Speaking the Unspeakable – Manifestations of Silence in Gail Jones’ Sorry

Abstract

This article examines Gail Jones' novel Sorry, mainly in terms of the symbolic relevance of its depiction of speech juxtaposed with the inability to articulate. The title relates the theme to a decade of national debate on the issue of saying “sorry” sparked off in Australian society in 1997 with the publication of the Bringing Them Home Report, documenting decades of removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Sorry, set in the 1930s and 40s, symbolically explores the relevance of articulating apology within the loose framework of this issue, but with its broader relevance to other collective traumas in mind. This highly lyrical novel takes the mysterious events leading to, surrounding, and subsequent to the murder of anthropologist Nicholas Keene to explore how the failure to articulate frustration, blame, shame, and regret can lead to acts of violence, injustice, and crippled lives. It also examines the communication spaces that evolve in the absence of speech or the ability to articulate. The message emerges that ultimately silence cannot indefinitely conceal the unspeakable, but uttering the word “sorry” in time permits healing, even if it cannot restore justice.