A handsome, muscular man attempts to save the damsel in distress. This damsel is also called the heroine because she attempts to save the hero (handsome, muscular man). These two characters meet in situations/events that seem difficult to comprehend. They go through numerous people and situations that try and break the couple apart, but in the end, they grow stronger and more in love. This describes the basic idea of most romance novels read. This genre seems to be very popular, especially among females. It appears that females seem so drawn to romance novels, particularly the subgenre paranormal romance. I have come to wonder why females seem so attracted to romance. Females read romance novels, especially paranormal romances, because it gives them a sense of completeness.
The scene described above is not the only portrayal of heroes and heroines; heroes can be anyone from doctors to lawyers to handymans to ranchers. The heroines are any females that come into the heroes’ lives and play a major role, whether it is shown or not. Most couples do go through what is considered “adventures” throughout the story. Most antagonists are people who do not want the couple to be together; this makes the “challenges” that are faced along the way. If the couple survives these events, then they are destined to be together along with their love for one another. Tragedies do occur in most stories (loved ones lost, go through rough times, etc.), but everything always works out in the end.
I, myself, have witnessed these ideas/characters in the romance novels that I have read. One example is from Diana Palmer’s A Long Tall Texan Summer; this book focuses on three Texas men who fall in love with women when they think they never can again. For one man, Drew Morris, he falls for his secretary even after his wife dies. He was so heartbroken over the death due to his love for her that Drew, even with being a doctor, thought he would never love again. Kitty Carson comes along and gives him a “ride.” At first, he thinks nothing of Kitty because she is so clumsy, but it later reveals that Kitty secretly loves Drew. Through the ups and downs, Drew finds himself helping and caring for Kitty. In the end, they both reveal their love for each other.
Another example of unlikely heroes falling for unlikely heroines is seen in Heather MacAllister’s The Rancher And The Rich Girl. Jessica Fremont is a wealthy, rich widow who never planned to love again. Her son, Sam, wants to be a cowboy, so she “buys” a rancher/cowboy at an auction held as a fundraiser. Matt Winston did not expect someone like Jessica to bid on him. Matt was to show her son how to be a cowboy in hopes that he would see how hard it was and give up on the dream. Little did Jessica, or Matt, know that the more time spent together could cause them to fall in love with each other. The grandmother does cause complications for the couple since Jessica and Sam stay longer on Matt’s ranch than intended. In the end, Matt and Jessica get together, and her and Sam move into Matt’s ranch/farm. These two examples do not cover the different ideas/portrayals of heroes and heroines; each subgenre has their own plot/idea.
First Experience
I began reading romance novels when I was about 15 or 16 (freshmen in high school). What got me to start reading romance was the idea to try something new. I picked up my first romance novel to experience it, and I ended up loving the book. I started reading more of the genre to see if they were as good as the first novel, and they were good! I discovered that I enjoyed the romance novels so much because it gave me ideas on what love is really like. Also, I am really romantic because just the thought of two people meeting, going through challenges and adventures, and being together in the end makes sense. It is almost every girl’s dream to find and have a “love” that is seen in these novels.
I also read romance novels to help give me a sense of what it takes to write it. I enjoy writing poetry and short stories that involve love and romance. Most romance writers have read romance as inspiration or just to grasp the concept of romance writing. In order for people to write romance, one must understand what romance is exactly.
Definition
The romance novel has been defined in different ways; I used two different sources to help me explore the definition of a romantic novel. The first source that I used to help define a romance novel was Robert Miles’ “What Is a Romantic Novel?.” Robert Miles was a Professor and Chair at the Universities of Stirling and Sheffield Hallam in the United Kingdom and a past president of the International Gothic Association. The article discusses what is believed to be a romantic novel; Miles references several people and sources to help explain his overall views. This article appeared argumentative because the different views expressed argued one another’s views. Miles reports that a romantic novel is “…largely a feminized form, a fact attested to by the institutionalized embarrassment that has ensured its marginal status” (181-182). Romance novels appear to have an idea of ideology, and as stated by Miles, “…the Romantic novel is the class of prose fictions that has the historic mission of articulating ideology, as ideology” (185-186). Throughout the article, Miles discussed/explained the different aspects/views on romance novels to lead to his definition that romances are philosophical romance novels. “My suggestion, then, is that the Romantic novel is an aesthetic space, one charged with the historic mission of making the ideological visible as ideology, and as such it has come under strong discursive pressure” (191).
