A Natural History of the Romance Novel
Title: A Natural History of the Romance Novel
Author: Pamela Regis
Genre: Literary Criticism
Pages: 224 (trade paperback)
I bought this book with the hope that it would help me with my genre essay for graduate school, and while some of the chapters were quite interesting, I found that it didn't really help me where chick lit is concerned.
However, looking at romance, it is quite interesting.
Regis sets out to give romance the respect it (rightfully) deserves, by defining the romance novel, discussing the nature and scope of the genre and talking about the personal choice of readers.
The most interesting thing to me about the book, though, was Regis' definition of the genre. Regis argues that romance is itself a derivitive of comedy (which kind of makes the subgenre of romance "romantic comedy" a bit redundant, I guess). She also states that there are eight essential elements of the romance novel:
1. Society Defined: The society in which the hero and heroine live and meet can and probably will have some influence on their courtship and relationship.
2. The Meeting: The hero and heroine usually meet close to the beginning of the book, and if the conflict is not immediately presented it is at least hinted at.
3. The Barrier: The barrier is usually represented by multiple conflicts--both internal and external--that serve to keep the hero and heroine apart, and to illustrate why they "cannot marry." The barrier falling is usually a symbol of the heroine being free to love the hero and be with him, and it is the barrier that primarily drives the romance novel.
4. The Attraction: This is illustrated in scenes throughout the book, but give the reader a reason why the hero and heroine must be together. The attraction can be physical (let's face it, the attraction is usually very physical, often powerfully so), mental, emotional, economic, social, etc. It is the attraction that overcomes the barrier.
5. The Declaration: This can occur anywhere in the novel, although it usually occurs towards the end. The declaration is what it says it is--the hero and heroine declaring their love for each other. Depending upon where the declaration is in the novel, it can set up different plots (if the declaration comes at the same time as the meeting, you have a love at first sight plot, for example).
6. Point of Ritual Death: This is the point where, as a reader, I'm usually yelling at the characters saying, "What the hell is your problem? Just get together already and stop torturing yourselves and me! Y'know, this all could be worked out by a simple freaking conversation you bunch of idiots." It's the point every romance reader knows is coming, and the point that we both love and hate. It's the point where everything looks hopeless, where it looks like all is lost and the hero and heroine will never end up together. Of course, we know they will, but every couple needs a good black moment. The problem with this part (this is my opinion, btw), is that it isn't always handled very well. Sometimes the point of ritual death is for a completely asinine reason that really could be fixed with a simple conversation of maybe four sentences. Sometimes it makes perfect sense, such as in the case of a betrayal of some sort. How this is handled can make or break a book (and author) for me.
7. The Recognition: This is the new information that causes the barrier to fall. In Shakespeare's plays this moment was often when it was revealed that heroine wasn't really a boy. In today's romances, this can be many things--such as the hero isn't really married, the heroine finally understands her psyche and thus can truly see the hero for who he is, the heroine didn't really rob that gas station (it was someone who looked a lot like her and she was framed by a crazy ex boyfriend).
8. The Betrothal: This is usually at the end of the book. In older romances this was where the hero would ask the heroine to marry him and she would accept. In newer romances marriage isn't a necessity as long as the reader knows the hero and heroine will end up together.
I have to say that this is a pretty good summation of the parts of a romance novel. Critics will say that these parts help to make romance formulaic, but I would argue that they simply help to identify the genre and make it what it is. Readers pick up a romance expecting these elements, but how the elements are played out is what makes a book interesting. I love the HEA at the end of a romance novel, and that's probably why I can read romantic suspense and paranormal romance where the heroine and hero are in danger because I know that they'll end up together in the end. Having that comfort makes the novel somewhat less frightening. Besides, it's the journey to the HEA that's so interesting, and it's amazing how these eight different elements can be combined into something amazing, or something really, really bad.
Author: Pamela Regis
Genre: Literary Criticism
Pages: 224 (trade paperback)
I bought this book with the hope that it would help me with my genre essay for graduate school, and while some of the chapters were quite interesting, I found that it didn't really help me where chick lit is concerned.
However, looking at romance, it is quite interesting.
Regis sets out to give romance the respect it (rightfully) deserves, by defining the romance novel, discussing the nature and scope of the genre and talking about the personal choice of readers.
The most interesting thing to me about the book, though, was Regis' definition of the genre. Regis argues that romance is itself a derivitive of comedy (which kind of makes the subgenre of romance "romantic comedy" a bit redundant, I guess). She also states that there are eight essential elements of the romance novel:
1. Society Defined: The society in which the hero and heroine live and meet can and probably will have some influence on their courtship and relationship.
2. The Meeting: The hero and heroine usually meet close to the beginning of the book, and if the conflict is not immediately presented it is at least hinted at.
3. The Barrier: The barrier is usually represented by multiple conflicts--both internal and external--that serve to keep the hero and heroine apart, and to illustrate why they "cannot marry." The barrier falling is usually a symbol of the heroine being free to love the hero and be with him, and it is the barrier that primarily drives the romance novel.
4. The Attraction: This is illustrated in scenes throughout the book, but give the reader a reason why the hero and heroine must be together. The attraction can be physical (let's face it, the attraction is usually very physical, often powerfully so), mental, emotional, economic, social, etc. It is the attraction that overcomes the barrier.
5. The Declaration: This can occur anywhere in the novel, although it usually occurs towards the end. The declaration is what it says it is--the hero and heroine declaring their love for each other. Depending upon where the declaration is in the novel, it can set up different plots (if the declaration comes at the same time as the meeting, you have a love at first sight plot, for example).
6. Point of Ritual Death: This is the point where, as a reader, I'm usually yelling at the characters saying, "What the hell is your problem? Just get together already and stop torturing yourselves and me! Y'know, this all could be worked out by a simple freaking conversation you bunch of idiots." It's the point every romance reader knows is coming, and the point that we both love and hate. It's the point where everything looks hopeless, where it looks like all is lost and the hero and heroine will never end up together. Of course, we know they will, but every couple needs a good black moment. The problem with this part (this is my opinion, btw), is that it isn't always handled very well. Sometimes the point of ritual death is for a completely asinine reason that really could be fixed with a simple conversation of maybe four sentences. Sometimes it makes perfect sense, such as in the case of a betrayal of some sort. How this is handled can make or break a book (and author) for me.
7. The Recognition: This is the new information that causes the barrier to fall. In Shakespeare's plays this moment was often when it was revealed that heroine wasn't really a boy. In today's romances, this can be many things--such as the hero isn't really married, the heroine finally understands her psyche and thus can truly see the hero for who he is, the heroine didn't really rob that gas station (it was someone who looked a lot like her and she was framed by a crazy ex boyfriend).
8. The Betrothal: This is usually at the end of the book. In older romances this was where the hero would ask the heroine to marry him and she would accept. In newer romances marriage isn't a necessity as long as the reader knows the hero and heroine will end up together.
I have to say that this is a pretty good summation of the parts of a romance novel. Critics will say that these parts help to make romance formulaic, but I would argue that they simply help to identify the genre and make it what it is. Readers pick up a romance expecting these elements, but how the elements are played out is what makes a book interesting. I love the HEA at the end of a romance novel, and that's probably why I can read romantic suspense and paranormal romance where the heroine and hero are in danger because I know that they'll end up together in the end. Having that comfort makes the novel somewhat less frightening. Besides, it's the journey to the HEA that's so interesting, and it's amazing how these eight different elements can be combined into something amazing, or something really, really bad.