VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 1

VOSS BY PATRICK WHITE

Author

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Patrick White

Patrick White was born in England in 1912 and taken to Australia, where his father owned a sheep farm,
when he was six months old. He was educated in England at Cheltenham college and King's College,
Cambridge. He settled in London, where he wrote several unpublished novels, then served in the RAF
during the war. He returned to Australia after the war.He became the most considerable figure in modern
Australian literature, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973. The great poet of Australian
landscape, he turned its vast empty spaces into great mythic landscapes of the soul. His position as a

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man of letters was controversial, provoked by his acerbic, unpredictable public statements and his belief
that it is eccentric individuals who offer the only hope of salvation. He died in September 1990.

Introduction:

The novel that put Australian literature on the map is now in a Vintage Classic edition.Set in nineteenth-
century Australia, Voss is the story of the secret passion between an explorer and a naïve young woman.
Although they have met only a few times, Voss and Laura are joined by overwhelming, obsessive feelings
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for each other. Voss sets out to cross the continent. As hardships, mutiny and betrayal whittle away his
power to endure and to lead, his attachment to Laura gradually increases. Laura, waiting in Sydney,
moves through the months of separation as if they were a dream and Voss the only reality.From the
careful delineation of Victorian society to the sensitive rendering of hidden love to the stark narrative of
adventure in the Australian desert, Patrick White's novel is a work of extraordinary power and virtuosity.

CHARACTER LIST
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Laura Trevelyan- Laura Trevelyan is a young woman who was orphaned as a child and came to Australia
to live with Mr. and Mrs. Bonner, her uncle and aunt. She is intelligent, idealistic, and extremely
sensitive, to the point where she forms a psychic connection with Voss after falling in love with him, and
sympathetically feels the pain of her maid, Rose Portion, in pregnancy and childbirth. Laura often seems
aloof and priggish but is intensely self-critical and flagellates herself mentally for these faults.
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Rose Portion -Rose Portion is a former convict who works for the Bonners as a maid and dies soon after
her illegitimate daughter Mercy is born. She is a heavy, dull, morose woman who has led a harsh life.

Johann Ulrich Voss -Johann Ulrich Voss is a German botanist who has come to Australia to explore the
uncharted continent. He is arrogant and solitary by nature, though able to be convivial when it is
necessary for the purposes of the expedition, with which he is obsessed. Voss initially dislikes Laura
Trevelyan, but falls in love and abruptly proposes marriage when he finds that he feels closer to her than
anyone else. Even when thrown together with other men during the course of the expedition, he
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remains aloof and often contemptuous in his thoughts.

Edmund Bonner - Edmund Bonner is a rich Sydney merchant who sponsors Voss’s expedition. He is
materialistic, simple-minded, and fond of comfort. Though he is generous with money, he expects his
generosity to be acknowledged, and is inclined to sulk when he feels he is not receiving his due.

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 2
Emmy Bonner - Emmy Bonner is similar to her husband in her concern for appearances and her simple
desire for material comfort. She is easily upset and spends much of her time worrying about her social
position.

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Belle Bonner -Belle Bonner, the daughter of Emmy and Edmund Bonner, is a beautiful, simple-minded
girl, who loves her fiancé, Lieutenant Radclyffe, and wants everyone to get along. She has a strong
affection for her cousin, Laura.

Lieutenant Radclyffe - Lieutenant Radclyffe is Belle’s fiancé, which means that he is constantly at the
Bonners’ house. He is superficial in his values and dislikes people he does not understand, such as Voss
and Laura.

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Harry Robarts - Harry Robarts is a simple-minded young man endowed with great physical strength. He
is loyal, particularly to Voss, and joins the expedition in order to be near him. He has a strong desire to
be useful and is happiest when helping others.

Frank Le Mesurier - Frank Le Mesurier is a young man who arrived in Australia at the same time as Voss.
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He is cynical and aimless, joining the expedition because he has nothing better to do. However, during
the expedition, he is inspired to write poetry about his life, and the journal in which he writes these
poems becomes central to his existence.

Turner - Turner is a drunkard, a sour and envious man who is continually complaining and causing
trouble. He is a former petty criminal and may have been involved in more serious crimes. He forms an
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unlikely friendship with Ralph Angus, with whom he has nothing in common.

Mr. Palfreyman - Mr. Palfreyman is a clergyman and an ornithologist who joins the expedition to collect
specimens of birds. He is weaker and more delicate than the other members of the expedition. His
strong religious faith is balanced by a tendency to doubt himself. Palfreyman is kind-hearted and
generous and is accepted as a gentleman by all who encounter him.
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Mrs. Pringle - Mrs. Pringle is a wealthy woman with a great many children. She...

Chapter 1
Laura Trevelyan is at home on a Sunday morning working on some embroidery when her maidservant,
Rose Portion, announces that a man has come to see her uncle. Laura’s uncle, Mr. Bonner, is at church
and is unlikely to return for at least another hour, so Laura tells Rose to show the man in and bring some
port wine and biscuits for them. The man is a German called Voss and has come on foot from Sydney,
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four kilometers away. Laura, inviting him to rest and wait for her uncle, remarks that she finds the
journey from Sydney monotonous, even in a carriage, but Voss says it is a pity to “huddle” in one place,
since Australia is a country “of great subtlety.” Laura is afraid of the country, though she will not admit
this even to herself. LauraLaura and Voss sit down on either side of a large window. He tells her that he
has been in Australia for two years and four months, leading her to say that she has been there so long
that she does not count the years, let alone the months. Her parents are dead and, although she was
born in England, she can remember almost nothing of it, since she was so young when she came to
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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 3
Australia. As Rose brings in the wine and Laura pours Voss a full glass, they are both lost in their own
thoughts of the past. Voss is thinking of his father, who intended him to be a surgeon and how he had
“wrung freedom out of his protesting parents” when he decided to become a botanist instead. Voss

