國立臺東大學兒童文學研究所
博士論文
指導教授：杜明城 博士
從童話走入羅曼史的灰姑娘從童話走入羅曼史的灰姑娘：：：： 當代流行言情作品與後女性主義當代流行言情作品與後女性主義 Cinderella from Fairy Tale to Romance: Contemporary Popular Romances and Postfeminism
研 究 生： 賴育萱 撰
中華民國一○二年十一月
謝誌謝誌謝誌
博士之路長且遠，終於走到這一頁。
這一頁有我對指導教授杜明城老師深深的感謝，因為老師的鼓勵與協助，使
我能夠順利畢業。也多謝口試委員張子樟老師、阮若缺老師、游珮芸老師以及溫
宏悅老師提供的寶貴意見，讓我的第一本英文論文順利完成。
這一頁也有我對兒文所師長們、博士班同學以及學弟妹們的美好回憶，這一
段求學歷程雖然辛苦，但由於師長們的啟發，同學們以及學弟妹們的陪伴與互相
加油，仍有許多讓人回味的片段。
這一頁不能缺的還有我對同事們的感謝，這幾年來收到的祝福與打氣不曾少
過。也謝謝大表姐在文獻搜尋上提供的幫助，總算讓我在期限內完成論文。
這一頁還要寫下我對家人們的感謝，對於家人的陪伴、包容與照顧，我有說
不完的感動與感激。
最後， 在這一頁畫下最後的句點前，感恩天堂的祝福常伴左右，謝天謝地，
我終於拿到博士學位了！
一頁文字雖短，但有滿滿謝意，在此將祝福獻給關心我以及我關心的人。 從童話走入羅曼史的灰姑娘從童話走入羅曼史的灰姑娘：：：：
當代流行言情作品與後女性主義當代流行言情作品與後女性主義
作 者作者者：：： 賴育 萱賴育萱
國 立 臺 東大學 兒童文學研究所博士班
摘摘摘 要要要
本研究以廣受青少年喜愛的本土言情小說及偶像劇為例，探討當代言情作品 如何改寫灰姑娘童話而廣受歡迎。就文本的敘事結構上，以普洛普的形態學分析 法來了解言情小說、偶像劇與童話之間的同質性；就文本內容的表現，則以後女 性主義為視角，檢視其中的性別形象，探討後女性主義論述對於當代讀者的吸引 力。分析結果發現各文本的結構與普洛普所歸納出來的童話構造大致雷同。文本 內容隨著社會趨勢加入後女性主義的概念，性別角色的調整既反映也形塑當代文 化的性別感知。
後女性主義對流行文化的關注，使得流行文化文本能夠被納入青少年文學領 域。後女性主義也鼓勵年輕人嘗試新的事物並對自己的選擇負責，成為主動的慾 望主體。然而，若後女性主義挪用少女一詞，只是為了鼓吹成年女性擁抱青春， 或者將年輕世代的主動性與自我賦權都誘導在消費領域上，就此而言，後女性主 義便無助於青少年（文學）的發展。
關鍵 詞關鍵詞：：： 灰姑娘、言情小說、偶像劇、後女性主義
i
Cinderella from Fairy Tale to Romance: Contemporary Popular Romances and Postfeminism
Yu-Hsuan Lai
Abstract
This study explores the ways in which contemporary romances rework the Cinderella tale and the reasons why such romance texts are popular in the cases of romance novels and idol dramas favored by teenagers. Vladimis Propp’s approach is applied to examine the structural similarities among romance novels, idol dramas and fairy tales. Gender representations are examined through a lens of postfeminism to explore how the postfeminist discourse appeals to contemporary audiences. The result shows that the morphological structure of each romance text is similar to the general pattern of fairy tales formulated by Propp. The texts adapt to social changes by incorporating postfeminist concepts. Shifted gender representations both reflect and shape cultural sensibilities about gender.
Postfeminism draws more attention to popular culture, creating a space for popular media texts in the field of young adult literature. Young people are constructed as active desiring subjects who can try new things and take responsibilities for their own choices in the postfeminist discourse. However, postfeminism may contribute little to the development of young adult (literature) if the word “girl” is appropriated only for grown women to embrace a sense of youth or the agential power of the young generation is induced only to the commercial realm.
Keywords：：：Cinderella, Romance novels, Idol dramas, Postfeminism
ii Table of Contents
Chapter One Introduction: Modern Cinderella and Postfeminism...... 1
I. Background and Purpose of the Study...... 1 II. Literature Review...... 11 III. Methodology of the Study ...... 27 IV. Samples of Local Romance Texts and Limitations of the Study ...... 30
Chapter Two The Incarnation of Cinderella:
The Fairy-tale Structure in Popular Romances ...... 34
I. Vladimis Propp’s Approach and the Cinderella Tale...... 34 II. Morphological Analysis of the Romance Texts ...... 45 III. The Evolution from Fairy Tale to Romance ...... 61
Chapter Three (Re)casting a Love Spell:
Strategies of Reworking an Old Romantic Story ...... 66
I. Reconstitution of Stereotypical Characters ...... 67 II. Reactivation of Emotional Responses...... 70 III. Re-creation of the Modern Prince...... 74
Chapter Four A Double Face of Modern Cinderella:
Two-sided Femininities in Postfeminist Culture ...... 90
I. Performances of Glamorous and Classed Femininity ...... 93 II. Domesticity and Feminine Strength...... 101 III. Romanticized and Empowered Forms of Female Passivity ...... 112
Chapter Five Toward a Happy Ending:
The Cooperative Project of Postfeminist Women and Girls...... 120
I. Secrets of Creating Successful Romances...... 120 II. A Happy Ending for Modern Cinderella? The (Dis)advantages of Postfeminism...... 134
Works Cited...... 141
iii Appendix I
The Morphological Schemes of Six Romance Texts...... 162
Appendix II
The Distribution of Character Types among Dramatis Personae...... 175
Appendix III
Chinese Excerpt from the Dissertation ...... 180
iv List of Tables
Table 1 Proppian Functions...... 34 Table 2 The Distribution of Functions among Seven Roles ...... 37 Table 3 The Proppian Analysis of the Second Move of “The Beautiful Wassilissa” ...... 40 Table 4 The Morphological Structures of the Romance Texts ...... 122 Table 5 The Distribution of Fairy-tale Roles between the Protagonists...... 124
v Chapter One
Introductionnn: Modern Cinderella and Postfeminism
I. Background and Purpose of the Study
Romance is one of the well liked genres in contemporary entertainment culture.
