Date of Award
2011
Document Type
Thesis - ECU Access Only
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts Honours
School
School of Writing
Faculty
Faculty of Education and Arts
First Supervisor
Dr Marcella Polain
Abstract
The following work explores the concepts of ‘home’ and ‘dwelling’ and their relationship with internal states of being through emotive, lyrical free-verse. In these poems, houses are mirrors: doubles that echo the mental and emotional states of their inhabitants. These houses are still, watchful, disturbing – but also intoxicating, comforting and dream-like. The division between ‘home’ and ‘house’ is explored, informed by academic research into Freud’s definition of the ‘uncanny’, and influenced by themes present in gothic/horror fiction, particularly that of Edgar Allan Poe. The accompanying essay further explores the relationship between Freud’s ‘uncanny’ and one of Poe’s most disquieting ‘house tales’: The Fall of the House of Usher.
Recommended Citation
Groom, E. (2011). These four walls : memory of the ghost of home. Edith Cowan University. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/6