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thinks that Laura is beautiful, while Laura, who has already had two serious suitors, imagines for her
own entertainment how she would respond to a proposal of marriage from him. Laura’s aunt and uncle
and her cousin, Belle, return from church with Lieutenant Radclyffe, Belle’s fiancé, who is already
acquainted with Voss. With his thin, bony physique and shabby clothes, Voss appears “a bit of a
scarecrow” in their company.” Mr. Bonner starts talking about the details of outfitting an expedition
Voss is to make across Australia, and the two men go into his study to discuss the matter further. Bonner
is a wealthy merchant and enjoys the idea that he is the patron of Voss’s great expedition into the

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outback, as he longs “to experience the envy of others.” He asks Voss who is to accompany him and Voss
names the four men; Robarts, Le Mesurier, Palfreyman and Turner, none of whom are known to Bonner.

Bonner suggests two more men to join the expedition: a young landowner called Angus and a former
convict named Judd. Voss is reluctant to take on more men, as he is happiest in solitude, but Bonner is
financing the expedition and he insists. He asks if Voss has studied a map, but the map is mainly blank,
and Voss says that he will have to make the map before anyone can study it. Bonner invites Voss to stay
for dinner, but Voss curtly refuses, leading the Bonners and their guests to think him rude and uncouth.
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After he has left, Lieutenant Radclyffe gives the opinion that Voss is a madman, but harmless. Laura says
that he is obsessed with Australia but has not come to make money, like other men. She adds that he is
not afraid of the country and, though he was not born there, it is his “by right of vision.”

Chapter 2
Johann Ulrich Voss has lodgings with Topp, the music teacher, at his house in Sussex Street. One evening
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in spring, Harry Robarts comes to see him in his room on the upper floor. Harry is weak-witted, but has
other advantages, one of which is his muscular strength. Frank Le Mesurier, a quiet, thoughtful young
man with yellowish skin, later joins them. When they first met on the ship bound for Australia, Le
Mesurier asked if Voss had any specific purpose in going there. Voss immediately replied that he
intended to cross the continent from end to end, and that he had “every intention to know it with my
heart.” Le Mesurier said that he had no purpose, and Voss reflected that he would be similarly aimless
without his single obsession. Voss told Le Mesurier that he might discover his genius by joining Voss’s
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gruelling expedition across a country in which “it is possible more easily to discard the inessential and
attempt the infinite.” That evening, Voss is busy making plans for the expedition and asks Le Mesurier to
talk to Harry for a while. Harry is suspicious of Le Mesurier and does not want to talk to him. He feels
that he is nothing without Voss, and wants only to be close to him. Voss finishes writing a letter and
gives it to Harry to deliver, then announces that he has good news. The expedition will begin in two
weeks with a voyage to Newcastle on board the Osprey. They will then proceed to Rhine Towers, the
property of Mr. Sanderson and continue from there on horseback, with mules carrying their provisions.
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ToppTopp comes into the room with a bottle of wine for Voss and his guests. He says that he came to
Australia through idealism, believing that he could bring culture to a barbaric society, but he has been
disappointed. Even the gentry in this country care only for food and drink. Harry daringly says that he
see nothing wrong with this, and Le Mesurier remarks sardonically that he “sees with his belly’s eyes.”
This upsets Harry, who is grateful when Voss tells Le Mesurier to stop tormenting him. Turner, a tall, thin

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 4
man “whose mind had gone sour” comes into the room. He is drunk, and Le Mesurier wonders whether
Voss is a philanthropist or a fool to take such a man on his expedition.

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Turner begins to speak maliciously to Le Mesurier, accusing him of “whorin’ after the women under the
trees” and other forms of immortality. Le Mesurier says that he cannot remember any such behavior,
but he might have been drunk at the time. Voss tells them both that he is not interested in personal
disagreements. They must learn to accept each other’s faults, since they will be together for a long time.
His concern is solely with the great Idea of the expedition. A few days later, Voss meets Palfreyman, a
clergyman and ornithologist who is to be the fifth member of the expedition. Palfreyman has been ill,
but says that he is now perfectly strong. He is a deeply religious man, and Voss remarks that Mr. Bonner
will be pleased that at least one member of the expedition will raise its moral tone. As he talks to

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Palfreyman, he is reminded of his conversations with an old man named Brother Müller at the Moravian
Mission, who said that he thought Voss’s contempt for God stemmed from the fact that “He is not in
your own image.”

Chapter 3
Rose Portion, the Bonners’ maid, collapses on the floor one afternoon, and Laura Trevelyan realizes that
she is pregnant. Rose is a freed convict and has always been a conscientious servant, working harder
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than anyone asked her to, unlike Jack Slipper, an idle drunkard whom Mr. Bonner had to fire. Laura has
tried to be kind to Rose, but has never liked her and feels repelled by her ugliness and ungainliness.
LauraLaura has been invited to a picnic, along with Mrs. Bonner and Belle, by their friends, the Pringles.
When they have revived Rose and cleared up the dining room, where she fainted, the ladies are going
along the drive in their carriage when they see Voss walking towards them. Mrs. Bonner tells him that
her husband is not at home. He has gone to a picnic at Point Piper and they are on their way to join him.
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She invites Voss to come with them in the carriage and Voss does so with a feeling of annoyance, since
he “had not bargained for all these women” when he set out to visit his patron.

