Paradidomi: magical realism and the American South

The thesis is comprised of a novel and a critical reflection. The novel component, entitled The<br/>Mathers’ Land, draws on traditions of magical realism, storytelling, memory and metafiction.<br/>The framing narrative of the novel follows Luanne Richardson, a librarian who has moved<br/>South with her new boyfriend, Kenneth Miers. As soon as they arrive in Peebles, North<br/>Carolina, Kenneth disappears. Luanne only knows that he last visited a particular house that<br/>belongs to the Mathers, the richest family in Peebles. Luanne forces an encounter with the head<br/>of the family, Walter Mathers. Despite her initially confrontational contact, Walter Mathers<br/>offers Luanne a job to construct a history of his family through interviews and records. He<br/>hopes the history will provide an answer to why his only son Eric has not produced an heir.<br/><br/>Luanne’s research draws her into a claustrophobic society where no one seems to notice the<br/>frequent deaths of the wives of the Mathers family or their odd attachment to roses and a<br/>dogwood tree, as elements of magical realism occur in the frame story. The interviews Luanne<br/>conducts appear on the pages of the novel as fully developed stories, which draw on themes of<br/>tradition, loss and family attachment. These themes are explored through perceptions of<br/>memory and storytelling.<br/><br/>The critical reflection component considers both what methods and writings made it to the<br/>thesis as well as what methods and writings did not. It explores the modes of construction, from<br/>the use of Oulipian and metafictional techniques to the use of magical realism. The major<br/>influences from specific writers are addressed in terms of structure, magical realism and<br/>Southerness, specifically Harry Mathews, Joseph McElroy, Mischa Berlinksi, Sharyn<br/>McCrumb, Randall Kenan, Steven Sherrill, and particularly Doris Betts. The reflection<br/>concludes by addressing what it means to be an expatriate ‘Southern’ writer.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Ph.D.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Southampton

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Young, Jennifer Maria

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Middleton, Peter
• Hammond, Mary
• Hussein, Aamer