Romantic narratives mediated either through printed form or through other media gain
great popularity among young people in Taiwan. Romance novels and idol dramas (偶
像劇) are salient examples of domestic cultural products centered on narratives of
love and courtship and targeted at teenage readers/viewers. While some surveys
indicate the cross-over appeal of these two cultural products, they are perceived to
have enormous appeal for student population. According to an estimate offered by one
major publisher of romance novels, junior and high school students constitute about
88 percent of romance readers (Y. Lin 55). Idol dramas, as the name implies, featuring
teen idols in order to attract younger viewers than that of traditional TV series, are
popular among middle school students, especially teenage girls (Tsao 123).
Besides the narrative focus on the same subject matter, local romance novels and
idol dramas have undergone similar developmental process. The popularity of
translated works of western romance novels and Japanese trendy dramas (趨勢劇) in
earlier days paves the way for the boom of local romance publishing in the 1990s and
the sprout of Taiwanese idol dramas in the early 21st century respectively. Domestic
1 romance texts become hybrid cultural forms by imitating the foreign media products and injecting elements of local culture. Following the foreign models such as
Harlequin romances or Japanese trendy dramas, local romance industry is developed to equal or even to exceed its foreign counterparts in the market share through the process of “strategic hybridism” which creates a synthesis of foreign ingredients and local features within the romance texts (Shuling Huang 4).
The interplay between local romance novels and Taiwanese idol dramas can be seen in several aspects. Many scripts of Taiwanese idol dramas borrow ideas from reading materials which have been circulated in book rental stores such as comic books and romance novels. Some idol dramas are adapted from local romance novels of well-known writers. For instance, Knock Knock Loving You (敲敲愛上你) is based on Hsi Chuan’s (席絹) novel. Shan Fei-hsueh’s (單飛雪) novel is adapted into Love
Keeps Going (美樂加油). Some writers associated with romance novels also
participate in screenwriting or creating tie-in novels for idol dramas. It is common to
find devices and conventions of the romantic novels in idol dramas. Besides, pictures
of male idols featuring TV shows appear on the cover illustrations of romance novels.
The titles of some romance novels are borrowed from those of popular idol dramas.
Cross-media interaction between printing industry and visual media becomes apparent
when recent romance novels rely more heavily on a vivid description to provoke clear
2 images instead of an implicit reference (C. Yang 325).
Strict adherence to the romantic paradigm of fairy tales is a noticeable textual feature of contemporary popular romances. Local researchers tend to categorize romance novels or idol dramas as romantic narratives that are characterized by the romantic vision of love. The term “fairy tale” is used to describe the typical storyline of a romance novel or an idol drama. For example, the proceeding of the storyline in a romance novel is compared to that of fairy tales in which the protagonists live happily ever after in the end (Wang 1). “[T]he dream-like love story with a resemblance to the fairy tale” is identified as the core of an idol drama that addresses young people’s yearnings for love and romance (Hsueh 12).
As the connection between contemporary romances and traditional fairy tales on the thematic aspect is suggested by romance critics and scholars, their association on the content level is articulated by producers of romance texts. For instance, one publisher released titles such as Cinderella’s Waltz (灰姑娘的華爾滋) in 1999, The
Prince Does Not Love Cinderella (王子不愛灰姑娘) in 2002, and No Sleeping
Beauty is Found in the Tower (高塔裡沒有睡美人) in 2003. It also introduced a set of
books intended to rework traditional fairy tales like Made-up Cinderella (彩妝灰姑
娘 ), Am I Cinderella (我是灰姑娘) and Alternative Cinderella (另類灰姑娘)
published in 2000. “A story about love and fairy tale” was used by a television
3 network as a slogan to advertise its drama The Prince Who Turns into a Frog (王子變
青蛙) in 2005. Given that the titles of the texts make no allusion to fairy tales,
consumers’ familiarity with the older narrative form enables them to recognize the
relation between romance and fairy tale especially when a large number of romance
texts emphasize the wealth gap between a rich man and a poor woman. Their romantic
union is assumed in the “[narrative] logic of Cinderella” which is viewed as one key
to the popularity of romance texts (Tsai 61).
The frequent presence of Cinderella makes her a staple of local romance industry.
Countless romance novels and a large proportion of idol dramas adopt the narrative
logic of Cinderella. The widespread use of the Cinderella tale as an intertext in
contemporary popular romances perpetuates its association with romantic love despite
its alternative meaning as “someone who has a reversal of fortune or radically
transforms” in the quest for “fame, success, or a happy life” (Miller 404). Her
ubiquity in contemporary love stories attests to the everlasting charm of a
wish-fulfillment fantasy in which the female protagonist leaps from rags to riches.
Such a romantic fantasy is alluring for a lot of consumers. However, it may be
annoying for many critics.
Feminist critics have for a long time been concerned with the representations of
female roles in fairy tales and their effects on the gender identity and behaviors of
4 young readers. As Marcia K. Lieberman notes, the popular classical fairy tales function as the “primary channels of acculturation” playing an important role in the formation of women’s “psycho-sexual self-concepts, and their ideas of what they could or could not accomplish” (187). She argues these stories reinforce the importance of traditional femininity and utilize the associational patterns to link the figures of the victimized heroines and the ultimate winners who are rescued, rewarded and glorified in the end (193). Karen E. Rowe pays special attention to the romantic paradigm in fairy tales, asserting its potency to shape the romantic expectations of contemporary women and encourage them to “internalize only aspirations deemed appropriate to our real sexual functions within a patriarchy” (211).
The story of Cinderella is a prime example. In line with Lieberman’s complaints about the negative impact of stereotyped representations of gender roles, Linda T.
Parsons reasserts “[f]airy tales and their influence are alive and well and with us today” (136). She views Perrault’s version of Cinderella as a patriarchal fairy tale criticizing its high premium on the heroine’s submissiveness, dependence and beauty:
This Cinderella cannot speak for herself, she cannot act on her own behalf, and
she cannot function autonomously: yet she is rewarded with the ultimate prize.
After meek submission, humble, acceptance of her fate, being good to those who
abused her, and becoming beautiful, she is rewarded with the prince, yet she did
5 not thing. (Parsons 144-145).
As Perrault projects his model female in his fairy tale which works as a useful means in “a civilizing process aimed at regulating the inner and outer nature of children”
(Zipes 43), Disney’s cinematic adaptation has a profound influence on adults (Zipes
193). Cinderella, an animated film based on Perrault’s tale, according to Kay Stone, is responsible not only for amplifying the stereotype of a pretty, passive and virtuous heroine, it also magnifies the romantic aspect to attract a wider audience and reinforces the power of “the secular myth of the modern age—the love story” (25).
