Australian
literature entered the world literary map when Patrick White won the Nobel Prize for his work The Solid Mandala
in the year 1973. It was since then that Australian
literature was taken note of and had found a place in literary circles and was discussed by writers of literature. Today Australian literature and writers , poets and playwrights are well known throughout the world having broken the barriers of colonial patterns and influences in their sensibilities, themes and techniques.The Solid Mandala, written in 1966, reflects upon the life and times of two brothers who are in fact twins genetically but extremely different in character. One is 'mad' but cosmically inclined and the other is 'sane' even though he is schizoid. The basic theme of the Solid Mandala is woven around the various themes that entangle the twins, referred to as the 'Brown Brothers'.Waldo , one of the twins ,is an aspiring artist and in order to protect his personal identity as an artist, he is not inclined towards
relationships and hence does not recognize love and rejects any kind of relationships.His ego does not allow him to see his brother Arthur, in a compassionate frame of mind and it is this blindness that distorts his view of everything in the world.The other twin Arthur , on the other hand is capable of love and hence has a deep insight into relationships and understands them well enough unlike his highly intellectual brother. Arthur is humble, simple very down-to-earth but is seen as an eccentric seer who carries everywhere the two little glass spheres which represents the mysteries of the emotions that he can see in any relationships.The Solid Mandala tells us the story of these two brothers who are so different to each other in spite of being twins.Their lives have been joined by love and hatred thus living up to the saying that 'opposites attract'.