1 UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER Faculty of Arts Real Life and Magic: An Inquiry into the Expression of Deep Ecology in Children’s Literature Melanie Isobel Newman Doctor of Philosophy April 2014 This Thesis has been completed as a requirement for a postgraduate research degree of the University of Winchester. 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER ABSTRACT FOR THESIS Real Life and Magic: An Inquiry into the Expression of Deep Ecology in Children’s Literature Melanie Isobel Newman Faculty of Arts April 2014 For centuries, the significance of storytelling in developing the way we see the world has been acknowledged and analysed. In a time when we are facing such huge global issues as climate change, resource depletion and species extinction, what sort of stories should we tell our children? The truth is that adults have little idea of how to tackle the issues and it seems clear that our attitude towards the natural world has contributed to many of the problems that their generation will inherit. In recent years there has been a call from many environmentalists to find a new approach to story: one which will help us to form a more life-sustaining relationship with our natural environment. Deep ecology as a worldview offers one way of developing such a relationship through reconsidering anthropocentric viewpoints and extending the sense of the self to encompass the whole of life in all its many forms. In light of David Abram’s call for writers to reconnect the written word with the land, this thesis explores the practice of creative writing in order to express some of the concepts of deep ecology in children’s fiction. Specifically it draws out issues of developing a stronger connection with the natural world as reality and of reconnecting logic with intuition. The thesis is comprised of two elements: the first part is a novel for children aged between ten and thirteen years as an experiment in putting theoretical ideas into practice and the second part is a critical reflection on my own experience of deep ecology in relation to the writing of the creative piece. 3 Contents Acknowledgements 5 Creative Element Story Outline 8 Chapter Index 10 In Truth There Be Dragons: a novel for children Part One: Rodney 13 Part Two: Hera 127 Part Three: Rodney and Hera 179 Critical Element 221 Chapter Outline 222 One: Introduction 223 Two: Deep Questioning 234 Three: Beyond Wonder 240 Four: Ways of Seeing 250 Five: Ways of Speaking 262 Six: Science, Spirit and Magic 269 Seven: Opening Lids 277 Appendices Appendix (i) Two versions of a platform for deep ecology 283 Appendix(ii) Further examples of freefall writing 285 Bibliography 294 4 No portion of the work referred to in the Thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. I confirm that this thesis is entirely my own work Copyright in text of this Thesis rests with the author. Copies (by any process) either in full, or of extracts, may be made only in accordance with instructions given by the author. Details may be obtained from the RKE Office. This page must form part of any such copies made. Further copies (by any process) of copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the permission (in writing) of the author. 5 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Andrew Melrose for making me believe that this was possible and for keeping the faith that I would complete it. His encouragement throughout the MA in Creative and Critical Writing was the catalyst for my PhD research. My partner, Stephen Reneaux has stuck with me through more than his fair share of mud and weeds. Without his generous present of a week at Nantcol in Wales, I might never have finished the novel and his more-than-proof-reading eyes have been invaluable. I’m not sure whether to thank my father for asking me to hurry up and finish so that he could be sure to be at the graduation, his inference that he wasn’t going anywhere until I had finished tempted me to make the research last forever. Peter Reason has been the perfect friend in this. His regular emails asking ‘how’s the writing going?’ were simple and encouraging. He made no judgements about my missed deadlines but instead offered wisdom. Special thanks also to Peter’s wife, Elizabeth for being a clear, insightful voice in a gloomy cavern. Judi Marshall, Gill Coleman and Peter Reason devised the MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice at Bath University at a time when such courses were rare, if not unheard of. It is only since that I have understood how much resolve must have been needed to launch this course and maintain it in the way they did. The subject matter was endlessly stimulating but it was the energy, the honesty, the patience and the open-mindedness with which they led the workshops and learning groups that made it exceptional. In both a material and a spiritual sense, they offered me a compass that would turn my wandering into a walk for life. Thank you to Sarah Bird for having the courage to set up Vala Publishing; to Vanessa Harbour for huge, understanding hugs and generous ears; to Amanda Boulter for including me in the evolution of the Creative Visions module and to every one of the students from whom I have received as much learning as I have given. Rodney Rodrigues provided the original inspiration for his namesake in this story. I’ll always be grateful for his wise counsel and voice of reason, which have somehow reached beyond the grave. I have been so lucky to have the companionship of two very special owners of four feet: first Morse and now Merlin who, between them, have been beside me ‘day after day, the whole day though’ (Kipling 1932) Most of all, I feel gratitude to the more-than-human world for being such an awe-inspiring, precious whole in which to belong. 