i used google. but i couldnt track him down that way, our teacher gave us it. he wrote a thing for the english teachers association but you cant read it unless ur a member. the thing he wrote is pretty meaty but i'll try to give u the jist of it.
Australian society at the time was male centred and value of the women was restricted to their sexuality and their role as nurturers. For dolly the attention of men is desirable because she is searching for love and acceptance but must rely on her attrasctiveness.
the women create the steel in the shapeless families. they make the lives function whereas men create dilemma's and problems. oriel is the obviuos example of this
three women dominate the nove, rose dolly and oriel. the women are dogged by their position in society, their biology and the social necessity of marriage and childbirth.
oriel and dolly are symbols of the plight of women in a male world. the world outside cloudstreet is male, within cloudstreet itself its the women who shape the world. men are potrayed as cowardly in the moments wen women are expected to be hard eg sam cant bring himself to see dolly in hospital, gerry clay beats dollly and leaves her. the men are a burden to the women. they are symbolic of the world at large.
women have to come to terms with their own nature and to learn to shape it to the demands of the society and the circumstances of their life. there is not much escape for female characters, just acceptance of roles in another place.
hope that it is some way relevant. i have a question, how the bejuses to discuss textual integrity. i know wot it is but i got nothin