Lost in a Straight Corridor

: Psychosis and the Monstrous Threshold; Nature Versus Nurture in Schizophrenia Spectrum Psychosis and its Role in the Development of Monstrous Characters.

Abstract

'Psychosis and the Monstrous Threshold; Nature Versus Nurture in Schizophrenia Spectrum Psychosis and its Role in the Development of Monstrous Characters' is a creative and theoretical thesis that explores the limits of the monstrous archetype in literature. This thesis consists of two sections, a novel and a critical commentary. The novel is entitled Lost in a Straight Corridor. It is an exploration of the life of Fitzgerald Thawn, a man who brutally murders three people, including his mother. The narrative switches between 1962 and the modern day to follow the events of Fitz the boy and Fitzgerald the man respectively to allow the reader insight into Fitzgerald's personal history. The critical commentary explores two distinct concepts utilised in the novel, the Monstrous Arc and the Monstrous Threshold. The Monstrous Arc is a twist of the heroic story arc, where the character commits to evil acts instead of deciding to change their ways. The Monstrous Threshold is the instance where the reader cannot empathise with a character. To support my research, I draw on developmental research on Schizophrenia pattern disorders. This includes works by the researchers Richard Bentall, R.D. Laing, and Robert A. Neimeyer. The novel draws on a few key narrative mechanics, including indeterminacy, narratology, the heroic story arc, the unfinished story, and monster theory in literature. I include work from literary theorists such as Stephen Asma, J.J. Cohen, and Walter J. Ong to support my theoretic work, and to illuminate my choices in the novel's construction

Date of Award	11 May 2017
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Aberystwyth University
Supervisor	Rosemary Dub (Supervisor) & Jacqueline Yallop (Supervisor)