Shorebirds and other stories

Abstract

Shorebirds and Other Stories is a collection of original feminist gothic short fiction set in Alaska. A critical introduction to the creative portion situates the work within the historical context of feminist gothic literature, feminist theory, and contemporary feminist psychology, while rejecting an application of Julia Kristeva's theory of the abject. Kristeva's theory is commonly cited in gothic analyses of female monsters, but this introduction argues that her ideas position women in an essentialist, misogynist Freudian-based psychology, which is in stark contrast to feminist gothic literature's project of asserting women's subjectivity. Each short story in the creative portion reflects themes of maternal subjectivity, ambivalence, or abortion, while drawing inspiration from classic and contemporary feminist gothic literature. Moreover, the collection includes works of realism and the fantastic, the former genre revealing the deep humanity of women deemed monstrous by a patriarchal society, while the latter celebrates radical feminist difference in such monstrous tropes as the vampire, werewolf, and witch. In the tradition of feminist gothic literature, Shorebirds and Other Stories features "monstrous" women as protagonists, offering their perspectives, histories, complex emotions, and perseverance in the struggle for subjecthood.