Many retellings of the Cinderella tale are claimed to alter the embedded meanings and values which are thought inappropriate for modern society. However, fulfillment through coupledom remains an essential part of a happy ending. For example, Ella Enchanted, a Newbery Honor book by Gail Carson Levine, presents a modified Cinderella figure with strong voice and apparent agency. The author tries to blend the issue of girl empowerment with a happy-ever-after end by portraying the heroine as an energetic and rebellious girl. Although the romance ideology is not disrupted, Parson’s feminist reading of the story acknowledges that the story opens up multiple subject positions for the heroine and promotes love based on friendship and mutual respect rather than love at first sight (149).
Similarly, reworked gender representations are evident in the movie Ever After
6 while this filmic retelling of Cinderella retains a utopian vision of heterosexual romance. Some critics’ treatment about this conventional closure is different from a simplistic view of the oppressive effect of heterosexual relationship in a patriarchal system. A nuanced analysis is offered by John Stephens to illustrate the cultural tendency revealed in the movie. He contends that the film reflects “a modern tendency to shift the utopian ideal (and its inverse) from the domain of state institutions to the domain of individual subjectivity” as the humanistic values of progress, individual agency, and emancipation are embedded in romantic union (208-209). The transgression of gender boundaries in this movie, as Cathy Lynn Preston observes, shows its attempt to respond to the critique of the Cinderella figure as an antifeminist representative (203). It also attempts to “retrieve the romantic possibility of ‘true love’” for a generation “who still harbor a desire for ‘happily ever afters’ but who are also the product of revisionary understanding of what that ‘happily ever after’ might be and how it might be attained” (Preston 200, 204).
The transformation of Cinderella in modern retellings disclaims her status as a victim of sexism and patriarchy. This deployment of a new image of female empowerment in a heterosexual-centered narrative works in contradictory ways to both challenge and reinforce dominant gender ideology. Just as Yeh Ping-chun (葉品
君) concludes in her study of media cultural products based on the Cinderella
7 archetype, modern Cinderella becomes more independent and shrewd, taking on the role as the “black swan” to subvert the patriarchal order while she may also succumb to a strong desire for a princely male partner due to her longing for affluence and love
(89). The approaches adopted by Stephens, Preston and Yeh Ping-chun exemplify the shift of feminist criticism away from simply focusing on the antifeminist implications and passive textual reception. The entry of more and more positive images of women into the popular domain demonstrates the potential of cultural products to adapt to social changes and functions as one of the effective marketing tools. It poses a challenge for critics to elaborate on the relationship between feminism and popular culture. Whether feminism is present in popular culture or whether the radical meaning is neutralized as feminist ideas become part of the mainstream is one of the preoccupations in feminist criticism (Gamman and Marshment 3).
Employing the romantic pattern inherited from fairy tales, contemporary romances incorporate feminist values into the patriarchal script of a heterosexual relationship. The entanglement of feminist and anti-feminist ideas, described by
Rosalind Gill as “the postfeminist sensibility” can be seen in these works in which feminism is “simultaneously taken for granted and repudiated” (161). The wide appeal of these romances proves the economic potential of the commodified version of postfeminism.
8 The commercial success of postfeminism relies not only on the incorporation of feminist agenda but the simultaneous interrogation of the values of second-wave feminism. On one hand, positive gender representations emerge as a response to feminist calls for female empowerment, independence, and freedom of choice. On the other hand, the opposition between feminism and femininity as well as heteronormative discourses which informed second-wave feminist thought is dissolved for a generation growing up with “a historically and materially different experience” and struggling to reconcile “our feminist desires and our feminine desires” (Moseley and Read 240, 238). The articulation of conventional feminine interests expands the meaning of postfeminism as “a feminism that takes up and addresses such issues as popular culture, beauty and body practices, sex/iness, and all those other traditional ‘trappings’ of a particular understanding of femininity, engaging with them in often complex and even contradictory ways” (Braithwaite 27).
Postfeminism, as Ann Brooks explains, occupies a critical position “in regard to
earlier feminist frameworks at the same time as critically engaging with patriarchal
and imperialist discourses” and intersects with “postmodernism, poststructuralism and
post-colonialism” (2, 4). Postmodern emphasis on difference, fractured identities and
multiple subject positions validates a refusal of a single feminist agenda and identity.
Shelly Budgeson affirms there are diverse ways to become feminists: “For feminism
9 difference has meant trying harder to understand the multiple ways of being a woman and by implication the multiple ways of being a feminist” (23). This viewpoint justifies the transition of a collective and activist politics to one of “contradiction and ambivalence” (Banet-Weiser 210).
Local popular romances, whether in a book form or on the screen, have emulated the representational trend of depicting empowered female characters since the 1990s.
Modern Cinderella who turns into a defiant woman has become more prepossessing than her docile predecessor (Wen 113). A successful narrative formula, as Scott
McCracken notes, has to satisfy consumers in its predictability and mediate changes in the world (61). As the reformulations of gender representations correspond to the changed cultural climate, structural similarities between fairy tales and contemporary romances provide consumers with great pleasure that is based on “this foreseen and awaited reappearance” of a narrative scheme (Eco 162). Whether pleasures offered by consuming romance texts are conservative or resistive remains controversial. The empowerment/oppression debate in local romance criticism motivates me to compare it with the controversy over postfeminism. To what extent do contemporary romances articulate a politics of ambivalence? In what ways do these works promote the postfeminist discourse? How does the promotion relate to the wide appeal of these texts? This study of local popular romances based on the (new) Cinderella archetype
10 aims to examine the connection between romantic narratives and fairy tales and explore the popularity of such romance texts in terms of shifted gender representations.
II. Literature Review
This section is divided into three parts. The development of local romance novels
and Taiwanese idol dramas is outlined in the first part. The second part includes the
discussions of gender politics in romance criticism. Finally, different understandings
of postfeminism in recent western academic writings are explored to draw a parallel
between the contradictory representations of gender politics and the conflicting
definitions of postfeminism.
The romance novels discussed in this study refer to “series romances” or
“category products” which are published and marketed in an industrial mode (F. Lin
251). According to Lin Fang-mei’s observation, Tsi-tai(希代) was the first publishing firm that ushered in this new production process from Harlequin company. Translated
works of American romances were published in the same editorial format, with the
same size of the book and a similar cover from 1977 to 1984. Later, it published
novels of local writers, imitating the packaging and marketing strategies of Harlequin
romances (255). Other publishers followed its footstep to produce local romance
novels in similar ways. New books are released regularly in lines with specific names.
11 They are mass-produced products with uniform book sizes, standardized cover designs and similar page layouts (Hsu 8).
The emergence of this new method in the making of a book upgrades romance novels in book rental stores into sleek cultural products (F. Lin 263). The distribution channel is extended from book rental to mass market retail including chain bookstores, convenience stores, and general merchandising stores (Su-hui Huang 42). Before category romances of local writers dominated the domestic market share, imported works of western romances, Hong Kong romances or adaptations of TV dramas were included in earlier lines (Ya-pei Cheng 85; Lai 32). The enforcement of the copyright law put a ban on unauthorized copies of translated romances and thereby prompted domestic publishing houses to recruit more local romance writers to meet the demand of Taiwanese romance novel market (Hsu 6). With the expansion of local romance publishing, many new lines were established exclusively for works composed by local writers and developed diverse subgenres in the mid-to-late 1990s.
