| Title |
Bowman, Rebekah MENG_2025 |
| Alternative Title |
The Witch and the Spearmaiden |
| Creator |
Bowman, Rebekah |
| Contributors |
Ridge, Ryan (advisor) |
| Collection Name |
Master of English |
| Abstract |
I have applied my learning of writing craft to a novel manuscript, THE WITCH AND THE SPEARMAIDEN, a folkloric adult fantasy standalone loosely inspired by northern 10th century Britain. It incorporates both Scottish Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon culture and features a subplot of sapphic romance between the two point-of-view characters, one of whom is grey-asexual. This thesis explores the craft of worldbuilding and the resulting cultural and societal structures that surround and affect characters, drawing various influences from both skills and knowledge from the graduate program and my own outside research and inspirational texts. In the process of revising this manuscript, I uncovered deeper connections between language, culture, and queerness in my manuscript. Worldbuilding has a powerful role in the shaping of themes as well as the potential to overturn common harmful tropes. In the context of this manuscript, the worldbuilding interacts with and ultimately topples tropes that villainize queer and queer-coded witches. |
| Subject |
Creative writing; Characters and characteristics in literature; Fantasy literature; Fiction |
| Digital Publisher |
Digitized by Special Collections & University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University. |
| Date |
2025-12 |
| Medium |
theses |
| Type |
Text |
| Access Extent |
92 page pdf |
| Conversion Specifications |
Adobe Acrobat |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
The author has granted Weber State University Archives a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce his or her thesis, in whole or in part, in electronic or paper form and to make it available to the general public at no charge. The author |
| Source |
University Archives Electronic Records: Master of English. Stewart Library, Weber State University |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s65fb4g7 |
| Setname |
wsu_smt |
| ID |
156006 |
| Reference URL |
https://digital.weber.edu/ark:/87278/s65fb4g7 |
