Romance novels are just fairytales for adults. You know how I come to that conclusion? Today on TV they were showing Tangled which is a Disney’s Rupanzel with a twist. I have seen the movie before but always in parts. Today I got to see the end.
What I realised while watching Rupanzel fall desperately in love with Flynn Rider aka Eugene Flitzherbert was that romance novels have male characters just like Flynn Ride. Tall, handsome, dark perhaps, and he always, always and always is the bad boy. And his bad boyishness is such that only his love interest can turn him into a better person. Yes, bad boys appeal to us adults but do they even appeal to kids? Or is this some new kind of brainwash?
All romance novels are nothing but a fairytale. In the end everything turns out to be OK after a lot of obstacles and yada yada yada. But what I’m really worried about is that if Tangled appeals to me as an adult then why does it appeal to the kids? Isn’t it too early to drill it in their minds that there is this Special Person or Soulmate waiting out there for them and for all you know these concepts might just be a fiction. It certainly has never happened to me before and the number of people who find that Special Person or their Other Half is very, very limited.
So shouldn’t children worry about what new game to play, or monsters or something? Finding love should be the farthest thing from their mind, right?
Hi i like your idea that romace novels are fairy tales for adults and i'm currently writting an essay for my 12th grade english class on romance novels, and i stumbled upon your blog this post in particular and i was wondering if you could help me out, For my essay i need to read and cite two romance novels, I've read most of Nora Roberts books and considering the pressure i'm under to keep my grades up for university applications i dont have much time for reading anymore (which kills me. I love to read and have been reading several books a week for a few years now)so i'm going to use two books that i've already read. but anyways , i have to use them to prove the point that romance novels are fairytales for adults and wanted to ask you if you had any ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi, Avery. When I wrote this piece, I think I was pissed about how children become prey to these concepts. Um, what I think you can do is show how romance fiction is so different or similar, depending on one's perspective, to real life. Take a survey, maybe. Ask around how many people believe in "true love" and if they do then have they found it? Does everyone get their happily ever after or do happy ever afters come in fleeting moments just like happiness and sadness? And then compare this with the characters of the two novels you are considering, how well the author has done a job in either masking reality or presenting it to the reader. Do adults read romance fiction as an escape or does it make them feel hopeful that maybe someday this is going to happen to them.
DeleteHope this helps.
thank you! this helps a lot , i was also thinking of writting about how romance novels are dammaging to teens, or women looking for love because most romance novels are unrealistic. and using examples from the novels to prove how it makes them feel and how it prevents women from falling in love or finding someone because they think everything should be perfect. also thinking about putting in how they portray sex in these novels and how teenagers are dispointed and think somethings wrong when it doesnt compare to real life but wasnt sure if my teacher would appreciate the sex part in my essay
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