In western romance publishing industry, novels within the same line have similar settings, styles, types of conflicts or certain elements required by publishers to establish distinct features. The names of local romance lines do not connote distinguishing characteristics until some publishers begin lines in which books are characterized by a stronger level of sexuality such as Tsi-tai’s Red Mouth (紅唇情話),
12 Ho-ma’s(禾馬) Water Tinkle (水叮噹) and Red Cherry (紅櫻桃) (Lai 34; Su-hui
Huang 93). Most names of the lines are just brand names for publishers to promote
their books as generic love stories rather than indexical labels for consumers to make
a distinction between different story characteristics.
Local category romances dominated the Taiwanese romance novel market from
the mid-1990s onwards. The industrial mode of production and distribution makes
differentiation between the “commercial romances” and earlier popular romance
novels from the 1960s to the 1980s (M. Yang 22; Hsu 7). These market-driven
products are seen to mark a departure from classic Chinese romantic fiction in some
commentaries while some researchers think they are “impure” and “hybrid” because
they are not only influenced by western romance novels but also inherit the writing
style of one popular genre of Chinese literature called “mandarin duck and butterfly”
school (鴛鴦蝴蝶派) (S. Li 19; Su-hui Huang 28).
Foreign influences on Taiwanese idol dramas are traceable to the success of
Japanese serial dramas in the establishment of an audience base in Taiwan. These
Japanese serials are of contemporary romance category called trendy dramas starring
handsome actors and beautiful actresses who are well-dressed in designer clothes, live
in cosy small apartments, and eat in expensive restaurants on screen (Chua 30). Well
received by local audiences through pirated videos and illegal cable service in the
13 1980s, such dramas attracted urban youths and became hits in the 1990s (Shuling
Huang 7). The new name “idol dramas” was introduced by the Taiwan branch of the satellite STAR TV when it started to broadcast Japanese trendy dramas in 1992, capturing audiences’ attention by highlighting the cast (Tsao 14). Later on, other competing cable channels imported Japanese trendy dramas and adopted the same marketing strategy, using the name “idol dramas” to promote the shows (Ke 6).
Meteor Garden(流星花園), the first locally produced idol drama in 2001, was an
adaptation of a Japanese comic book and became such a hit that it stimulated the rise
of Taiwanese idol dramas. The domestic market was saturated with 28 or 29 idol
dramas per year from 2002 to 2004 (Wu and Chiang 13). Many of the idol dramas
were adapted from Japanese comic books during this period. Those based on original
scripts also followed the formula of “setting, cast, and music” developed by Japanese
trendy dramas (Shuling Huang 11). The characters’ Japanese names, the scenes in
Japanese-style houses or the Korean stars included in the cast manifest the
hybridization of Taiwanese idol dramas (Shuling Huang 12).
Taiwanese idol dramas distinguish themselves from earlier prime time serials as
love dramas that focus on pure love and sweet romance rather than extramarital affairs,
struggles in rich families and conflicts between mother and daughter-in-law (N.
Huang 83). They convey strong “belief in love” in contrast with earlier TV dramas
14 emphasizing mistrust of love (N. Huang 84). Wu Yi-kuo (吳怡國) and Chiang Yi-hui
(姜易慧) identify three phases of the development of domestically made idol dramas as the period of exploration and orientation, the period of competition and elimination, the period of refinement and transformation (19-21). After the first phase between
2001 and 2003, local producers tried substantial experiments with this new TV genre by combining romantic elements with multiple subject matters such as car racing, billiard games, and supernatural events in the second phase from 2004 to 2006 (20).
Despite the diverse subjects, they did not necessarily gain huge popularity. It turned out that variations on the Cinderella formula created a lot of resonance with local audiences measured by higher viewer ratings.
The profit motive results in a rush of production of local romance novels and
Taiwanese idol dramas replicating the formula once it proves successful. Local category romances emerging from the late 1980s onwards are considered formulaic texts in local romance criticism. They are often compared with works written by
Chiung Yao (瓊瑤), a predominant Mandarin romance novelist before the 1980s. The
main characters, as Cheng Ya-pei (鄭雅佩) points out, are endowed with rare
attributes though they are not so perfect as those in Chung Yao’s novels. The hero is a
man of a high socioeconomic status like a president of a big company in modern days
or an emperor in ancient times. The heroine who used to be fragile turns into an
15 independent and intelligent woman. She will pursue her love actively instead of awaiting passively while she holds fast to the traditional concept of lifetime monogamy (23-25).
Protagonists in romance novels, according to Hsu Hsiu-pei (許秀珮), are binarized into “a hardhearted man” and “a softhearted woman”. The hero is bad in the
moral, emotional or attitudinal aspect while he is excellent in his career:
The romantic heroes have much in common. They are all handsome, wealthy
and powerful. They can be classified into four types: a tall guy, a very
determined guy, an arbitrary and an irritable guy. In short, he makes people
seized by an oppressive feeling. He may look gentle and polite while he is also
sophisticated and gumptious. He may be playful and frivolous. He may be cold
and solemn. Or he may be notoriously evil...The male protagonist has the typical
look and personality. His attitude toward love is typical as well. His emotional
impotence is typical. (40)
Lai Yu-chin (賴育琴) maintains that protagonists in romance novels are stock
characters. The hero has a good look, a good family background, a good talent but a
flawed personality; the heroine is smart but shrewd, or tender but careless (42).
The events described in romance novels usually follow a fixed sequence. The
storyline proceeds from “encounter between the potential couple, misunderstandings
16 and conflicts, a turning point (the heroine’s disappearing act) to a denouement” (Lai
41). Taiwanese idol dramas have a similar narrative path through which the leading characters’ romantic relationship develops in four phases: “the first meeting, courtship, the barriers and the ultimate union” (Hsueh 13). Romance publications and TV productions tend to copy the idea of a previous work that sells well. Exploitation of the successful formula constrains the possibilities of giving it new elements.
Uncreative use of tropes and recurrent stereotypical characters lead critics to charge that the romantic narratives are works of poor originality and conservative ideology.
The formulaic plot development makes category romances largely identical. The writers lacking discernible style are described as “shadow writers” (Y. Lin 1).
Taiwanese idol dramas are criticized for “poorly-written scripts”, “unrealistic plot devices”, “excessive sentiment”, “stiff acting of novices” and “inadequate production budgets” (C. Li 73).
