Joyce / The Old Woman Character Analysis in Swallow the Air

An elderly woman who finds May living on the street in Sydney and gives her a home. Joyce lives in a crowded urban neighborhood, nicknamed the Block, and populated mostly by people of Aboriginal descent. While the neighborhood is impoverished and substance abuse is rampant, there’s also a strong sense of community, of which Joyce is the center; the old women of the Block frequently gather in her house to drink wine and tell stories. While she faces many of the same hardships, Joyce is a much more capable caregiver than May’s own parents and Aunty, and her example shows May that one can live amid poverty and oppression while maintaining a strong character and a devotion to one’s family.

Joyce / The Old Woman Quotes in Swallow the Air

The Swallow the Air quotes below are all either spoken by Joyce / The Old Woman or refer to Joyce / The Old Woman. 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:

She told me about the history of Redfern, about the housing corporation stealing everyone’s money and homes, about how it used to be a real strong community. “And now,” she says shaking her head, “it’s the young fellas taking our money as well and the drugs stealing our community.”

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Joyce / The Old Woman (speaker)

Related Symbols: Housing Projects

Page Number and Citation: 101

Explanation and Analysis:

Joyce is the first of many mentors May will meet along her journey—people who are able to increase her knowledge of Aboriginal culture, especially in the context of historical oppression. Here, she explains that government-controlled housing projects both spring out of and perpetuate poverty. Interestingly, Joyce references an episode in which the “housing corporation” deceived its inhabitants—her stories help May become aware of the systemic biases that determine how she’s lived her life thus far. It’s especially important that Joyce mentions crime within the community—in doing so, she acknowledges the stereotype of Aboriginal people as naturally inclined to crime or Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia

“May, you got people that you gotta find, things you gotta learn. You will learn them ere, but I don’t want you to. Luck at Justine, smack the only thing teachin her now!”

Related Characters: Joyce / The Old Woman (speaker), May Gibson, Justine

Related Symbols: Housing Projects

Page Number and Citation: 104

Explanation and Analysis:

Joyce rescues May from homelessness on the streets of Sydney, and even though the Block is a tough place to live, it provides the most secure and affectionate home she’s known for a while. However, Joyce discourages May from becoming too settled here, telling her Sydney is just one stop on a longer journey. Even though Joyce has devoted her life to stewarding and protecting the tenuous community around her, she still acknowledges that the housing projects in which they live are poisonous environments; just as Justine has succumbed to drugs despite her mother’s best efforts, there’s no way May Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum v

This land is belonging, all of it for all of us. This river is that ocean, these clouds are that lake, these tears are not only my own. They belong to the whales, to Joyce […] they belong to the spirits. To people I will never even know. I give them to my mother.

Related Characters: May Gibson (speaker), Joyce / The Old Woman, Mum

Related Symbols: Water

Page Number and Citation: 183

Explanation and Analysis:

When she leaves Percy Gibson’s house, May has experienced the biggest disappointment of the trip so far. She realizes that it’s impossible, as she’s long hoped, to escape the realities of her life by retreating to a strong and functional Aboriginal society. While this is a moment of loss and disillusionment, May meets it with strength, emphasizing her connection with other Aboriginals and the land around her even as she’s forever cut off from the society she imagined. Notably, water resurfaces as a strong motif in this passage, the medium through which May expresses her strong sense of Aboriginal identity. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. No

Joyce / The Old Woman Character Timeline in Swallow the Air

The timeline below shows where the character Joyce / The Old Woman appears in Swallow the Air. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

One day, an old woman walking through the park sees May and coaxes her out of the gazebo. She tells... (full context)

...the train station, May washes her face and looks at herself in the mirror. The old woman ’s kindly reassurance that “you got family in the city too girl” makes her think... (full context)

May and the old woman, who introduces herself as Joyce, take the train to a crowded suburb lined with narrow buildings. Lots of people call... (full context)

...her stint on the Block, which makes her toughened and more mature. She lives with Joyce, Joyce’s daughter Justine, and Justine’s son Johnny. At night, Joyce and other neighborhood women stay... (full context)

During the day, Joyce tells May about growing up on the Block and working in a nearby factory. She... (full context)

Joyce takes care of May, making sure she doesn’t stay out late and has enough food,... (full context)

May feels that Joyce doesn’t want her in the house anymore and is ashamed. She stands in silence until... (full context)

...grabs Charlie’s thumb piano and runs to the Block. She sees a police car outside Joyce’s house and waits for it to leave before sneaking inside and begging Joyce to believe... (full context)

When May first arrived at Joyce’s house, Johnny tried to flirt with her, informing her one day that she was his... (full context)

When Johnny and May return to Joyce’s house after these long talks, they feel immune to the grim poverty of the Block... (full context)

In Joyce’s house, May finds Johnny smoking a bong. He laughs when he finds she has been... (full context)

Joyce / The Old Woman Character Analysis

Joyce / The Old Woman Quotes in Swallow the Air

9. The Block Quotes

18. Country Quotes

Joyce / The Old Woman Character Timeline in Swallow the Air