Abstract

“The Things Maggie Made” is an illustrated gothic fantasy novella starring Janet, a professional ballerina in her mid-twenties desperate to save her career after an Achilles tendon injury puts her at risk of losing her job. The novella’s central conflict revolves around Janet’s desperation to maintain her position as a dancer at her ballet company, while negotiating changes in both her environment and in her body, and simultaneously being involved in a hunt for a creature on the property that may or may not exist. As Janet tries to heal, the novella’s action revolves around Janet’s interactions with her cousin, The Director, Kerry, her late grandmother Maggie, and the fantastical hybrid creatures that roam the property. The novella’s magic, fantastic creatures and fantastic elements function as devices through which I explore themes of pain, memory, dysfunctional familial dynamics, the failure and triumph of bodies, and the celebration of unhealthy bodies in both the world of dog breeding and the world of ballet.