Under the Eclipse

My thesis is a novella accompanied by a reflective writing essay. Under the Eclipse is an exploration in fiction of the relationship between movement of people and paintings in Paris during the first year of occupation in World War II. Using a blend of abstract emotions and the materiality of objects, juxtapositions are drawn between people and paintings through a series of vignettes of an ensemble cast of people whose lives are interwoven by isolation, displacement, relocation and resistance. In the reflective writing I discuss my research methods, use of key texts and literature as well as other media and demonstrate the importance of authenticity in a time frame and location. This project has been influenced by authors Sebastian Faulks and Irène Nemirovsky, specifically Faulks’ French trilogy and Nemirovsky’s Suite Française. I address parallels, as well as strategies, for linking the main characters by their rationales without direct interaction between them, although giving them individual engagements with minor characters.My thesis is a novella accompanied by a reflective writing essay. Under the Eclipse is an exploration in fiction of the relationship between movement of people and paintings in Paris during the first year of occupation in World War II. Using a blend of abstract emotions and the materiality of objects, juxtapositions are drawn between people and paintings through a series of vignettes of an ensemble cast of people whose lives are interwoven by isolation, displacement, relocation and resistance. In the reflective writing I discuss my research methods, use of key texts and literature as well as other media and demonstrate the importance of authenticity in a time frame and location. This project has been influenced by authors Sebastian Faulks and Irène Nemirovsky, specifically Faulks’ French trilogy and Nemirovsky’s Suite Française. I address parallels, as well as strategies, for linking the main characters by their rationales without direct interaction between them, although giving them individual engagements with minor characters