Swallow the Air
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
1. Swallow the Air 2. Grab 3. Cloud Busting 4. My Bleeding Palm 5. Bushfire 6. Leaving Paradise 7. To Run 8. Territory 9. The Block 10. Chocolate 11. Wantok 12. Painted Dreaming 13. Mapping Waterglass 14. Just Dust 15. Cocoon 16. Bila Snake 17. Mission 18. Country 19. The Jacaranda Tree 20. Home
Themes
All Themes The Power of Memory Aboriginal Identity Displacement Family Substance Abuse
Quotes
Characters
All Characters May Gibson Mum Billy Gibson Aunty Dad Alice / Old Mum Samuel The Man / The Rapist Joyce / The Old Woman Johnny Charlie Issy Mr. Tzuilakis Uncle / Graham Percy Gibson
Symbols
All Symbols Water Housing Projects
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Swallow the Air

by

Tara June Winch
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Aunty Character Analysis

Mum’s sister and May’s aunt, who takes in May and Billy after Mum commits suicide. While Aunty is loving and affectionate, she’s not a very reliable caretaker. She’s addicted to drinking and gambling, and often vanishes to the casinos or spends the family’s little money on her addictions. Aunty reflects the substance abuse that characterizes many Aboriginal communities, largely due to a long history of colonial mistreatment and the current lack of opportunity within Anglo-Australian society. It’s partly to escape the instability of family life with Aunty that May leaves home in search of more functional relatives. However, as she matures throughout the novel, May learns to appreciate Aunty despite her weaknesses. When she finally returns home and consoles Aunty about her imminent eviction, May emerges as the caretaker of the person who once took care of her, showing her renewed devotion to her family.

Aunty Quotes in Swallow the Air

The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Aunty or refer to Aunty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Power of Memory Theme Icon
).
20. Home Quotes

My mother knows that I am home, at the water I am always home. Aunty and my brother, we are from the same people, we are of the Wiradjuri nation, hard water. We are of the river country, and we have flowed down the rivers to estuaries to oceans.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Mum, Billy Gibson, Aunty
Related Symbols: Water
Aboriginal Identity Theme Icon
Displacement Theme Icon
Page Number: 194
Explanation and Analysis:

An excavator starts its smothering engine over the torrent of each barrel. Over the sun. Over the blue. And I wonder, if we stand here, if we stay, if they stop digging up Aunty’s backyard, stop digging up a mother’s memory, stop digging up our people, maybe then, we’ll all stop crying.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Aunty
Related Symbols: Housing Projects
Aboriginal Identity Theme Icon
Displacement Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:
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Aunty Quotes in Swallow the Air

The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Aunty or refer to Aunty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Power of Memory Theme Icon
).
20. Home Quotes

My mother knows that I am home, at the water I am always home. Aunty and my brother, we are from the same people, we are of the Wiradjuri nation, hard water. We are of the river country, and we have flowed down the rivers to estuaries to oceans.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Mum, Billy Gibson, Aunty
Related Symbols: Water
Aboriginal Identity Theme Icon
Displacement Theme Icon
Page Number: 194
Explanation and Analysis:

An excavator starts its smothering engine over the torrent of each barrel. Over the sun. Over the blue. And I wonder, if we stand here, if we stay, if they stop digging up Aunty’s backyard, stop digging up a mother’s memory, stop digging up our people, maybe then, we’ll all stop crying.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Aunty
Related Symbols: Housing Projects
Aboriginal Identity Theme Icon
Displacement Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:
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