CUP Undergraduate Research
Title
Love and the Ink Whale
Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2010
Document Type
Restricted Access Thesis
College
College of Theology, Arts, & Sciences
Department
Humanities
Degree Name
English, BA
First Advisor
Dr. Kimberly Knutsen
Abstract
Love and the Ink Whale is a novella about two women who are lost, fragmented, and disconnected. Through a series of events, they find themselves and each other. This is a story about love and its ability to bind people together.
The story is set in Hawaii. The first storyline, narrated by a young woman named Cecilia, takes place in 2009. On a hot, summer day in July, she is faced with an important decision: should she go back to an abusive ex-boyfriend or should she finally liberate herself? This is a difficult question for her, especially because her view of herself has been damaged from tragic events in her past. She almost believes she doesn’t deserve happiness. She is searching for love and strength.
The second storyline, narrated in the third person, is about a young woman named Emily. The story is set in a day in July in 1988. She is pregnant and has been keeping her pregnancy a secret from everyone. She is finally coming to accept that her life will be altered forever. Like Cecilia, she is also searching for love, and finds it in an unexpected place.
The novella discusses various themes, including rebirth, death, sexuality, and love.