The Pleasure Garden

• Main Author: Laidlaw, Suzanne (Author)
• Other Authors: Cranna, John (Contributor)
• Format: Others
• Published: Auckland University of Technology, 2010-11-11T20:48:03Z.
• Subjects: Creative writing; Fiction; Frances Hodgkins; Novel; Filmmaker; New Zealand setting; Thesis
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 This exegesis outlines the areas of consideration that are developed fully in the first draft of the novel The Pleasure Garden. Influenced by specific novels and films, postmodern theory, supervision by a mentor and participation and feedback during the year's coursework, this novel evolved over ten months. The work is written within the genres of literary and postmodern fiction and presenting two main protagonists living in differing times and social and artistic contexts. Both of these women are professionals active within tight constraints imposed by their respective eras and ambitions, creating significant bodies of work reflecting the art of their time. The exegesis provides the intellectual platform for the work and discusses the main terms and theories and the respective roles of the main characters including the reader or spectator. The novel itself was created in a much more organic and creative way using language and image, descriptions and characterisation to evoke differing locations and emotional states. Concerning the lives of a filmmaker and artist the creative processes of both are examined particularly as they undergo conflicts and obstacles hindering their respective paths. The novel aims to explore fully the disciplined but playful approach these women bring to their creative process as well as their intellectual and emotional desires that their work and relationships fulfill. It is up to the reader to lose themselves in the plot and weave of the narrative and to enjoy the landscape provided.