In Australia, Reconciliation refers to the attempt to ease tensions between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Australians descended from settlers and colonists. The process of Reconciliation is, in theory, aimed at promoting truth, justice, forgiveness, and healing of the intense disparities in income, education, and quality of life between First Nations People and white Australians who have benefited from generations of settler colonialism and white supremacy. In the play, the Woman scoffs at the idea that Reconciliation could ever be possible in a country where the very people for whom Reconciliation is meant have not even been given the education needed to spell or read the word itself. Reconciliation is a well-intended concept, but in practice, it is fraught and unspeakably difficult to take the large-scale actions that would actually be needed to repair hundreds of years of oppression, murder, and inequality.
Reconciliation Quotes in The 7 Stages of Grieving
The The 7 Stages of Grieving quotes below are all either spoken by Reconciliation or refer to Reconciliation. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene 21: Everything Has Its Time
Quotes
Wreck, Con, Silly, Nation.
Some of the people I talk to would write it like this.
What does it mean when some people can’t even read or write the word?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Reconciliation Term Timeline in The 7 Stages of Grieving
The timeline below shows where the term Reconciliation appears in The 7 Stages of Grieving. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene 21: Everything Has Its Time
...does the word mean, she asks, when people can’t read or write it? The word RECONCILIATION is projected on the stage, replacing the four smaller words. Reconciliation, she says, shouldn’t be...
(full context)
...performing area, declaring it a mess. She picks up the suitcase. She packs the word RECONCILIATION into it and locks it. “Everything,” she says, “has its time,” repeating the phrase twice.
(full context)
