Beyond Taxonomy: The Psychology of Classification and Control in Murray Bail’s Eucalyptus
Keywords:
taxonomy, classification, control, psychology, storytelling, Murray Bail, EucalyptusAbstract
This article examines the psychological dimensions of classification and control in Murray Bail’s Eucalyptus (1998). While previous scholarship has primarily focused on taxonomy, ecological symbolism, patriarchy, and national identity, less attention has been paid to the psychological mechanisms through which classification functions as a means of domination. Drawing on literary psychology, eco-criticism, and postcolonial approaches, the article argues that the protagonist Holland’s obsessive taxonomic project represents an attempt to transform uncertainty into order and to exercise control over both nature and his daughter Ellen. The study demonstrates that Bail critiques rational systems of classification by exposing their psychological foundations in anxiety, possessiveness, and the desire for mastery. At the same time, the novel presents storytelling as an alternative mode of knowledge that resists rigid taxonomies and opens space for imagination, emotional connection, and human freedom.
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