In addition to lack of innovation, a more controversial issue about gender representations draws critical attention. Cheng Yi-wen (鄭伊雯) examines local series romances released in the late 1980s from a feminist perspective. Her analysis
demonstrates patriarchal values are enhanced by the dichotomy between strong males
and weak females as well as the endorsement of the virginal heroines in the texts
(209). As LinYing-chieh (林英杰) asserts, changes in gender roles occur in category
17 romances published during the 1990s. Female readers of a new generation prefer a cool and macho hero to a gentle and graceful hero in earlier romances. However, sporadic reworking of gender relations remains contained in the patriarchal system
(71-72).
As Lai Yu-chin contends, the glorification of an innocent, chaste and kind heroine in romance texts of the 1990s legitimates the patriarchal order and affirms family values (11). She also detects seeds of changes within the overriding patriarchal context. The portrayal on male physical attractiveness offers the possibility of an active female gaze (69). Besides, a detailed description of the heroine’s sexual pleasure subverts the power structure of heterosexual patriarchy, constructing the female as a desiring subject (77, 79).
The presence of androgynous characters, as Lai Yu-chin concludes, reveals a postmodern turn in romance novels of the 1990s (100). As the trend of crossing gender boundaries continues, it is more common, according to Yang Ming (楊明), to find heroes with feminine looks in twenty-first-century romance novels (40-41). In
addition to the increasing number of heroes of feminine types, heroines classified as
the Cinderella type are no longer submissive victims waiting to be rescued. They are
active in the pursuit of her happiness or independent-minded enough to abandon the
attachment to worldly love. If she remains kind and tolerant, what she seeks for first is
18 not the love of Prince Charming but her self-growth (M. Yang 48).
Lin Hsin-chieh (林歆婕) states that many Taiwanese idol dramas follow the
Cinderella paradigm, depicting a romantic relationship between a man of a higher
socioeconomic status and an ordinary woman who is kind-hearted without economic
privileges. Marriage with the male protagonist is the only route through which the
female protagonist can achieve success and happiness (119). Such recurrent gender
stereotypes and opt-repeated narrative pattern in media texts, as she asserts, reproduce
patriarchal ideology and reinforce gender inequality (120).
Monogamous marriage is generally viewed as a patriarchal invention that
maintains the status quo and the sexual division of labor. Pamela Regis refutes against
the charges made by the critics who claim that the happy ending in marriage enslaves
both the heroine and the readers. In Regis’ defense, the ending in marriage or
betrothal is not the governing element in determining a text’s meaning but the
“barrier” (the conflict) and the “point of ritual death” (a moment when the romantic
union seems impossible) since it is the process rather than the conclusion of the
heroine’s quest that romance readers are reading for (14). Moreover, the heroine’s
victory, a state of freedom, is manifested when “she overcomes the barrier and is freed
from all encumbrances to her union with the hero” (Regis 15). The marriage in the
end of romance novels is interpreted by Hsu Hsiu-pei as a signal for satisfaction of
19 emotional needs:
The utopian imagination of conjugal happiness is extraordinarily significant
because most romance readers are aware of women’s difficulties in real life. The
nuclear family represents an ideal type that is formed on the basis of romantic
love rather than class privilege. Its stability relies on free choices of family
members instead of their obligations. It is a site for seeking emotional
fulfillment, not for materialistic gains. Therefore, no conflicts should occur. (48)
Romance readers, as Wen Tzu-hsin (溫子欣) explains, tend to take up a strategic
reading position in order to derive pleasure from consuming the texts. The happy
ending in marriage is interpreted as the heroine’s triumph because she tames the hero
at last (116-117). She identifies the interpretative strategy as a resistant reading:
Readers create the meanings they need purposely. Therefore, they reverse
women’s inferior positions and strive for gender equality through their romance
reading. We cannot make absolute statements about the good or bad impacts of
romantic fiction. It is true that patriarchal values are conveyed by reproducing
the existing power structure in romance texts. But readers can counterassault
against the male-dominated world by interpreting the texts in their own way.
(135)
Janice A. Radway states in her ethnographic study of the Smithon’s romance
20 readers that the act of reading enables them to “refuse temporarily their family otherwise constant demand” and it can be seen as their attempt to “imagine a more perfect state where all the needs they so intensely feel and accept as given would be adequately addressed (211, 212).
There are disagreements about the role that romance texts play in feminist politics. Radway claims romance reading embodies merely “safe, limited, and barely conscious contestation of patriarchy” while it originates from women’s dissatisfaction with traditional marriages that fail to satisfy their needs (220). Kay Mussel notes that the romance fantasy provides readers with the chance to experience the illusion of
change but it fails to promote “genuine change or individual growth” (172). In local
critical accounts appear different assessments of the ideological revision within the
romance texts. For example, Hsu Hsiu-pei warns readers against being deluded by the
patriarchal love fantasy though there are positive significances in the texts. However
minor the adjustments in the patriarchal framework are, some researchers believe
small changes will accumulate to produce enormous subversive power (Lai 101; Y.
Lin 66).
Differing critical reception of romance texts in part parallels the debate over the
mainstreaming and commoditization of feminism in western popular culture. The
notion of co-option cannot fully reflect the complex relationship between feminism
21 and popular culture because the existence of feminism in today’s popular culture has become a form of common sense in which feminist ideas are expressed in a way that does not necessarily correspond with traditional feminist methods and critiques (Genz and Brabon 36). The category of popular feminism, or conceptualized by many as postfeminism, poses a challenge for critics to elaborate on the ambivalent relationship between feminism and popular culture.
The negative reading of postfeminism as antifeminist is offered by Susan Faludi.
She formulates the conservative reaction to feminism as a backlash— “a powerful counterassault on women’s rights” attempting to “retract the handful of small and
hard-won victories” the feminist movement has strived for (xviii). For her,
postfeminism is one of the terms coined by the press to stress women’s excessive
freedom brought about by women’s movement and then forge the connection of
women’s unhappiness with women’s liberation:
[W]omen have achieved so much yet feel so dissatisfied; it must be feminism’s
achievements, not society’s resistance to theses partial achievements, that is
causing women all this pain. In the ‘70s, the press had help up its own glossy
picture of a successful woman and said “See, she’s happy. That must be because
she’s liberated.” Now, under the reverse logic of the backlash, the press
airbrushed a frown into its picture of the successful woman and announced, “See,
22 she’s miserable. That must be because women are too liberated.” (Faludi 77)
Her anti-media stance is apparent in her accusation of the media’s role as “backlash collaborator” (Faludi 78). She claims the media work well with popular culture and advertising to perpetuate and exaggerate its own false images of womanhood (xv).