When they reach Point Piper, the carriage is greeted by the Pringle children and Una Pringle, the eldest
daughter, takes Voss, Laura and Belle to join the male members of the party while Mrs. Bonner talks to
Mrs. Pringle. Voss is an incongruous figure in his dark, shabby clothes and protests that he will be
interrupting the conversation of the other gentlemen. Mr. Bonner introduces him to the other men and
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Voss smiles to show his goodwill, but only succeeds in looking hungry. When Bonner tells the other men
about the expedition, Mr. Pringle gives the opinion that all Voss will discover in the interior of Australia
is “a few black-fellars, and a few flies, and something resembling the bottom of the sea.” Voss asks Mr.
Pringle if he has ever walked on the bottom of the sea. He himself has not, and this is why he is
fascinated by the prospect before him. The other men laugh at Voss and Mr. Bonner is embarrassed by
his protégé.
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Willie, the Pringles’ eldest son, says that they ought to do something, such as have races or build a
bonfire, as they are wasting the afternoon. Belle, who has been collecting flowers and pebbles, says that
they will build a temple to a goddess in the sand, which leads Willie to declare dubiously that she has
gone mad. Una Pringle is speaking in glowing terms of one of the young men in the party, Woburn
McAllister, who is very rich. Voss suddenly reveals that he has passed through McAllister’s property and

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seen his house, which he says will “resist time indefinitely, as well as many of the insect pests.” Laura
suddenly feels sad and says that she “would not want marriage with stone.”

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Voss and Laura walk together, suddenly feeling more comfortable than they did earlier that afternoon.
Laura says that it is far from clear what her future will be, and Voss replies that it will be whatever she
makes it. Future is will. Laura thinks that the expedition Voss is about to undertake is an act of pure will,
but he points out that he will be operating under various practical restraints. Laura says that he must not
allow his will to destroy him, and Voss responds that he is touched by her interest. When they return to
Sydney in the carriage, Laura reflects on Voss’s arrogance, and feels ashamed, as though she has
“become personally involved” with him.

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Chapter 4
One morning, when Rose comes into Laura’s room to draw the curtains, she remarks that Laura has not
slept. Laura has been thinking over a plan of self-improvement, which she has decided she has a strong
enough will to carry out. She begins by telling Rose that she must take care not to exert herself in her
condition, though she is ashamed of the clumsiness of her words as she does so. Rose tells her of the
crime for which she was transported to Australia. She says that she had a little boy, whom she loved,
and could not bear to see him suffer. People said that only a monster could have done what she did, but
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“they had not carried my little boy, nor lain with all those thoughts, all those nights.” Laura is moved by
Rose’s story and disturbed by the danger of allowing her to share her thoughts. MrsMrs. Bonner feels
that the atmosphere in the house has become too heavy and decides to give a party in honor of Voss’s
departure. She persuades Mr. Bonner that this would be a good idea by referring to the expedition he is
backing as an event of historic national significance. She invites Topp the music master as well as Voss
and Palfreyman, but not the other members of the expedition, since she considers them too common. At
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the party, Mrs. Bonner gives Voss a book of German poetry, which a governess left in the house. Voss
reads out a verse in German but refuses to translate, saying that poetry is too personal for translation.
At dinner, Lieutenant Radclyffe asks Laura what she is thinking and she responds with a stream of
consciousness, including the jellied quinces she saw in the kitchen, the poem Voss read, and the bones of
a dead man she once saw in Penrith churchyard. Radclyffe is disturbed by this reply, and Laura tells him
that he should take care not to run the risk of asking such questions in future.
After dinner, Topp plays the piano at the request of his hosts, knowing that he was invited for this
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purpose, and Lieutenant Radclyffe sings a love song. Laura goes out into the garden, where she bumps
into Voss. She says she has come outside because the evening is so warm, but feels that this is not a
convincing reason. As they walk, she admits that she is fascinated by Voss and tells him:
“You are my desert!” He suggests that she would like to pray for him but Laura replies that she does not
pray. Voss says that atheism is self-murder. Atheists abandon God for mean reasons, because “they
themselves are so lacking in magnificence they cannot conceive the idea of a Divine Power.”
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Laura says that she is not concerned about destroying herself through disbelief. She grasps his wrist and
tells him she is worried for him. He shakes her off, telling her that he proudly worships a God who is
above humility. Laura says she will learn to pray for him and Voss replies that he will be followed across
Australia by her prayers, “like little pieces of white paper.” He tells her that he will keep a journal of the
expedition which she can read afterwards to follow in his footsteps. Mrs. Bonner then comes out of the
house to ask Laura to play a nocturne on the piano, and she goes inside, followed by Voss.
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Chapter 5
Early in the morning, while the stars are still out, Voss leaves Topp’s house for the Circular Wharf, where
the Osprey is waiting to take the expedition to Newcastle. Harry Robarts arrives soon after him and

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helps Palfreyman with the large, awkward wooden specimen cases he has brought. While Harry is
loading the cases onto the ship, one of the sailors confides a secret to Palfreyman. He remembers one
night when he was drunk and had sex with his friend’s wife, but whenever he meets her, she makes no
sign of their relations having changed. This leads him to wonder whether he dreamed the whole thing.
Palfreyman says that if he dreamed about the encounter it is still a matter for his conscience, since he
wanted it to happen. The sailor asks if the clergyman thinks ill of him and is puzzled when Palfreyman
says that he hopes to have learned something from the sailor’s story.

