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Romance has always had an influence on literature. From early chivalric romances to passionate encounters and poetic tragedies, love has long been embedded within literary culture.
While the romantic genre has always been subject to criticism, its enduring influence is clear. The escapist charms and passionate tragedies of romance novels continue to seduce, intrigue and inspire.
The birth of the romance novel
The birth of the romance novel towards the end of the 18th century created a new literary form. It was different to texts which simply contained romantic elements, becoming a genre in its own right.
Encouraged by the great poets of the Romantic Age – those such as Blake, Byron and Wordsworth – a fascination for the mystical and strange began to develop amongst readers. Many of these dark themes then began to appear in the romance novels of the early 19th century.
Influential authors and their novels
The romantic novels of the Romantic and Victorian eras were often written by women, for women. While authors such as Samuel Richardson had already tested the waters with his novelPamelain 1740, female writers began to pen a new kind of romance. These novels often focused on the lives and struggles of female characters within the constraints of their society.
A number of female writers shaped and were influenced by the romance genre. From the Age of Romanticism to the Victorian era and beyond, these women pioneered the pages of romance novels and changed the literary world.
There is sometimes debate amongst critics as to whether Austen can be categorically accepted as a romance writer. Her sharp style parodies the romantic conventions of her society and recreates them. Austen explores the psychology of romance in such a way that readers and critics are left wondering if she is in fact ananti-romance writer. Regardless of this debate, her discussions of marriage and love have greatly influenced the romantic genre and her the power of her satirical style endures.
Charlotte Bronte, like Austen, created a benchmark for the romance novels of her time. While she created her own formula, she understood the limitations of the genre. Her gothic melodrama,Jane Eyre, has been revered as a work of literary greatness for centuries. Once
again, as with Austen, the romantic nature ofJane Eyre has been questioned. Though it has the power to seduce and charm, its dark undercurrents slightly marr the romance of the tale.
Emily Bronte, like her sister Charlotte, drew romantic tropes into her writing. Her famous novelWuthering Heightscaptures the style of the great Romantic poets. The novel is a passionate love story and yet it too is riddled with dark undercurrents of tragedy, betrayal and revenge. The wild settings and characters ensnare the reader in a darkly romantic web and yet the deep sense of loss prevalent in the text undoes it’s overtly romantic perceptions.
The 20th century also saw the publication of some famous romantic works. Inspired by Charlotte Bronte’sJane Eyre, Du Maurier wrote her own gothic romanceRebecca. Driven by tragedy, secrets and gothic conventions, it too has had a lasting influence on romantic literature. Though Du Maurier wished to write about the balance of power within marriage rather than love, readers were instantly struck by the romance she constructed between the wealthy Max De Winter and his young wife.
WhileGone with the Wind is not technically a romance novel, it too has had a lasting impact on the genre. Mitchell uses certain tropes that are undoubtedlyromantic. Her writing presents the dilemmas of passion versus practicality, love versus hate and marriage versus separation. The novel is filled with passion, secrets and epiphany’s that force the reader to love and dislike the characters in turn. While the book has a strong historical theme, it’s depiction fo troubled romance prevails.
Limitations of literary romance
Romance novels have long sought to earn literary respect. The classics in particular have often been critiqued for their corrosive influence on expectations of love. In the past particularly, women were viewed as incapable of distinguishing between reality and a fictionalised form of love.
In the modern age, romance novels are still surrounded by stigma. While the characters are more diverse and the plots more explorative, modern romances often lack meaningful detail while the characters are driven by sexual desires.
The enduring influence
Romance novels may have changed a great deal in modern times, but readers still consume the great works of the past and appreciate both the idealism of love and the exploration of darker themes.
Though the romantic ideal is never entirely shattered, writers such as Austen and Bronte tested societal and literary conventions in their works. Misplaced passion, tragic consequences and feisty heroines defy idealistic expectations of love and marriage.
Romance novels are escapist. They offer readers an insight into a world that is familiar yet different from their own, a world in which pleasure and pain can be experienced in equal measure.
In Summary
So, why do romance novels endure? Why do we still consume the romantic passions of the past? The answer perhaps lie in readers’ fascination with love, tragedy and hidden desires.
As we walk through the history of romance novels, the same tropes appear again and again. From the tragedy of forbidden love inRomeo and Juliet, to adulterous liaisons inAnna Karenina,the unrequited love ofThe Great Gatsbyand the heartwarming charms ofLittle Women.
It seems that throughout history, readers have a compelling attraction for stories which reveal secrets about the inner workings of the human mind and heart.
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