The search for the self in Tirra Lirra by the RiverIt has been suggested that Tirra Lirra by the River can be considered a novel that ultimately aims at a better understanding"2. In my opinion notice, in the novel understanding is achieved on two levels. The first type of understanding is personal and introspective, and is discovered by the central character. The other is social, achieved through allegory and symbolism, and addressed to the reader.Jessica Anderson aims to develop this dual understanding through the exploration of two main themes: the search for self-knowledge and the consequences of gendered social repression. In this essay I will explore these themes and what Nora and the audience respectively understand in relation to them. The Quest for Self-Knowledge Nora Porteous, the protagonist of Tirra Lirra by the River, embarks on a journey of self-discovery as an elderly lady, especially while in bed recovering from pneumonia. As physical exertion, which the reader will later discover was her usual response to periods of "waiting", is denied to her, she begins to explore her inner world of imagination and memory. His most important discovery is that he has lived his entire life under the curse of an imbalance between imagination and reality. This imbalance is highlighted by Nora's numerous correlations with Tennyson's "Lady of Shallot" and the gulf between her physical appearance and her actions and her inner character. One of the most obvious traits Lady and Nora share is their desire for perfection. social world of Camelot. Nora's 'Camelot' is a "region of [her] mind, where infinite expansion was possible" and is more real than the "discomfort of knees imprinted by the stick of a chair" (...... middle of paper .. .... from page 61. Willbanks, page 62. Pam Gilbert, Coming Out From Under: Contemporary Australian Women Writers (London: Pandora, 1988) page 140. Elaine Barry, "The Expatriate Vision of Jessica Anderson", Meridian 1 (3) (1984), 3-11. This from p. 8. Alfred Tennyson, “The Lady of Shallot,” in Elaine Barry, Fabricating the Self: The Fictions of Jessica Anderson (Queensland: UQP, 1992), Appendix 2. Elaine Barry, Fabricating the Self: The Fictions of Jessica Anderson (Queensland: UQP, 1992), p. 89. Barry, Meridian, p. 9. Barry, Fabricating, p Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson, "Australian Literary Studies 3 (12) (1986), 316-323. This from p. 318. Willbanks, p. 60. Barry, Fabricating, p. 73. Barry, Meridian, p 7. Barry, Manufacturing, p. 74. Willbanks, p. 60. Barry, Manufacturing, p. 71. Willbanks, p. 62.