The second source that I used to help define the romance novel was A. Dana Menard and Christine Cabrera’s article “’ Whatever the Approach, Tab B Still Fits into Slot A’: Twenty Years of Sex Scripts in Romance Novels.” A. Dana Menard is a psychologist at First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program. Their article discusses how sex and sexuality is seen in romance novels; it appears that the usage of contraception has increased/varied between books from 1989 to 2009 (252). The article explains how sexuality is depicted in romance novels along with the behaviors experienced by readers after reading these novels. “Romance novels are broadly defined as fiction that is focused on a central love story, which ends in an optimistic and emotionally satisfying manner” (Menard & Cabrera 241). This is referencing to the sexual scripts seen in the novels. “Sexual scripts are cognitive schemas that allow individuals to plan current and future sexual behaviors as well as to understand their past their past behaviors” (Menard & Cabrera 242). An experiment was done to test the sexuality and behaviors of romance novels and their readers; the results showed “…that sexual scripts continue to dictate acceptable sexual behaviors, sexual partners and gender roles both in real life and in media representations of sex and sexuality” as stated by Menard and Cabrera (243).
These two sources have helped to provide me with information on the definition of a romance or romantic novel. The two articles have given two different approaches or views on the romance novels that I did not even realize or think about associating with these novels. Based on the information provided from these articles, I have established my own definition of romance novels. To me, romance novels are love stories that focus on the events involved between couples, including sexual experiences, and provide a sense of ideology. I have decided to define romantic novels in this way because they provide an idea that pertains to ideology as “ideology”, and they describe love stories between couples with varying amounts of details on sexual experiences shared between the couple. This definition may be broader than most other people’s views or definitions, but this is the simplified and generalized definition of romance novels.
History
Romance novels, even though they are a big thing today, have been around for years. Romance was first introduced in the 1950s; this was the time when nurses and stewardesses were the main focus in the stories. The 1960s brought tales of pregnancy and sex before marriage. Romance consists of different subgenres, and the subgenres were introduced in different times. Historical romance novels were first published in the 1970s. With the 1980s, women noticed that the stories involved more independent women, sexual awareness, and glamour; however, the 1990s introduced the subgenres paranormal, fantasy, and inspirational romance. The 21st century has introduced romance novels becoming available online (Giancola 1-2).
Making a romance "Romance"
Romance novels are viewed differently for everyone. There appears to be different elements that make a romance a “romance”; according to Janice Radway’s book Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, in order for a novel to qualify as a romance, it has to have a story that focuses on events involving courtship and the feelings associated with the courtship (64). There are three main ideas that are important in romance novels: a happy ending, a slow developing love between the hero and heroine, and some details after the couple gets together. There are less important ideas that also make a romance a “romance”; these ideas include love scenes with some or no explicit details, a particular kind of hero and heroine, conflict between the hero and heroine, and punishment of the villains (Radway 67). Lynn Coddington, a romance author, in her article “Wavering Between Worlds: Feminist Influences in the Romance Genre” mentions that romance novels are thought to be popular culture for the masses and badly written due to all of the sentiments that are placed in the stories; the novels seem to be nothing but trash (63).
I disagree with the idea that romance novels are trash because they provide different ways of relaxation and coping with difficult days/events. I feel that the sentiments that are displayed/mentioned in these stories are very sweet. They also say things that most women would “love” to hear a man say to her. I know that when reading romance novels, I picture men (guys) saying to me the things so sweetly said in the novels. I, along with others, would “melt” into a man’s arms if he was as romantic and loving as portrayed in the novels. Each subgenre portrays the heroes differently, but one is just as romantic as the other. Coddington mentions that the message shown in romances is that women get what they want and survive gender wars (72).
