Separation and Individuation in The Aunt's Story

Most of the critical attention to Patrick White's The Aunt's Story 1 has concentrated on Theodora Goodman's escapades in the Jardin Exotique and most critics agree that the other characters and events in the Jardin are figments of her imagination. Few, if any, attempt a plausible explanation for her flights of fancy and merely conclude that Theodora, the protagonist, is schizophrenic or mad.