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Frank Le Mesurier comes up to Palfreyman. He has abandoned his usual cynicism and is pleased to be
making a start on the journey they have planned for so long. He says that Australia is fatal to anyone
who hesitates as he does. There are too many possibilities for someone who cannot decide on a single
course of action. However, he thinks that he may one day “bring forth something of great beauty” and
calls this his “oyster delusion.” Palfreyman says he will believe in the pearl Le Mesurier produces when
he sees it. He leaves Le Mesurier with some relief when he sees a party approaching the ship on
horseback.
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The riders are Mr. Bonner, Lieutenant Radclyffe, Belle, and Laura. Bonner talks to Palfreyman of the
wind, which is expected to change at 3:00pm, and asks after Voss, who is already on board the Osprey.
Mr. Bonner is concerned by the absence of method in Voss’s preparations, but says that he is different
from other men. Palfreyman replies that in any case Voss has confidence in himself, which is the primary
necessity for the expedition. When Bonner has gone to inspect the provisions for the journey, Laura
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drops her riding crop and Palfreyman picks it up and returns it to her. The crop is from India, and Laura
says she used to dream of traveling to such exciting and far-off places and envies “the people who enjoy
the freedom to make journeys.”

Patrons and onlookers arrive in a crowd and Voss walks among them, enjoying himself. Mr. Bonner
speaks to Voss, mainly to increase his own importance in the eyes of the crowd, and tells him to write
with any requests for assistance. He clumsily says that he considers Voss’s family his responsibility if
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anything should happen to the explorer. Voss, however, has not been in contact with his parents for a
long time and does not feel that he himself has any responsibility for them.

Colonel Featherstonhaugh, the Governor’s envoy, arrives and makes a solemn speech. Mr. Bonner is
irked that he has been eclipsed and thinks his generosity in funding the expedition has been forgotten.
He sulkily decides to take his party home, and at this point, Voss approaches him with thanks for his
kindness. When Bonner and his group leave, Voss realizes that he has not spoken to Laura. There is a
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drunkard in the crowd carrying a keg, and Harry Robarts recognizes him as Turner, the fifth member of
the expedition. Turner falls down a hatchway and only rises when the ship begins to move. Back at the
Bonners’ house, Laura, Belle, and Rose watch the Osprey depart from a balcony.

Chapter 6

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 7
The Osprey lands in Newcastle in the evening to be met by Mr. Sanderson, one of the expedition’s
sponsors. Sanderson accompanies the party to his station at Rhine Towers, a journey that takes several
days. He is a wealthy man who has “acquired a goodish slice of land” in New South Wales but lives in a

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simple manner with his modest wife, with whom he spends much of his time reading by candlelight. As
they approach Rhine Towers, they ride through a valley glowing with veins of silvers and knobs of
amethyst and sapphire. The men are silent at the sight of such magnificence. When they reach the
house, Mrs. Sanderson welcomes them in, but Voss says that he does not want to impose upon her
hospitality and would prefer to camp nearby.

The other men groan at the hardship Voss has imposed on them, and Palfreyman faints. The others carry
the unconscious man into the house, where he quickly regains consciousness and apologizes. In the

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confusion, Voss forgets his objections to staying in Sanderson’s house. They dine in a large, low-ceilinged
room, where Sanderson gives Voss and his friends wine made from his own grapes, saying that he and
his wife intend to become self-supporting. They are soon joined by Ralph Angus, a young landowner
with property near Rhine Towers. He is one of the two men whom Bonner suggested should join the
expedition, though neither he nor Voss mentions this. Judd, the former convict whom Bonner also wants
to be part of the expedition, then enters the room with Palfreyman, who still appears frail after his
collapse
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After some initial awkwardness, the dinner becomes convivial, and Mr. Sanderson gives an account of
his arrival at Rhine Towers with his wife, and his work on the land since then. After dinner, the company
breaks up into groups, and Voss takes the opportunity to talk to Judd, asking him why he is prepared to
leave his property for such a long time as the expedition will require. Judd replies that his wife and sons
can take care of his land and he has some experience of north-west Australia. He has “bush sense” and
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endurance, and pledges to give of his best.

As the Sandersons and their guests go to bed, Mrs. Sanderson wonders if Voss will be able to endure the
harshness of the expedition. Her husband says that he subjects himself to such mental suffering that
physical pain will not matter to him. Meanwhile, Voss is thinking of Laura as he goes to sleep, and
continues to dream of her throughout the night. The party spends the next few days at Rhine Towers
resting and preparing for the expedition. Frank Le Mesurier takes an old journal from his pack and writes
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a poem in which “his failures took shape, but in flowers, and mountains, and in words of love which he
had never before expressed.”

Two days before the party is due to leave, Voss rides to Judd’s station. Judd is not there, but Voss is
greeted by his wife, who is in the middle of churning butter. She tells Voss about the expedition her
husband is going on, not knowing that Voss is its leader, and says that she is happy to stay where she is,
but men are different. Judd returns, and they walk around the property together. Judd shows Voss the
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spring which led him to settle there and Voss also sees a large telescope, which Judd says is still too
weak for him to see the stars.

The following evening, his last at Rhine Towers, Voss writes rather pompous letters to his patrons,
informing them of his movements. He then writes to Laura Trevelyan with a proposal of marriage. He
asks her not to pray for him, but to join him “in thought, and exercise of will.” He says that he will leave

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 8
the Sandersons’ house early the next day and she can write to him with her reply at Mr. Boyle’s property
in Jildra, the last place on his journey where he will be able to receive a letter.

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Chapter 7

In the Bonners’ summer house, Laura and Belle discuss the expedition. Belle says that Mr. Bonner is
surprised to have heard nothing, since he expected Mr. Sanderson to keep him informed, even though
Voss himself could not be expected to be courteous enough to write. She also thinks Mr. Palfreyman
might have written, since he is so agreeable, and hints that Palfreyman might be a good match for Laura.
Laura finds this absurd but is more amused than annoyed, as she is full of joy. MrsMrs. Bonner asks

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Laura what they should do about Rose’s pregnancy. Laura says nothing and her aunt thinks she is selfish,
though she has, in fact, considered the question at length. She spends a lot of time with Rose in the
garden, gathering flowers. One day, Rose starts talking about Voss, saying that she does not understand
him, and does not think he understands himself half the time. Laura replies that she understands Voss
even when she cannot agree with him.

