Throwback Thursday: An alternative view of bodice rippers

Back in 2009, I had a bit of an epiphany about a genre of literature that I had previously derided. Mainly, I now think, I sneered at it because my mother had loved it, and my teenage rebellion against all things that she liked carried over to my prejudice against her favorite fiction genre.

I'm talking about the romance novel, of course. Those were the books that, as I grew up, were typified by the well-thumbed paperback with Fabio, or a Fabio look-alike, with torn shirt, or no shirt, on the cover. 

As predictable as the covers were, the plots were even more predictable: Innocent, beautiful, usually poor girl meets experienced, handsome, usually rich man who falls helplessly in love with said girl, and all sorts of stumbling blocks must be overcome before they eventually fall into each other's arms and live happily ever after.  

I think the genre has grown up a bit and become somewhat more sophisticated over the years and perhaps our view of genre literature has grown also, but romance novels still struggle for acceptance among serious critics and serious readers of fiction. Of course, none of that is a barrier to their popularity among millions of (mostly women) readers. Can all those readers be so wrong? In our rush to prejudge the whole genre, are we overlooking some of the benefits that those readers derive from their favorite books? 

After reading a particular essay on the subject in 2009, I had to acknowledge that maybe I had been a bit hasty in my judgment, and on December 30 of that year, I wrote this blog post in which I finally conceded that maybe mother knew best after all. My own mother would probably have smiled knowingly at it.

*~*~*~*

An alternative view of bodice rippers

My mother was a lover of romance novels, perhaps because there was so little romance in her own life. In her later years, when she finally had the time to do so, she devoured these stories of female characters constantly in trouble and usually rescued by some strong male figure. I think they gave her a lot of pleasure and entertainment. I, of course, disdained them.

Romance novels, in my view, were for the unenlightened. Educated women and feminists most certainly did not read them. I thought that all romance heroines were weak and I wanted no part of that. The novels, I believed, were thinly disguised porn for women. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

In view of a recent thoughtful essay on the subject in the Daily Kos, of all places, I may have to revise my view of the genre. The essay was written by Laura Clawson, obviously a very smart woman (with an Ivy League PhD) who says she is a life-long feminist - and she reads romance novels.

One by one she debunks the myths about romance novels and her conclusion is that romance novels are demeaned by the literary world and by otherwise knowledgeable people as a way of demeaning women and women's interests. Why should a love story be any less legitimate than a spy novel, a mystery, or any other genre? It's the writing that counts and if the writing is good, it will shine in any genre.

Even teenage vampire novels?

Hmmm...I may have to give this whole issue of what is good literature and what isn't a rethink. Perhaps Mother knew best, after all.

Comments

  1. CarmenSeptember 11, 2015 at 12:53 PM

    I like paranormal romances and well-written historical fiction romances, though I definitely prefer spy novels, historical fiction, and thrillers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CarmenSeptember 11, 2015 at 12:56 PM

    Heather Graham is my go to author for paranormal romances; Susanna Kearsley is my favorite author for supernatural-historical fiction-romances.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 11, 2015 at 1:09 PM

      Thanks for the recommendations. I haven't read either of those authors. There's a whole world of books out there just waiting for me to discover them. What an exciting thought!

      Delete
  3. CarmenSeptember 12, 2015 at 1:01 PM

    Well, Heather Graham kind of describes things, but Susanna Kearsley doesn't go into it at all; she is very classy.
    To read things as hot as they can get I think Nora Roberts is a good go to. I had a phase I was into her books, and there's good back stories as well; it isn't just the explicit angle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 12, 2015 at 4:09 PM

      Not Fifty Shades of Grey then? That's a good thing, I think.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try.
Read more