The association between postfeminism and backlash in Faludi’s work is elaborated by Angela McRobbie in her discussion about how “the taken into accountness” of feminism in contemporary popular culture leads to the “undoing of feminism” (“Post-feminism” 256, 255). In her analysis, postfeminism as a complexificated form of backlash, draws on feminism to suggest that equality is achieved and discredits its need for renewal (“Post-feminism” 255-256). The irrelevance of feminism for contemporary culture is implied by “a double discourse that works to construct feminism as a phenomenon of the past, traces of which can be found (and sometimes even valued) in the present” (Tasker and Negra 8). Thus, the contradictory nature of postfeminism is characterized by the tension between the acknowledgement and the repudiation of feminism.
As the equation of postfeminism with backlash neglects “how the popular operates as a site of struggle over the meanings of feminism” (Hollow and Mosely 8),
Ann Braithwaite finds it necessary to use the term “postfeminism” in a more complex and open-ended way with “an insistence on the plurality of positions and issues” that
23 it connotes for a whole range of different women (28). Postfeminism, according to
Ann Brooks, represents “pluralism and difference” occupying a critical position “in regard to earlier feminist frameworks at the same time as critically engaging with patriarchal and imperialist discourses” (1, 2). This understanding of postfeminism can open up more discussions about how and why elements of feminism become “part of the accepted, naturalized social formation” instead of limiting the possibilities of analysis (Braithwaite 19). In this view, an alternative reading of the relationship between feminism and the popular assumes “a hegemonic negotiation of second-wave ideals” without reducing postfeminism to an overall rejection of feminism (Dow,
Prime-Time Feminism 88).
Postfeminism is a highly contested term with multiple definitions just as there are divergent understandings of the relationship between feminism and popular culture. Postfeminism refers to what comes after feminism both in the chronological sense and in the semantic sense (Braithwaite 24). The prefix “post” designates “a journalistic or popular periodisation in which women’s lib is somehow over in the mid
1980s” (Brunsdon 85). Contemporary feminist critics are split on the semantic meaning of “post”. The reading of “post” as “anti” that prevails in the backlash discourse supports the rejection of postfeminist concepts while the prefix “post” suggests a “critical distance” that allows of new developments of feminism for those
24 who advocate postfeminist positions (Kalbfleisch 252). Both anti- and pro-postfeminists adopt the “rhetoric of opposition” to represent the relationship between feminism and postfeminism (Kalbfleisch 251). Instead of situating feminism and postfeminism antithetically, the rhetoric of inclusion pits (post)feminism against some Other, facilitating a sense of sisterhood with the identification of a common
enemy—patriarchy, for instance (Kalbfleisch 256). In this case, the critical tension
within the (post)feminism coupling is defused (Genz, Postfemininities 21).
This interpretative struggle extends to the signification of contemporary women’s display of traditional femininity. In contrast to viewing conventional femininity as a root of female oppression, women of a new generation refuse to give up the pleasures of feminine adornment and heterosexual romance (Moseley and Read
238). In this postfeminist cultural moment, young women frequently express feminist views in their daily lives while they reject “a particular image of feminist which they associate either with an older generation or else with a stereotypically unfeminine image” (McRobbie, “Shut Up” 409). As Ferriss and Young assert, traditional femininity, once considered a crippling cultural construction for women, is now embraced by younger generation as a choice (87). The re-evaluation of the opposition between femininity and feminism, as Stéphanie Genz notes, is a postfeminist response to “changing qualities of female/feminine/feminist experiences” in a late-twentieth-
25 and early-twenty-first-century context ( Postfemininities 24). Genz further claims that
postfeminism does not refer to a denial of feminism but to an altered stage of
gendered conflicts and transformations (Postfemininities 25).
Postfeminism’s reclamation of femininity is read as a threat of patriarchal recuperation or an expression of female power and agency in the critical community.
Much like the debate on the definition, political orientation and ideological influence of postfeminism, many discussions about the progressive or retrogressive dimensions of local romance texts are built on the subversion-restoration argument. From different perspectives, reworked gender representations and gender relations are seen to either subvert the patriarchal order or restore patriarchal values. Just as Sarah
Projansky argues, whether feminism or antifeminism is seen as more dominant in the end turns out to be “a matter of interpretation and degree” (“ Mass Magazine” 68).
In Genz’s discussion of the paradoxes of modern-day femininity, she suggests adopting a negotiated stance that goes beyond the binary logic of progress and backlash:
Femininity is pro-agency and anti-victimization—as the process of transforming
and resignifying femininity continually threatens to re-impose phallocentricity
and heteronormativity. Postfeminist femininity presents multiple layers of
female identification that oscillate between subject and object, victim and
26 perpetrator. Post-ing femininity (like post-ing feminism) thus involves an
amount of rethinking, not a reversal of well-established dualisms, but a process
of resignification that is capable of re-inscribing what it also transposes.
(Postfemininities 26)
Her view of contemporary femininity adopts a rhetorical position of anxiety that is
proposed by Jane Kalbfleisch to highlight “the conflict, contradictions, and
ambiguity” within postfeminism (255).
The purpose of my study is not to “take sides”, in Projansky’s words, in the
subversion-restoration argument so as to judge the value of contemporary romance
texts. Building on the both/and logic approved in Genz’s and Projansky’s critical
practice, I try to situate local romance texts in relation to the debates about
postfeminism as well as shifting representations of feminism and gender roles with an
attempt to emphasize how the inherent contradictions of postfeminist discourse
embedded in the texts speak to certain readers/viewers and create a particular appeal
to contemporary young generation.
III. Methodology of the Study
The first significant narratives we encounter, as Authur Asa Berger notes, are
fairy tales that manifest the prototypic tale from which other tales and genres evolve
(37). He suggests that many elements of popular genres can be found in fairy tales
27 (38). Familiarity with the structure of fairy tales makes it easy for readers/viewers to acquire the conventional pattern of popular narratives. The recurrent narrative scheme, as Umberto Eco argues, is an essential condition of reading/viewing pleasure (162).
The success of popular romances patterned on the Cinderella tale depends partially on the conventional structure. Vladimis Propp’s approach is helpful to articulate the relationship between fairy tale and romance genre in terms of the formal structure.
Alan Dundes points out the wide applicability of Propp’s approach in the introduction to his book, Morphology of the folktale:
Propp’s analysis should be useful in analyzing the structure of literary forms
(such as novels and plays), comic strips, motion-picture and television plots and
the like. In understanding the interrelationship between folklore and literature,
and between folklore and the mass media, the emphasis has hitherto been
principally upon content. Propp’s Morphology suggests that there can be
structural borrowings as well as content borrowings. (xiv-xv)
Berger also argues a large number of the functions that Propp elicits in his pioneering study can be found in modern popular culture genres if some functions are slightly adapted (21). Contemporary researchers have applied Propp’s theory to examine popular media texts such as Hollywood films1 and Chinese swordsman novels2.