Enjoyment of Romance
There are several reasons for why women enjoy romance novels. One of the reasons is that the genre provides an escape that is cheap (Radway 53). Escape is defined as the flight from one state of being to one that is more desirable. It is used through romance novels in one of two ways: the act of denying the present where one begins a novel and becomes “part” of it or in a figurative way where one identifies with the heroines’ life that does not resemble the reader’s own life (Radway 90). It seems that the novels are used to fulfill deeply felt psychological needs within readers; furthermore, the readers are connected towards the pleasure of “alone” time (Radway 58). Radway discussed that relaxation is another reason that women read romance novels; it is defined as the reduction in state of tension created by prior conditions (90). Others include to learn about faraway places and times, readers wish to have a love like the heroines’, the stories are never sad or depressing, and to “lift” spirits after hard days (Radway 61). Radway does mention that romances help to deal with pressures/tensions present in everyday life (86). Women tend to choose romance novels that have happy endings because it makes them feel good; nevertheless, it seems that novels with happy endings are believed to make readers happier people and fill them with hope and energy (Radway 100). Women read romance novels because they are pleasurable and restorative (Radway 119).
Connections
Many read romance novels to connect with others. Patricia Koski in her article “Romance Novels as Women’s Myths” discussed that females read romance novels to connect with readers and characters. They connect with readers through web sites, fan clubs, readings, etc. (222). Readers want independent heroines and to identify with strong, assertive females (228). The readers get so caught up into the story that it is hard for them to return to reality once the novel is finished (Radway 59). Females want to read romance since it allows them to be the heroine and share the same feelings and surprises as her. The readers want to be “them” (heroines) worthy of love as expressed by Radway (67). The romance genre allows women to search for emotional gratification; this gives them the feeling of being cared for (Radway 97).
Online Satisfaction and Usage
Readers not only find romance in novels, they can find the “love” stories online as well. Before novels were written and available, women would write their “sexual” experiences on what is called sex blogs. The sex blogs can also be considered memoirs, and they have become more expressive since there are varieties of technologies available to record the women’s personal experiences (Mitchell 13). Kaye Mitchell, lecturer in Contemporary Literature at University of Manchester, UK, expressed in her article “Raunch versus prude: contemporary sex blogs and erotic memoirs by women” that sexual stories are private and rarely shared, but this is no longer true due to the web and books allowing the stories to be available to the public (15). These blogs show anxiety towards female desire and sexual pleasure (Mitchell 13). It appears that the sex blogs are dominated by women and allows them to express their sexuality which is not shared with friends or lovers. These blogs and memoirs help women to communicate with their desires and needs because it seems that communicating online is more honest than face-to-face communication. Friendships occur between bloggers because they know more about each other than friends know about them (Mitchell 17). An example is Catherine Millet’s blog “The Sexual Life of Catherine M.” This expresses the many encounters that she has experienced (15). Mitchell mentions that several books were once blogs, and they blur the boundary between fiction and non-fiction (16).
Besides blogs, people read fandoms or fan fictions online. These are stories that can involve romance and adventures involving the characters from popular television series (Supernatural, True Blood, etc.) or books (Harry Potter series, Twilight series, etc.). These stories are usually written by everyday people, no one famous. These stories are enjoyed by readers that like certain characters or events. Most read because the stories involve couples they like; some prefer the fan fictions over the novels.
Survey
I conducted a survey to see if I could obtain similar results that I found through research that others have discovered. My survey consisted of eighteen questions; the questions asked about one’s demographics (age, gender, where one lives, works, etc.) and about romance novels in general. I chose these questions to help me to understand the kinds of people that may read romances, why they may read them, and what aspects seem to be enjoyed by the readers. This survey has helped provide information on why females enjoy romance novels; however, it showed that not just middle-aged women read them.
