University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Theses UMSL Graduate Works 11-18-2016 Unconscious Lineage Elizabeth Arlene Neale-Oestreicher University of Missouri-St. Louis,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Neale-Oestreicher, Elizabeth Arlene, "Unconscious Lineage" (2016). Theses. 154. https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/154 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. UNCONSCIOUS LINEAGE Elizabeth Neale-Oestreicher B.A. English with a Concentration in Education, Fontbonne University, 1996 Thesis Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing December 2016 Thesis Committee John Dalton, M.F.A. Director Mary Troy, M.F.A. Steve Schreiner, Ph.D. E.N. Oestreicher—Page !2 ABSTRACT: The following stories, “Cellar Doors,” “The Truth About Rockford,” and “Disreputable Uncles” are three stories from a collection of stories about four generations of women and their families, who face — and sometimes conquer — challenges that are all too common in our lives. They include the misery of being a sibling, and the terrifying power and overwhelming helplessness of being a parent, and the desperation that can latch on to us at any time in our lives. These stories ARE about the characters’ individual struggles, but they are also about unconscious lineage and how family traditions and community mores affect our unconscious responses (regardless of our ages) — many of which are a result our parents’ decisions and the mistakes that they have made.