Myths, magic, and the stories that make us: retelling British and Irish myths using magical realism to interrogate modern identities (a creative and critical approach)

Abstract

This thesis combines a practical and critical approach. The practical approach is the production of original creative writing, a collection of five short stories titled Bridges. The short stories are retellings of British and Irish myths told in a magical realist mode. They are each set in Britain or Ireland in the late 2010s to the early 2020s. The stories interrogate various identities, including facets relating to cultural, racial, gender, and sexual identities as well as the impact of mental and physical health on identities. The stories practically demonstrate how mythic inspiration can be used to explore modern concerns and show how the mode of magical realism benefits examinations of identity.

The critical approach is comprised of three critical essays which reflexively examine my practice and explore published short fiction in the genre or mode I utilize. The critical section employs the method of close reading with reference to multiple theories including feminist theory, postcolonial theory and theories of narrative. Essay One, ‘Resurrecting Mythology: Rewriting/Adapting Myths in the Short Story’, examines retellings of myths. Essay One proposes three reasons why authors of short stories may be attracted to myths and how retellings can be used to both reflect and shift our ideas of identities. Essay Two, ‘Magic Words and Plural Places: Language and Liminal Identities in Magical Realism from Britain and Ireland’, explores magical realist short fiction in Britain and Ireland, and how it is used to present identities within those boundaries. Essay Three, ‘Breaking Out of the Boundaries: Gender Identities and Abandoned Ideals of Motherhood in Magical Realism from Britain and Ireland’ continues the examination of British and Irish magical realist short fiction by exploring the representations of gender and parenthood in this mode. This thesis investigates how modern identities can be represented and reshaped through narrative short fiction.

Thesis is embargoed until 31st October 2027

Date of Award	Oct 2025
Original language	English
Sponsors	Department for the Economy
Supervisor	Stephen Butler (Supervisor) & Frank Sewell (Supervisor)