Thesis

The living Meteora : the outdoors as an inclusive space for female narrators ; from Nan Shepherd’s Cairngorms to the fantastical world of Meteora

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2024
Thesis identifier
  • T17025
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 202158727
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Abstract
  • Surgical repair of aortic pathologies involves synthetic tubular grafts generally made of a polyester fabric. Despite being the gold-standard, such grafts do not readily endothelialise and are unable to mimic the mechanical behaviour and intricate anatomical geometry of the native This PhD thesis is comprised of two parts. The first is a fiction novel, titled Meteora, about two sisters finding self-acceptance through their relationship. The second is an accompanying critical reflection on Nan Shepherd’s structuring of the Cairngorms in The Living Mountain as an inclusive space beyond gender. The creative novel takes place on the backdrop of Southeast Alaska. As children, Adeline and Jane Roan discovered another world of endless mountains, the door to which only opens during the Perseid meteor shower. They named it Meteora. When Jane and her boyfriend, Sean, are on a climbing trip, Sean falls to his death and Jane wakes up to find herself alone in Meteora. Rather than face what has just happened, she rejects the regular world and decides to remain. Adeline travels deep into the wilderness to find the door to Meteora and save her sister, unaware of how this will define their relationship. The critical portion of the thesis examines Shepherd’s structuring of the Cairngorms as an inclusive space in The Living Mountain through her use of gender-minimization in both pronouns and description, as well as how this thematically relates back to Jane and Adeline’s perceptions of Meteora. The concluding chapter concerns itself with the author’s discovery of The Living Mountain, how Shepherd’s work came to influence Meteora, and the author’s own experience with the natural world as an inclusive place for a solo female walker.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Meehan, Andrew, 1971 -
  • Glass, Rodge
Resource Type
Note
  • This thesis was previously held under moratorium from 31st July 2024 until 31st July 2026.
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