That evening, Mr. Bonner tells Laura that news has come from the expedition and gives her Voss’s letter.
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Over dessert that evening, the Bonners discuss the expedition, and Mr. Bonner says that Voss appears to
be satisfied with everything except the inclusion of Judd. He then asks Laura what Voss had to say in his
letter to her. Laura replies that Voss’s letter was just a short note which contained “civilities rather than
positive news.” Later, feeling very happy, she sits down and answers Voss’s letter. After this, she cries a
little and, when Rose comes in to announce that Mrs. Pringle and Una are waiting downstairs, she puts
her arms around the waist of the pregnant woman and buries her face in her apron.
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Chapter 8

Voss’s expedition travels to Jildra through a tawny sea of waving grass. Their last host, Brendan Boyle,
meets them and brings them back to his property, a two-room shack with a dirt floor “littered with
crumbs and crusts of bread.” Boyle orders two of his aboriginal servants, Dugald and Jackie, to
accompany Voss on his expedition, telling them in pidgin English to stick to him even if they drop. He
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becomes suspicious of Voss, and his suspicions increase when he speaks to Le Mesurier and asks him
how long he has known the leader of the expedition. Le Mesurier is trying to hide the journal in which he
was writing his poem and says that he has known Voss for a long time, then that he has not, then that
they knew each other in Sydney, then that they met on board ship.

One night, Palfreyman cannot sleep, and he sees Voss sleep-walking. His naked, bony figure against the
wooden wall in the moonlight makes Palfreyman think of Christ. When he tells Voss the next morning
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that he was sleep-walking during the night, Voss irritably replies that this has never happened before.
Boyle, who has been listening, ironically welcomes him “through the gate of human weaknesses.” Later,
Boyle suggests that Voss is “missing the best of a good season by delaying,” but Voss wants to wait two
or three more days for the mail to arrive. He feels nervous and physically sick as he does so, refusing
food and drinking pannikins full of water. As the party is preparing for the journey, Judd discovers that

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 9
their compass has disappeared. He thinks one of the aboriginal servants must have stolen the compass
but later finds it in his own saddlebag, where he is certain he did not put it.

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The mail finally arrives at Jildra, including a letter from Laura Trevelyan. She writes that she is confused
by Voss’s unexpected proposal, particularly in view of his contempt for human frailty. She thinks they
have recognized one another’s arrogance and admits that she cares deeply about his welfare while
despising his many faults. Laura then asks the question: “Can two such faulty beings endure to face each
other, almost as in a looking-glass?” She says that she is “prepared to wrestle with our mutual
hatefulness” if he is, and that she will allow him to write to her uncle to ask for her hand in marriage on
the condition that they will “pray together for salvation.” Voss tells Boyle that the letter contains good
news, and he is “dubiously happy” in his thoughts of Laura as he goes to sleep.

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The next morning, the expedition leaves on a blazing bright day. Voss laughs and sings in German as he
rides, thinking of how he will eventually talk with Laura, and they will understand one another. As he
builds a campfire in the evening, he sees Laura clearly in his mind. The expedition moves on through the
desert, and one day Voss realizes that it is Christmas Eve. Judd also knows this and mentions it to him,
saying that he would like to celebrate Christmas. He suggests they stop where they are, kill a sheep, and
make puddings, adding as an afterthought that they could also read the Christmas Day service. Voss calls
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a halt and the men prepare a feast. Judd himself slaughters a lamb, and Voss is somewhat contemptuous
as he watches “the spectacle of such pagan survivals.” He sees a vision of Laura, spotted with the blood
of the sheep, walking among the men who talk to her and...

Chapter 9
Back in Sydney, Mrs. Bonner is upset by Rose’s pregnancy and does not know how to handle the matter.
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She discusses it with Mrs. Pringle, who is “legitimately pregnant” and has no interest in Rose’s situation.
When Mrs. Bonner tells Laura how upset she is, however, her niece says that she has a plan, which she
has already begun to put into practice. She has moved Rose out of the attic into the best room in the
house and engaged a midwife to deliver the baby, which is due in a few days. They must receive Rose’s
child into the world with love, and since Rose does not love it yet, Laura will care for the baby herself.
Mrs. Bonner does not know what to say to this proposal, but Mr. Bonner agrees, saying that they must
allow Rose to give birth in their house as a matter of Christian charity. As she walks in the garden with
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Rose, Laura feels close to Voss. She hopes to receive another letter from him but feels that words are
unnecessary, as she trusts him implicitly. She feels the baby kick inside her as if she were inhabiting
Rose’s body. On another evening, Rose tells Laura that she cannot bear the pain, and Laura sends for
Mrs. Child, the midwife. However, Mrs. Child says that the baby will not be born for hours, and dines on
a mutton chop and baked custard while Laura makes preparations for the birth.

Rose’s labor is long and painful, and Laura feels the pain acutely. When the baby is born, Rose is
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exhausted, but Laura immerses it “in her waiting love,” cleaning and caring for the child, so that the
midwife remarks that anyone would think she was the mother. Rose names the child Mercy, but has
little interest in her and leaves her in Laura’s care most of the time. On the day when Mercy is due to be
christened, the Bonners think Rose has overslept, but when Laura goes into her room, she finds that
Rose is dead. After Rose’s burial, Laura devotes herself to caring for Mercy with such intensity that she
sometimes forgets to think about Voss, an omission for which she feels guilty. When a man who is going

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 10
to Moreton Bay and will be able to send letters to Jildra comes to see Mr. Bonner, Laura spends a long
time composing a love letter to Voss. She tells him about the birth of Mercy, saying that together with
Voss himself, the child is her greatest joy. She also says that on the day of Rose’s funeral, her

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understanding “seemed to enter into wind, earth, the ocean beyond, even the soul of our poor dead
maid.” When she has finished the letter, she is appalled at her own “childishness, prolixity, immodesty,
blasphemy, and affectations,” but there is no time to amend it.

