This is a thematically linked collection of short stories that involves strange romance with unlikely pairings: gaps in age, health, and class; estrangement in occupation, beliefs, and physicality; even a human's obsession with an object. Each story contains a scene that zooms in on food. There is reoccurrence of misplaced feelings that are mistaken for love or admiration. The plots range from life crushing experiences to simply a fleeting thought. It is intended to parallel the volatility of strong emotions and the temperament of human nature. For instance: the envy of youth, attraction to immorality, need for melodrama, disinterest when feelings are reciprocated, and the glamour of lust. The protagonists usually become aware of these trivial motivations, usually followed by the collapse of a particular feeling that perhaps never really existed, a take on paralysis.
","abstract_html":"<p>This is a thematically linked collection of short stories that involves strange romance with unlikely pairings: gaps in age, health, and class; estrangement in occupation, beliefs, and physicality; even a human's obsession with an object. Each story contains a scene that zooms in on food. There is reoccurrence of misplaced feelings that are mistaken for love or admiration. The plots range from life crushing experiences to simply a fleeting thought. It is intended to parallel the volatility of strong emotions and the temperament of human nature. For instance: the envy of youth, attraction to immorality, need for melodrama, disinterest when feelings are reciprocated, and the glamour of lust. The protagonists usually become aware of these trivial motivations, usually followed by the collapse of a particular feeling that perhaps never really existed, a take on paralysis. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Noland, Heather"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"English and Theatre","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z","subjects":["Fiction"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2015 Heather Noland"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/299","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Noland, Heather"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English and Theatre"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Fiction"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2015 Heather Noland"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/299"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This is a thematically linked collection of short stories that involves strange romance with unlikely pairings: gaps in age, health, and class; estrangement in occupation, beliefs, and physicality; even a human's obsession with an object. Each story contains a scene that zooms in on food. There is reoccurrence of misplaced feelings that are mistaken for love or admiration. The plots range from life crushing experiences to simply a fleeting thought. It is intended to parallel the volatility of strong emotions and the temperament of human nature. For instance: the envy of youth, attraction to immorality, need for melodrama, disinterest when feelings are reciprocated, and the glamour of lust. The protagonists usually become aware of these trivial motivations, usually followed by the collapse of a particular feeling that perhaps never really existed, a take on paralysis.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Bitter Relish"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Noland, Heather"],"dc:description.abstract":["This is a thematically linked collection of short stories that involves strange romance with unlikely pairings: gaps in age, health, and class; estrangement in occupation, beliefs, and physicality; even a human's obsession with an object. Each story contains a scene that zooms in on food. There is reoccurrence of misplaced feelings that are mistaken for love or admiration. The plots range from life crushing experiences to simply a fleeting thought. It is intended to parallel the volatility of strong emotions and the temperament of human nature. For instance: the envy of youth, attraction to immorality, need for melodrama, disinterest when feelings are reciprocated, and the glamour of lust. The protagonists usually become aware of these trivial motivations, usually followed by the collapse of a particular feeling that perhaps never really existed, a take on paralysis.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/299"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2015 Heather Noland"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Fiction"],"dc:title":["Bitter Relish"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English and Theatre"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:25Z"}