Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of English
First Advisor
A.B. Paulson
Term of Graduation
Winter 2001
Date of Publication
2-22-2001
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.) in English
Department
English
Language
English
Subjects
Short stories, Novella
Physical Description
1 online resource (156 pages)
Abstract
Would human life be tolerable without love, faith, hope, mystery and wonder? This question seems to thread its way through each of the three stories included in this thesis. As the individual characters in these works, find themselves in crisis, or facing life's darker moments, they are moved to examine their beliefs, confront inner conflict, and with greater difficulty, to trust and depend on the existence and power of that which cannot be seen or held, to aid them in their emotional, physical and spiritual survival.
The first story of this collection, "Seeds", explores the reactions of several women in a small community to the mysterious disappearance of one of the town's members--a woman named Olivia. While in this work I use the disappearance of Olivia as a vehicle for self-reflection by the women in this town, it also serves the purpose of illustrating the importance of "story'' for its own sake. Since the mystery is left open--unsolved, it feeds the imaginative lives of these characters who are compelled, then, to create their own conclusion to Olivia's tale on. Her disappearance becomes an occasion to dream of a life beyond their limited, small town environment.
In the story, "Surrender", the focus is centered on the delicate and complicated nature of relationships in flux. This story adheres to the necessity of love in guiding those subtle, but important, negotiations that occur between characters as their relationships are redefined.
The final selection in this thesis, "Heartbeat", is a novella that manages to incorporate all of my major themes. While its tone differs from the first two stories in this collection, by leaning at times, towards the comic, the subject matter remains serious: the overcoming of personal limitations, the need for a strong belief system and communal support--especially in times of despair, and love, in all its forms.
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44735
Recommended Citation
Carmickle, Amy, "Heartbeat and Other Stories" (2001). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 7079.