Chapter 10

As Voss’s expedition travels west, the cavalcade is divided “into immutable component parts.” Voss
himself rides at the front with Jackie, then come Le Mesurier and Palfreyman with the spare horses and

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the mules, then Harry Robarts and Judd with the emaciated cattle. Ralph Angus and Turner bring up the
rear with the sheep. Judd often thinks of his love for his sons, and he has developed an affection for
Harry because of them. He wants to give the boy a present, so he takes some gum from the trunk of a
tree and puts it in his mouth, gathering some for himself as well. The taste of the gum and the act of
chewing it unites the two of them. However, when he sees Voss ahead of them, wrapped in the sun’s
rays like a beatific vision, Harry spits out the gum.
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Harry tells Judd that he has seen Le Mesurier writing in his journal. When Judd remarks that one day
they will see what is in it, Harry denies this, saying that they will all die, and the pages of Le Mesurier’s
journal will blow about the desert until the sun has burned them. When the expedition camps for the
evening near a dry river bed, Voss says that the sheep are slowing them down and must be sacrificed. As
a storm begin to break, he sends Le Mesurier to the back of the cavalcade to inform Ralph Angus of this
decision. Le Mesurier rides back through the storm and finds Angus and Turner sheltering under a rock
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ledge. He gives them Voss’s message and returns to the camp, despite their warnings that it is madness
to ride back through the storm in the dark.

Back in the camp, Le Mesurier goes into his tent and writes in his journal. He is shivering and gritting his
teeth, apparently gripped by fever. Meanwhile, Angus and Turner, between whom an unlikely friendship
has sprung up, are talking about him and his book. Turner says he has looked into the journal, which is
full of mad poems “to blow the world up.” He says that Le Mesurier is probably in league with Voss,
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though Angus reasonably points out that this makes no sense, as they are all members of the same
expedition, with the same goal.

The next morning, Angus slaughters two of the sheep, and they take the meat to Voss’s camp. Judd cures
the meat over a fire, and Voss decides that they will strike camp and move on the following day, though
all the other men would have preferred to remain. On the night before they leave, Palfreyman tells Voss
about his sister, who is a hunchback, and who recently attempted suicide. He feels guilty about his
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failure to love her more and take her suffering upon himself.

As they ride further West, Judd comments on how well the sheepdog, Gyp, is looking. He does this to
ingratiate himself with Voss, who likes dogs. However, Voss declares that they have no need of a
sheepdog now that they have no sheep, and shoots Gyp. The men suffer from chills and fevers, and
Frank Le Mesurier is especially frail. When they camp, Voss takes Le Mesurier into his own tent and

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 11
nurses him devotedly. Speaking deliriously in the midst of a fever, Le Mesurier calls for his book, which
Voss finds in his saddlebag and gives to him. The next day, Voss explores the area and finds some caves,
to which he decides to transfer the camp for shelter, since it is now raining heavily. As the expedition

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crosses...

Chapter 11
Una Pringle comes to the Bonners’ house to invite them to a picnic that her mother is arranging. Mrs
Bonner is also entertaining two naval officers from the Nautilus, a ship that recently arrived in Sydney;
Dr. Badgery, the surgeon, and a shy young midshipman. Una mentions Laura’s baby, and Mrs. Bonner
says that Laura will tell the officers the touching story herself. When Laura enters the room, however,
she says nothing about the child but overawes the officers with her air of authority and self-possession.

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Mrs. Bonner later asks Laura if she likes Badgery, adding that he is not quite a gentleman, but men are
what women make them.

On the day of the picnic, Laura tells her aunt that she is not coming with them because her baby is
suffering from wind. This upsets Mrs. Bonner but leaves Laura free to spend the afternoon with Mercy
and to pray for Voss, “that being for whom the ark of her love was built.” That evening, Mrs. Bonner
gives her a detailed account of the picnic, saying she has discovered that Dr. Badgery is fairly well-
UR
connected after all. Mr. Bonner then brings up the topic of the baby, Mercy, saying that Laura cannot
continue to care for her as it will damage her prospects. Laura replies that her prospects are in the hands
of God. However, the discussion is curtailed when Belle runs in with news of Una Pringle’s engagement
to Woburn McAllister.

The following weeks are taken up with preparations for Belle’s wedding, and the Bonners say nothing
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more about Laura’s baby. One day, however, Mrs. Bonner asks Laura to come and meet Mr. and Mrs.
Asbold, a couple who have a small property at Penrith. She tells Laura how pretty their house and farm
are, adding that a little girl would certainly be happy in such idyllic surroundings. She asks if Laura would
give Mercy to the Asbolds, but Mrs. Asbold says that she will not take the child, who would have “too
many mothers.” Laura is relieved but realizes that her victory is not final.

Two days before Belle’s wedding, the Pringles give a grand ball in her honor, sparing no expense. Belle is
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the focus of everybody’s attention in a dress of shimmering white satin, while Laura is generally
overlooked and does not enjoy the occasion. Dr. Badgery asks her to dance but is not surprised or
offended when she refuses. He asks her about Voss and his expedition, saying that he has “heard the
most extraordinary things” about the German, but Laura has nothing to say. She dances with Willie
Pringle and then with Tom Radclyffe, who has resigned his commission and seems naked without his
military uniform.
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Radclyffe asks Laura what she expects of Voss, and she replies that she does not expect anything since
she knows Voss is lost. He says that Laura must have second sight if she is certain of this. Supper is
served, and Laura finds herself next to Dr. Badgery, who observed her dancing with the other men and
asks if she enjoyed it. Laura says that she did not, and only danced with Pringle because he was a
childhood friend and Radclyffe because he is about to marry Belle. Dr. Badgery soon returns to his ship,
while the ball continues long into the night. When the Bonners eventually return home, Laura

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 12
immediately writes a letter to Voss, though she has no idea how to send it too him. She reproaches
herself in the letter for self-pity, then tears and twists up the paper. After a short interval, Belle and
Radclyffe are married.

