Abstract
Abstract Wetlands display general ecological characteristics that are reflected in human culture. Nature and culture, in turn, are reflected in fiction. Wetlands provide many resources to human society as well as presenting significant hazards, and have been both protected and destroyed; fiction might provide insight into the ambivalent human-wetland relationship. I consulted 200 English-language novels containing wetland imagery, and analyzed in detail 15 American novels. Using grounded theory, I coded 17 broadly-defined themes associated with wetland images in each novel. In a total of 1117 themes in 4192 printed pages, the commonest themes (≥55 instances each) were Transition, Place, Refuge, Beauty, Peace, Product, Mosquito, Discord, Danger, Decay, and Sex. Richness and diversity of themes were high in most novels analyzed. There were few relationships between general characteristics of the novels (e.g., author age or gender, number of pages, positive or negative ending) and the occurrence of particular themes. On the whole-book level, Discord, Danger, Decay, and Sex were correlated with the most other themes. Theme patterns seem related to human ambivalence towards wetlands (i.e., resources vs. hazards), and the prominence of production and decomposition in wetlands.
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