-story about the adventures of Bunyip Bluegum in protecting Albert, the somewhat cantankerous pudding, as valuable treasure for the Pudding-Owners' Society. This article reviews many scholarly examinations of Lindsay's impressive arrangement of words and drawings to reveal that almost all of the critical commentary on Linday's text fails to understand the hidden politics of this work. Lindsay's classic achievement reflects his promotion of elitist cultural strategies drawn from close reading of the cultural philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). Lindsay is inspired by his study of Nietzsche to use The Magic Pudding as a critique of Australian public culture. Far from praising Australian nationality or, as critics claim, articulating “the Australian Dream,” Lindsay's 1918 work was highlighting the lack of artistic “free spirits” in Australia's complacent civic culture.