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Chapter 12
As winter turns to spring, Voss’s expedition party is still encamped in the cave. The weather is very wet,
and Voss walks out early each morning to test the ground, in which he soon becomes bogged down. At
length, a crust forms on the mud, and the men ride out, singing. They have become wizened, filthy, and
emaciated, and have lost their appetites, preferring “to eat dreams.” They come across a native who is
singing and shaking his spear in a patch of scrub. Voss thinks he must be a poet and rides over to speak
to him, but the man runs away. Many other Aboriginals come and accompany them for parts of their

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journey.

The cavalcade comes to a “devilish country” of winding gullies. Here, the men fall silent and are
exhausted by the end of the day. One of the horses stumbles and falls back into a gully, whereupon Voss
tells Judd to shoot the injured animal. Judd does so, then pelts the dead horse with stones, an act which
Voss calls foolish and which terrifies Harry Robarts. After they pitch camp, Harry walks around thinking
about the many kindnesses he has received from Judd when he encounters a group of natives. This
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worries him, but Voss is unconcerned by the discovery. In the morning, however, they discover that an
axe, a bridle, and their only compass are missing. Judd immediately accuses the natives of having stolen
them during the night.

Judd wants to attack the natives, but Voss sends Palfreyman to talk to them instead. One of the natives
flings his spear at Palfreyman, and another thrusts a knife between his ribs. Judd fires at the group of
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natives and hits one of them before Voss forbids anyone to shoot. The natives run away, and Palfreyman
is already dead by the time any of Voss’s party can reach him. They bury his body, and the expedition
moves on. When they camp that evening, Judd tells Voss that he does not feel they should go any
farther, and he is turning back. Turner immediately decides to accompany him, and the following day,
Angus reaches the same conclusion. They divide the stores, and the two parties ride off in opposite
directions.
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Chapter 13

Mr. Bonner is already worried about Laura when he returns home one day to find that she is seriously ill.
Mrs. Bonner says that she has brain fever, and her husband sends for Dr. Kilwinning, the most expensive
physician in Sydney. As Laura lies in bed and observes the distress of her aunt and uncle, they seem like
children to her, while she feels “intolerably old.” When Dr. Kilwinning comes, his manner is reassuring,
but he says it is too early for any diagnosis and merely tells the Bonners to care for Laura and give her
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soup. Although the cause of the fever is not clear to the Bonners or the doctor, Laura is experiencing the
same agonies as Voss, who is still riding west through the desert with Le Mesurier, Harry Robarts, and
Jackie.

The men dispense with tents, which they are too exhausted to erect, and huddle close to the campfire at
night. One evening, Voss asks Harry if he regrets not going back to Jildra with Judd. Harry says that he

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 13
does not: he would not have known what to do there and is happy here since he has learned to live from
Voss. Le Mesurier, however, says that Voss has only taught him to expect damnation, which infuriates
the German. In the morning, Jackie has disappeared, and the other three men wait for him in the intense

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heat. Eventually, they move on, with groups of natives following them at a distance. Voss is infested
with vermin and wears his sores openly as he rides through the hellish landscape, thinking of Laura, who
is “sharing the same hell, in their common flesh.”

A man approaches Voss from the ranks of the natives, and Voss sees that it is Jackie. He tells Voss that
he belongs with the natives, who are his own people. Voss asks if the natives wish to kill him and says
that this is not possible. He takes Jackie’s hand as a sign of friendship and gets back on his horse. He feels
Laura with him as he rides on, and she says that she will never leave him, even for a moment. Her hair

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has been cut off, and she is naked and beautiful. Back in Sydney, Laura has just been shorn of her hair
and Dr. Kilwinning still cannot say what is wrong with her or even whether it is infectious.

Mrs. Bonner is concerned about the possibility of infection and tells Laura that it is best for her not to
see Mercy. Laura remembers the Asbolds and says that she wants Mercy to go and live with them. She is
willing to make this sacrifice “to prove that human truths are also divine.” However, Mrs. Bonner has
grown attached to the child and does not want to let her go. She draws the curtains in Laura’s room to
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show her the comet about which everyone in Sydney is talking, but Laura says that the comet cannot
save them.

Voss’s expedition finds water, which seems like a miracle to them after the seemingly endless desert.
The natives are still accompanying them, and when Jackie comes to their camp, Le Mesurier asks him
what they intend to do but receives no answer. At night, Voss sees the comet and is transfixed by its
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beauty, though Jackie says it is a great snake that will eat them all. The next day, Frank Le Mesurier asks
Voss what he plans to do, and Voss admits that he has no plan. Le Mesurier leaves the camp and sits at
the foot of a tree bleached white...

Chapter 14
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At the Misses Linsleys’ Academy for Young Ladies, three little girls, all called Mary, are talking about
Voss’s ill-fated expedition. They are joined by several other girls, including Mercy. The other girls ask
Mercy about her parents, and she says that Laura Trevelyan is her mother, but she has no father. Laura
has been employed as a teacher at the academy for two years and is loved and respected by the girls.
Mr. and Mrs. Bonner were surprised that she should take such a job rather than marry, but Laura says
she wants to give something back to the country which accepted her as “a poor immigrant.” Mrs. Bonner
tells her that she is behaving “like some foolish nun.”
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Laura reads poetry with the girls, and some of them begin to write their own poems. Miss Linsley is
disturbed when she finds that the girls have been writing love poetry on the fly-leaves of their lesson
books, but Laura thinks this is normal. The headmistress then tells Laura that she has been invited to a
party to meet Colonel Hebden, the uncle of one of the girls, who has returned from an expedition into

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 14
the bush in search of Voss. Laura is confused by this, since no one else is aware that Voss was anything
more than a slight acquaintance of hers.

