Resisting Domination: Merfolk and the Beach in Amy Sackville’s Orkney
Resisting Domination: Merfolk and the Beach in Amy Sackville’s Orkney

Summary/Abstract: In Orkney (2013), a novel by British writer Amy Sackville, the relationship of a newly-wed couple is illustrated by the juxtaposition of the wind-swept shore with a sheltered house. Within this opposition, the hegemonic dualisms of nature/culture, femininity/masculinity, magic/reason, and body/mind are precariously upheld by the narrator whose position becomes equivocal as the novel progresses. The ever-present metamorphic essentiality of the Orcadian littoral landscape and folklore challenges his patriarchal narrative and reveals its violence. This paper will focus on the potential for resistance by hybrid spaces and bodies against hegemonic patriarchal narratives, analysing how the woman’s interaction with the beach and engagement with merfolk lore open the possibility for an alternative narrative.

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