I had a total of six people that completed my survey, and all of the participants were female. They ranged from the age of 18 to 49 with one being 49, two being 18, and three being 19. Most of the participants live in Wisconsin (Richland Center, Boscobel, Madison, Cross Plains, and Stoddard) while one lives in Tennessee (Graysville). Three of the females are college students, one is a certified nursing assistant, one is a stay-at-home wife and mother, and one is unemployed. When asked how much money each participant made in one year, five responded that they made nothing while one made $10,000. The 49 year old female is the only one with kids (two at the ages of 18 and 20).
Each participant was asked why she reads romance novels, and the females’ responses all came down to either escape or love (passion). One participant said, “I read them mainly for the endings. I like finding out how the two end up together or what happens to them along the way and in the end. It also sometimes shows me how a man is supposed to treat a woman.” One surveyee responded that she reads online things more than paper books. All of the females from the survey feel that love and passion between the couple is what makes romances “romance.” The participants were asked the number of romance novels read in a week, a month, and a year; the average is from 3 to 6 in a week. Some have read a few, while others have read too many to count.
The survey asked what each surveyor’s favorite subgenre was and if he/she liked paranormal romance. The top two seem to be paranormal and suspense being favorited sudgenres; however, fantasies, mysteries, and thrillers are also favorited. All of the participants like paranormal, and it seems that vampires, werewolves, and dragons are the most enjoyed elements of this genre. One participant explained why she enjoyed vampires. “Vampires have that sexy and mysterious aura about them…they are ’bad’, and it makes you ponder your naughty side a little.” Other elements that appeared to be enjoyed are demons, ghosts, and angels.
The survey asked questions concerning one’s online usage. When asked if participants had conversations with other romance readers online or in person, most said that they did neither. Some have had conversations in person and online. Most of the participants mention that they have never met and discussed romance with other readers. Some have talked to one other person, but it was a friend, and the topic came up. Two of the participants read romance stories online; if the next book in a series was not available, they used the internet to read it. The participants who read online report that they enjoy the stories because they are beautiful and relieve boredom. It seems that some of the surveyees see online reading to be better than novels. “They are short, they fill-in gaps, they’re AU’s (alternative universes). There is so many stories of the couple I love, and I can see how they can possibly react in different solutions.“
Paranormal Romance
There is one particular subgenre that females seem to really enjoy, and the genre is paranormal romance. Sandra Booth, interdisciplinary M.A. in Humanities at Laurentian University in Ontario, mentions in the article “Paradox in Popular Romances of the 1990s: The Paranormal Versus Feminist Humor” that popular characters of the genre include vampires, genies, angels, aliens, and ghosts; however, they are often written in the sense that the heroes possess the supernatural powers with the heroines “redeeming” them (97). Occasionally, the novels have the heroines possess the supernatural powers, but the heroes do not transform them since they are not considered “monsters” like the heroes would be (Booth 98). It is seen in Kari Christoffersen’s article “Paranormal Romance Novels: Another Form of Tradition in the Modern World” that paranormal romances help provide female readers with a way to cope with ambiguous and unstable gender-identity in the modern world. The violence of the fictional worlds cast the heroines’ stories into life or death struggles; nevertheless, the love and triumph aspects of the stories are very meaningful to the readers (2). Paranormal romance novels allow women to seek tradition in a chaotic world (Christoffersen 9). Paranormal romance is liked by readers who look for novelty but want women to be viewed as “virtuous” (Booth 101).
Conclusion
It has been shown that romance novels are a genre enjoyed by females because it provides them with relaxation, escape, and connections with readers and characters. Readers allow romance novels to provide them with feelings of being cared for like the heroines in the novels. Paranormal romances help to allow tradition to be looked for in a chaotic world. They are enjoyed because of their distinct elements: vampires, werewolves, angels, and ghosts. These novels help females to become complete with the world, and they read them to enjoy “alone” time. The stories are mostly about heroes saving heroines from difficult events and falling in love with them at the end.
Works Cited
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