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At the party, Laura meets Una Pringle, now Mrs. McAllister, who always disliked her and now feels that
she has triumphed, since Laura is a lowly schoolteacher and she is the wife of a wealthy man. Colonel
Hebden then approaches, and Laura tells him that she is grateful for his concern but she only ever spent
a few hours in Voss’s company. She adds that Voss had some “horrible qualities,” and the Colonel asks
whether she thinks these qualities might have weakened his position as leader of the expedition. Laura
suddenly cries out: “You would cut my head off, if letting my blood run would do you any good.”

Colonel Hebden offers to tell Laura what he has discovered about Voss. He says that both Dugald and

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Jackie returned to Jildra, the latter after a considerable time and bringing news of a mutiny in Voss’s
party. Dugald died before the Colonel went to Jildra, and he has little else to report, but says that he will
go back there. Laura asks him not to go, saying: “They are dead. It is over. Let them be. We suffered
enough, all of us.” However, this attempt to discourage him acts as a spur, and he resolves to return to
Jildra at the earliest possible opportunity.

Chapter 15
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When Colonel Hebden reaches Jildra, he asks Brendan Boyle if he has succeeded in locating Jackie, who
makes infrequent visits to the station. Boyle replies that he saw Jackie a few weeks ago, but it is useless
to attempt to detain him or to question him, since he is mad. The narrator then says that Jackie ran away
on his own after killing Voss and wandered through the desert. He found a dead horse with the corpse of
Turner beside it and nearby discovered a tuft of Ralph Angus’s hair. When night fell, he felt that he was
being pursued by the souls of the dead men. He returned to Jildra and found Dugald but they were no
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longer able to communicate, as the old man was in his second childhood, while Jackie was haunted by
the souls of the white men. Eventually, Jackie became a prophetic figure and a legend among the tribes.

Colonel Hebden rides west accompanied by four friends, two stockriders, and a train of baggage animals.
One night, when he is thinking of admitting failure and turning back, he has a dream in which he sees
Judd, Angus, and Turner riding toward him. Angus tries to ingratiate himself with Judd by suggesting that
they should open the veins of one of the horses and wet their dry lips with its blood.
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Turner then falls to the ground, and the other two men ride on, leaving him to die. Soon afterward,
Angus also falls from his horse and bashes his head against the rocks, thinking that he is surrounded by
young ladies of his own class offering him tea out of Worcester cups. Judd is now alone in the desert,
where he manages to find shade beneath a rock. Colonel Hebden wakes and informs his companions of
his decision to abandon the search, which delights them all. He is still resolved to speak to Jackie when
they return to Jildra, but Jackie is already dead.
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Chapter 16
Twenty years later, Radclyffe and Belle return to Mr. and Mrs. Bonner’s old house in Sydney, which they
have leased for six months from its current owners. Belle is delighted to be back in the house where she
spent her childhood and is particularly pleased that she is able to see Laura again. Though the two
cousins are more different than ever, they remain “greedy for each other’s love.” Laura is now

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VOSS – PATRICK WHITE 15
headmistress of the Academy for Young Ladies, and her stern demeanor is in complete contrast to
Belle’s “opulent and complaisant kindness.”

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Belle gives a party, to which she invites a diverse assortment of people. There are various figures from
Belle and Laura’s past, such as Willie Pringle, who is now a painter, and Topp, the music master. Mr.
Sanderson of Rhine Towers and Colonel Hebden are also present, and there is much talk of the wild
white man who has recently come to Sydney after living for years with an aboriginal tribe, and who
claims to be the only survivor of Voss’s expedition.

Laura arrives at the party wearing a plain black dress and is accompanied by Mercy. She is rather tired
because she has just come from a ceremony at which a bronze statue of Voss was unveiled. Long after

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his death, Voss is a celebrated figure who will feature in the history books. After the ceremony, Colonel
Hebden approaches Laura and asks her if she has spoken to “the fellow who has returned from the
grave.” This man, he tells her, seems to share her opinion “that Voss was, indeed, the Devil.” Laura does
not want to meet the man, but Hebden insists, and Sanderson brings him to her. It is Judd, now an older
man awkwardly dressed in fashionable clothes provided for the occasion.

Laura questions Judd, who tells her that by the time he returned home, his wife and sons were dead and
UR
his property was gone. Colonel Hebden tells him that Laura was a friend of Voss. Judd says Voss was “a
queer beggar” who left his mark on the country. The Aboriginal people still talk about him, saying that
he is there in the country and always will be. He adds that Voss was not a god but was something more
than a man. He was a Christian who would wash the sores of his men and nurse them when they were
sick. He says that he saw Voss die and was killed by a spear, claims he has never made before. Sanderson
says that Judd is tired and confused and takes him back to his lodgings.
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Colonel Hebden turns to Laura and tells her that her saint is canonized, though only on the evidence of a
poor madman. Laura replies that she is content. Voss struggled with the evil in him, and, like other men,
he contained a little of Christ. At Belle’s party, Willie Pringle, Topp the music master, and an assortment
of other people crowd round Laura, whose eyes are overflowing with love. When one of them asks her
about “the German fellow who died,” Laura replies that Voss did not die. “He is there still, it is said, in
the country and always will be.
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