Date of Award
Spring 5-13-2016
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Tonya Stremlau
Second Advisor
Sharon Pajka
Abstract
I'm not going to lie; I still have nightmares. One moment Robert was kissing me, and the next he looked at [his wife] Shirley in the eyes and pulled the trigger. I saw the white church, the willow tree, and Shirley's grave. I heard Robert whisper, ‘devour’ against my hearing aid. It was all my fault. I blamed myself over and over.... Kate writes this wrenching confession in her diary. Her experiences with her pedophilic confirmation teacher had been haunting her until she finally gathered courage to fill blank pages with her thoughts and emotions. The young adult, epistolary novel allows readers an intimate glimpse into this trauma which beckons readers to the possibility of literature as a form of therapy, known as bibliotherapy. While reading the novel, readers can relate to Kate's victimization and analyze how Kate handles the situation with her abuser. The critical introduction discusses how the novel came to be; Gothic influences (epistolary form, setting, and the psychology of fixations and the uncanny); and bibliotherapy.
Recommended Citation
Fox, Jenna Kaye, "The White Church: A Young Adult Novel" (2016). Undergraduate University Honors Capstones. 46.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/honors_capstones/46
