March on Eventide: High Fantasy and the Queerplatonic

Author

Harper WoodFollow

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Honors Paper

Degree Name

English Creative Writing-BA

Department

English

Advisor

Jeremy Llorence

First Committee Member

Jeremy Llorence

Second Committee Member

Dennis Davenport

Third Committee Member

Tammy Birk

Keywords

Asexual, Aromantic, Queerplatonic, Queer, Amatonormativity, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Creative Writing

Subject Categories

Fiction | Higher Education | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Abstract

This thesis develops an original high fantasy world and extends through the first four chapters of a full fantasy novel. These introductory chapters will establish the world, the non-normative relationships between deities and mortal, and the threat that the central characters will be facing. This high fantasy novel places high importance on the inclusion of queer representation, as seen in the queerplatonic relationship between the two main characters, both of whom are transgender, and the sapphic relationship between the two supporting characters. The magic system of this novel is primarily established through the vitality of these relationships. The thesis seeks to showcase the beginning chapters of what will one day be a fully realized novel which the author intends to seek publication for in the future.

The critical introduction of this thesis will incorporate research on asexuality, aromanticism, and the queerplatonic, and define those terms appropriately. Independent databases will demonstrate a critical need for more literary representation for characters on the asexual and aromantic spectrum, as well as for those in queerplatonic relationship. Furthermore, the introduction will establish why queer representation in literature is vital in understanding social hierarchies and the understanding of what it is to be human.

Licensing Permission

Copyright, all rights reserved. Fair Use

Recommended Citation

Wood, Harper, "March on Eventide: High Fantasy and the Queerplatonic" (2024). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects. 181.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/stu_honor/181

Acknowledgement 1

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Acknowledgement 2

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