Date of Award
6-1-2014
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
English/Creative Writing
First Advisor
Fanny Howe
Second Advisor
Askold Melnyczuk
Third Advisor
Joyce Peseroff
Abstract
THE ALTERNATE LIVES OF CLAIRE MACKENNA, a collection of short fiction, seeks to explore the intricate ways choice and identity shape one another. As a kind of character-driven, literary take on the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books of childhood, these linked short stories explore what central character Claire MacKenna's life would be like had she made different decisions at points in time both momentous and ephemeral. Each tale stands in communication with the others, working to illuminate how different potentialities can exist within one person and within one lifetime. Claire MacKenna is a contemporary young woman, and as such the permutations of her life explored here are not only structured by this exploration of choices but informed by the thematic idea of choice and what it means for being a woman today.
Recommended Citation
von Hagel, Lauren, "The Alternate Lives of Claire MacKenna" (2014). Graduate Masters Theses. 254.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/254