"Remembering Babylon," written by critically acclaimed author David Malouf, demonstrates the fragile balance of "primitive" and "civilized," highlights the importance of "settling" versus "conquering," and investigates the concept of fear and racism as one and the same. Set in nineteenth century Australia, Remembering Babylon spans across a time period of nearly seventy years, told from the perspective of many characters, but primarily following the story of Gemmy, a white man who, after living sixteen years with the Aborigines, emerges into a small European settlement in north Queensland. Gemmy is considered by the Europeans to be a black-white hybrid, and he, along with several other prominent characters, struggle with the symbolic fence that rests between the settlers and the Aborigines. While the novel addresses several prominent topics, it is clear that Malouf and his characters most clearly identify with the theme of renewal, a concept which is demonstrated through both rebirth and hybridization, but is most importantly portrayed through the motif of fire, which has been married with the theme of knowledge and understanding. This motif can be seen constantly throughout the novel, and is heavily manipulated in order to signify both destruction and epiphany, particularly through the characters Gemmy and Janet.
The concept of destruction as form of renewal is demonstrated heavily through the motif of fire, particularly by Gemmy when he has not yet developed a concrete understanding of fire and its consequences. In this novel, the destruction or fading of one lifetime or season, or even of a material object, makes way for another, forming a continuous cycle of rejuvenation. Many characters in the book do have this understanding, and therefore do not recognize destruction as renewal, although Malouf makes it clear, that intentional or not, fire leads to destruction, which in turn leads to renewal and rebirth.
