The Grief Nurse, a novel, & Asterisms, lyrical essays: Creative questionings of grief

Spoto, Angela (2020) The Grief Nurse, a novel, & Asterisms, lyrical essays: Creative questionings of grief. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This PhD work is a creative and critical exploration of grief. The thesis consists of a novel called The Grief Nurse and a collection of essays called Asterisms. Inspired by the decline of the British aristocracy at the turn of the 20th century, The Grief Nurse is a speculative novel that imagines a world where grief is commodified and freedom from grief is hoarded by the wealthy. It explores the consequences of suppressing grief and the personal and political implications of stigma against grief, mental illness and suicide. Asterisms weaves together poetry, memoir, and research spanning across the disciplines of psychology, feminist theory, philosophy, and literature to explore the relationship between grief and mental illness, the many types of grief, and the politics and language of grief, ultimately attempting to understand what grief can be. Aiming to be an accessible yet intellectual examination of grief, Asterisms is written in an intimate style that invites readers to imagine their own experiences with grief as they read. The novel and essays, although very different in form, were written symbiotically; they engage with one another through the themes they explore and the questions they raise. Together the novel and essays form an argument for the necessity of grief as an essential component of the human condition.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: grief, fantasy, speculative, SFF, language, politics of grief, lyrical essays, madness, memoir, grieving, bereavement.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PE English; P Language and Literature > PR English literature
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Reeder, Dr. Elizabeth and Maslen, Dr. Robert
• Date of Award: 2020
• Embargo Date: 19 December 2023
• Depositing User: Dr Angela Spoto
• Unique ID: glathesis:2020-81888
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 05 Jan 2021 14:21
• Last Modified: 08 Apr 2022 17:05
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.81888
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/81888