1 Lu Ni-lin (呂妮霖) applies Propp’s approach to explore a postmodern turn of the narratives in Hollywood movies based on traditional fairy tales. See Lu Ni-lin, “A Postmodern Turn in the Hollywood Cinematic Adaptations of Fairy Tales,” Master thesis, National Chengchi U, 2008.
28 Although these texts are much longer narratives than Russian folk tales studied by
Propp. The concept of “move” proposed by Propp in his study, as Hung Chun-hsiang
(洪群翔) explains in his morphological analysis of fantasy literature in the case study of His Dark Materials Trilogy, can be used to decompose lengthy literary works (32).
In Radway’s study of popular western romance novels, she also employs Propp’s concepts to identify the constant narrative elements of successful romance novels
(134). Therefore, morphological analysis is employed in this study to see whether there are certain structural parallels between fairy tale and modern romance genre.
A successful formulaic work, John G. Cawelti maintains, has some “ingenious new type of mystification” within the limits of the conventional structure (10). I will also analyze the content of each text to find out the new elements given to the
Cinderella formula. Postfeminist discourses, as mentioned above, manifest the complexity and contradiction in recent representations of gender politics. I believe the underlying perspective of postfeminism in popular romances is concerned with how feminist ideas are incorporated to attract and distract contemporary readers/viewers.
As Sarah Projansky claims, postfeminism appeals to multiple and contradictory audiences due to its versatility (Watching Rape 86). Revised female representations in
2 The Chinese swordsman novel, also called as wuxia (武俠) novel, is one type of Chinese genre fiction, describing the adventures of ancient martial artists. It is also a popular item in book rental stores. Propp’s approach is utilized in Liu Chen-tu’s dissertation to analyze the works of one famous wuxia novelist Jin Yong (金庸). See Liu Chen-tu, “ A study of Jin Yong’s Novels from the Perspective of Fairy-tale Functions,” Master thesis, Lingnan U, 2000.
29 the texts emerging from the late 1990s onwards require new tools and perspectives to make comparisons with their predecessors identified as the “new woman” character type (Lotz 105). Amanda D. Lotz suggests postfeminism is a useful term to explain the emergence of “new, new women” and analyze recent shifts in ideas about feminism as long as we are aware of its various uses (106). Although postfeminism is a term introduced in the western context, it is applicable to explore representational phenomena of local texts since the feminist movement and popular media texts, as
Lotz reminds us, are not confined by national boundaries (112). I would add that the lure of romantic love and the trend toward commercialization do not exist exclusively in western countries. As the myth of sexual freedom was emphasized in local commercial culture in the 1990s, the commoditization of feminism in Taiwan appeared to synchronize with the tempo of the development of postfeminist thoughts during the end of the 20th century (Chiu 262). Therefore, I adopt a lens of postfeminism through which feminist ideas in the romantic narratives are identified to account for the internal contradictions in the texts and their resonance with contemporary readers/viewers.
IV. Samples of Local Romance Texts and Limitations of the Study
The romance novels examined in this study are the works of Hsi Chuan (席絹):
Non-princess in the Castle (城堡裡沒有公主 ) in 2001, Strayed (迷路 ) in 2004, The
30 Wealthy Gourmet (富貴饕家) in 2008. Self-conscious references to Cinderella in
these novels are indicative of the author’s ironic play with the Cinderella formula. The
idol dramas chosen for analysis are Sanli (三立) E-Television’s (SET) productions:
The Prince Who Turns into a Frog (王子變青蛙) first aired in 2005, Fated to Love
You (命中注定我愛你) first aired in 2008 and Next Stop, Happiness (下一站幸福)
first aired in 2009. Focusing on a romance between a rich man and a poor woman,
these dramas are recognized easily as variations on the Cinderella stories.
Hsi Chuan, dubbed as “queen of romance novels”, is a very famous writer whose
works inspire many imitators (Wang 2). Her works always appear in the list of the
most frequently rented novels in book rental stores. Therefore, her popularity has
received notice from the press and local researchers3. SET is one of the major
providers of Taiwanese idol dramas. It is successful in garnering oversea distribution
of its productions (Chang 57). Its idol dramas feature original scripts by local writers.
Several of its series have high ratings and spawn imitations. For example, The Prince
Who Turns into a Frog is the first idol drama that breaks the previous ratings record
set by Meteor Garden. Its success induces many producers of idol dramas to employ a
similar narrative pattern (H. Lin 68). Subsequent works such as Fated to Love You and
Next Stop, Happiness get higher ratings. Fated to Love You, in particular, establishes
3 Hsi Chuan’s novels are chosen as subjects in master theses by Wang Mei-yu (王梅郁) and Fan Tsui-ling (范翠玲) because of her popularity.
31 such a high viewing ratings record that even shows of other TV genres cannot chalk up easily. The success of these dramas makes SET a famous brand for the production of original idol dramas (Ke 14). Hsi Chuan’s novels and SET’s idol dramas are chosen because they are popular. On one hand, they are all products originating from popular culture. On the other hand, they are well-known and well-liked. In addition, explicit references to Cinderella, the princess, or the prince in these texts imply creators’ attempts to remind readers/viewers of the intertextuality between their works and fairy tales.
As Genz asks “Are we past the “post” and/or riding a new feminist wave? Have we arrived in a brave new world or are we doomed to repeat the patterns of the last century?” in her Postfemininities in Popular Culture (24), I intend to readdress these questions in my local context. I choose to focus on romance novels and idol dramas not only because they are representative examples of popular romantic narratives among teenagers but also because the interplay between these two types of media products and postfeminist culture has not been explored in the academic literature. All these texts studied here are domestically produced originals. They are linked thematically as narratives exploring conflicts in inter-class love. They are also interconnected chronologically, appearing in the 2000s. This study is limited to two forms of local romantic narratives in the first decade of the new millennium. Although
32 my analysis doesn’t extend to other types of media products, I hope my research can contribute to studies in the interrelationship between popular culture and
(post)feminism.
33 Chapter Two
The Incarnation of Cinderellaaa:a:::
The Fairy-tale Structure in Popular Romances
I. Vladimis Propp’s Approach and the Cinderella Tale
Vladimis Propp’s study aims to find out a systematic way of classifying folktales in terms of the essential components and their relationship to each other. He develops a morphological approach to decompose the tales and proposes that the actions of various characters which he terms “functions” are basic elements of a tale (20).
According to Propp, the function is “an act of a character, defined from the point
of view of its significance for the course of the action” (21). He also asserts there are
at most 31 functions found in fairy tales. No matter by whom and by what means the
functions are performed, they “serve as stable, constant elements in a tale” (21).
31 functions along with the definitions as well as the signs adopted by Propp to
represent each function are listed as the table 14.
