Abstract
Research background:
Kessler notes that ‘we think sometimes we’re only drawn to the good, but we’re actually drawn to the authentic … people who are real more than those who hide their true selves under layers of artificial niceties’ (2000). This story is an outcome of a research project that extends this discourse by exploring the underrepresentation of anger and guilt – emotional components identified by Kübler-Ross’s ‘Seven stages of grief’ model (1969) – in relation to successful publications of short stories that identify grief as a theme.
Research contribution:
This story is informed by a statistical analysis of a series of recent successful short story submissions about grief. Using this, together with qualitative analysis of fictional narratives (Spencer 2013), affirms a connection between the incidence of Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief and a collection of short stories published on this theme.
Research significance:
This story contributes to the current discourses around how those in Western culture express grief. The under-representation of anger and guilt in this regard, speaks to the concept of ‘disenfranchised grief’ as expressed by Hall, who recognises that ‘societies have … grieving rules’ (2011) – and indicates the research potential for a wider representation of grief in short story narratives. This story has been accepted for publication in a high quality creative writing research journal.