My weekend was a bust as far as doing non-family related stuff. I think I'm going to have to decide to blog everyday except weekends. It is either bend the rules a little or give up completely.
Ok, so here is what I've been thinking about the last couple of days. Why is there so much SUPERNATURAL romantic fiction as the moment. It can't all be the fault of Twilight and Edward Cullen.
I have a theory.
I did a study on romantic fiction (Mills and Boon in particular) for my honours. I studied the change from the 1960's to 1990's (yes I AM that old).
I haven't read much since then, so I may be way out of date, but my basic theory about supernatural romance is: that it has let the writers go back to the traditional hero, who is older, smarter, richer, more powerful and extremely goodlooking, without having to face any irritation in their modern readers.
Is it that modern women, even when enjoying some romantic fiction, (don't START me on the whole romatic ideology of much of that fiction) wouldn't be able to accept the inequality a lot of such fiction is based on, without some supernatural reason for the man being so vastly superior in every way?
The whole uncommunicative, handsome and powerful guy, who is basically Darcy in disguise, is so very very outdated, and yet so appealing to many, that the excuse of "vampire" or "werewolf" has to be used to excuse what is otherwise just supercillious & patronising bad behavour on the part of the hero. It lets some women tap into their desires without having to give up all their politics.
Any thoughts?
3 comments:
Hmmm...I wouldn't say the supernatural element makes the male protagonist superior, it just adds another level of difference to the mix. Previous differences which added to the struggle for boy and girl to live happily ever after class and sexist gender roles have largely been perceived as surmountable by the modern reader. The supernatural element adds to the unresolved sexual tension :).
Superior was the wrong word to use, I agree.
I do however think it allows the traditional power relationship (ie the vampire has all the power, the only power the heroine has is the power of LOVE)to be used in a way that it can no longer be used except in period fiction.
The felmale having power only because of her hold on the male is a common theme in the older romantic fiction or period fiction but wouldn't fly today - unless he has supernatural powers :)
I'm interested in other opinions about this because I am sort of weirded out by all the supernatural fiction at the moment - when looking for something to give a younger reader friend I was AMAZED at how pervasive it is.
I think you're reading the wrong supernatural fiction ;)
You're right, there's a lot out there that features a vampire/werewolf male and a human female - and that does create a dynamic that is quite different, and often nostalgic for the days of yore (eg. Christine Feehan's work).
But - there is some great stuff out there that features strong female characters that are (sometimes more than) equal to the male characters. I'm thinking of Kresley Cole's valkyries as a good example.
When that happens, I think it is definitely possible to get the best of both worlds - fantasy and romance - in a way where the two genres work together to create great stories, and not at the expense of each other.
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