6 To the Weavers 7 Creative Element In Truth There Be Dragons 8 Story Outline In Truth There Be Dragons is a novel for children aged ten to thirteen years. It is set in the present. Shortly after thirteen year old Rodney’s mother dies, his father announces that he has decided to accept a new job in Wales. Suddenly Rodney finds himself in a very different environment from the one that he has known all his life in Chennai, India. By chance, their new home is very near to the place from where Rodney’s favourite Uncle, Eustace, sent his last postcard before vanishing without trace. Rodney suspects this is more than coincidence and begins a secret search, following a series of mysterious riddles apparently left by Eustace. As a rather logical thinker, Rodney is baffled by the fact that the riddles seem to be more likely to lead him towards the existence of dragons than to the whereabouts of his uncle, so he pushes the idea out of his mind. Strange things begin to happen, many of which are linked to a local girl, Hera Abtalverryn, whose deep connection with the land and its wildlife has earned her a reputation for being ‘weird’. After a great deal of frustration, which leads him into trouble with his father and some of the villagers, Rodney allows Hera to help, using her local knowledge and her more intuitive approach. Together they solve the riddles, hampered by the efforts of Morley Dreadman, a sinister stranger who appears to be stalking Rodney. Against Hera’s advice, Rodney decides he must follow the map left by his uncle and deceives his father in order to make another expedition into the mountains. When he doesn’t return, Hera becomes worried and sets out to find him, deceiving her own mother in the process. She embarks on a long and lonely trek through hazardous terrain, guided only by her instincts. It is when she reaches her lowest ebb that a wolf-ghost appears and leads her to where Rodney is held captive by Morley Dreadman. In the mountains there is no signal for mobile phones or any means of calling for help and the pair must rely on their own ingenuity and upon each other to escape and find the way home. In the process they discover that Morley has been trying to steal the secret of several new means of generating and storing energy called a Dragon, invented by Uncle Eustace. When they realise that Morley’s motivation for doing this is to stop the technology that would significantly reduce dependency on the oil industry, they have a choice to make about how to tackle the problem. Hera’s hatred of violence and deceit comes into direct conflict with her 9 belief that all creatures have intrinsic value and are part of one another as well as the whole of life. With the final clue, it seems that Eustace has left them the means to resolve the problem but in following it they find more than the Dragon. The experience leads Rodney to question his way of looking at life and helps him to develop an alternative understanding of his mother’s death. It leads to a commitment that will shape the rest of his life. 10 Part One: Rodney One: Sense Two: Freefall Eighteen: Paper Dragons Three: The Book Nineteen: Trust Four: Morley Dreadman Twenty: Spirals Five: A Grave Disturbance Twenty One: Kickabout Six: Message Twenty Two: Break In Seven: Undercover Twenty Three: Tipping Point Eight: Ancient History Twenty Four: Honesty Nine: Dead Ends Twenty Five: Making Peace Ten: Initiation Twenty Six: Pointless Eleven: Scratchings Twenty Seven: Mad Twelve: Misunderstandings Twenty Eight: Vanellus vanellus Thirteen: Finders Twenty Nine: Meeting Hera Fourteen: Shadows Thirty: No Clue Fifteen: More Confusion Thirty One: Darkness and Light Sixteen: Breakdown Thirty Two: Death and the Mountain Seventeen: Ty Talfryn Thirty Three: White Lies 11 Part Two: Hera Part Three: Rodney and Hera One: Y Draig Gwyrdd One: Friday Two: Rainbows and Shadows Two: The Way of the Otter Three: Meeting the Flood Three: Tracks Four: Precious Things Four: Paper Trails Five: Revelations Five: Spirits Six: The Lake Six: Jigsaw Seven: Jugaad Seven: Mates Eight: Eternal Life Eight: In the Hut Nine: Decisions Nine: Seeing Double Ten: The Energy Tree Ten: Fire and Freedom Eleven: Smugglers Eleven: Finding Things Twelve: The Pit 12 13 Part One Rodney 14 15 One Sense His Dad just walked in from work in his suit and dumped it on him as if it was actually good news: “I’ve got it.