Table 1
Proppian Functions
Sign Function Definition
α initial situation the members of a family are enumerated or the future hero is
4 As for the examples of each function, see Propp 26-64.
34 introduced.
β absentation One of the member of a family absents himself from home.
γ interdiction An interdiction is addressed to the hero.
δ violation The interdiction is violated.
ε reconnaissance The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance.
ζ delivery The villain receives information about his victim.
The villain attempts to deceive his victim in order to take η trickery possession of him or of his belongings.
The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly θ complicity helps his enemy.
A villainy The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family.
a lack One member of a family either lacks something or desires to
have something.
Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached
B mediation with a request or command; he is allowed to go or he is
dispatched.
beginning C The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction. counteraction
35 ↑ departure The hero leaves home.
the first The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, which prepares the D function of the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper. donor
the hero’s E The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor. reaction
receipt of a F The hero acquires the use of a magical agent. magical agent
spatial The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts G transference of an object of search.
H struggle The hero and the villain join in direct combat.
J branding The hero is branded.
I victory The villain is defeated.
K liquidation The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
↓ return The hero returns.
Pr pursuit The hero is pursued.
Rs rescue Rescue of the hero from pursuit
unrecognized ο The hero, unrecognized, arrives home or in another country. arrival
36 unfounded L A false hero presents unfounded claims. claims
M difficult task A difficult task is proposed to the hero.
N solution The task is resolved.
Q recognition The hero is recognized.
Ex exposure The false hero or villain is exposed.
T transfiguration The hero is given a new appearance.
U punishment The villain is punished.
W wedding The hero is married and ascends the throne.
The functions, as Propp notes, logically join together into seven spheres of action that correspond to their respective performers: the villain, the donor, the helper, a princess (and her father), the dispatcher, the hero and the false hero (79-80). He suggests that one character in the story may either perform the actions in one sphere or involve in several spheres of action (80). It is also possible for a number of characters to fulfill actions in one single sphere (81). The relations between the major performers and the functions are shown in the table below.
Table 2
The Distribution of Functions among Seven Roles
Kinds of performers Functions
37 Villain Villainy, Struggle, Pursuit
The first function of the donor, Receipt Donor (Provider) of agent
Spatial change, Liquidation, Rescue, Helper Solution, Transfiguration
Princess (A sought-for person) and her Branding, Difficult task, Recognition, father Exposure, Punishment, Wedding
Dispatcher Mediation
Counteraction, Departure, Hero’s Hero reaction, Wedding
Counteraction, Departure, Hero’s False hero reaction, Unfounded claims
Any plot development proceeding from function A or function a, through
intermediary functions to function W or other terminal functions is viewed as a
“move”. A tale may consist of several moves, each of which is created by an
obligatory element, either a villainous act or a lack (Propp 92). Propp considers “The
Beautiful Wassilissa”5, the Russian version of Cinderella, is a double-move story. In
the first move, the female protagonist, Wassilissa, is given by her dying mother a
5 To read the English translation of this tale, see Marie-Louise von Franz, “ The Beautiful Wassilissa,” Cinderella: A Casebook, ed. Alan Dundes (Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1988) 203-07.
38 miraculous doll which comforts her later and helps her finish all the hard work assigned by her evil stepmother. As she is sent to fetch the fire from the witch in the wood, the doll aids her again in completing the tasks given by the witch. Then the witch gives her a skull with burning eyes in it before she returns home. Afterwards, the glowing eyes burn her step-relatives to ashes. The narrative structure analyzed by
Propp is presented as: FaBC↑DEF↓U6. In this scheme, the sequence of the
functions is relatively similar to that of the usual tale except for the first element,
Function F (receipt of a magical agent), which usually comes after the exit from home.
Such a fluctuation, as Propp argues, is allowable and it does not result in a new
compositional system (108).
Propp classifies the tales he examines into four types according to the presence
or absence of two pairs of functions: tales with function H (struggle) and function I
(victory), tales with function M (difficult task) and function N (solution), tales with
both functions H-I and functions M-N, and tales without either (102). “The Beautiful
Wassilissa” belongs to the second type since the second move of this story describes
how Wassilissa is recognized by her domestic skills such as spinning, weaving and
sewing before her royal marriage. The result of Propp’s analysis is tabulated as
follows:
6 “The Beautiful Wassilissa” is labeled as Tale No. 104 in the English translation of Propp’s book. Its narrative scheme and related notes are given in the appendix III of his book. See Propp 135-37, 145-46 for further reference.
39 Table 3
The Proppian Analysis of the Second Move of “The Beautiful Wassilissa”
Function Event in the story
Initial situation (α) Wassilissa buries the skull and leaves the house
with the doll.
Unrecognized arrival (ο) Wassilissa goes into the town and settles in an old
woman’s house.
Receipt of a magical agent (F) Wassilissa asks the old woman to buy her some
flax.
Solution (N) Wassilissa spins fine yarn from the flax.
Receipt of a magical agent (F) The doll makes a loom for Wassilissa to weave.
Solution (N) Wassilissa uses the doll’s machine to finish
weaving fine cloth.
Difficult task (M) The king demands that the shirts be sewn.
Solution (N) Wassilissa makes the shirts.
Wedding (W) Wassilissa and the king get married
Neither direct villainy nor any apparent form of a lack appears before the entire
action in this move. Propp infers that there is an implied function a (lack) realized by
Wassilissa’s longing for a royal bridegroom since all her actions stem from the
40 situation that the king has no wife (146). He also infers that spinning and weaving are the solutions of tasks while the tasks are foreseen by Wassilissa. He claims that this is a case of preliminary solution, a type of solution coming before the task is set (145).
Based on Propp’s observation, there are two types of heroes. The first type is a
“seeker-hero”, who departs in search of some object. The other one is termed a
“victim-hero”, who experiences the journey without any anticipated goal (39). One might identify the persecuted heroine with a female victimized hero at first glance since she is ill-treated by her step-relatives. However, the heroine’s suffering caused by her stepmother does not motivate her departure; neither does it serve to be the mover of the events. If inferences drawn from the narrative purposes are validated, the seemingly victimized protagonist should become a seeker instead.
Other variants of the Cinderella tale characterized by the shoe test such as the
Perrault’s version can illustrate the complication and the ambiguity of Cinderella’s role. David Pace views Cinderella’s desire to go to the ball as function a (lack), assuming a complete analysis can be made by seeking to identify other functions in the following segments of the plot (250). Therefore, if a longing for attending the ball manifests the desire to attract a royal member, the role of the seeker is enacted by
Cinderella, who defies her stepmother, going to the ball with her godmother’s gifts, makes the prince fall in love with her, passes the shoe test and marries the prince in
41 the end. In this case, the prince performs the role as the sought-for person; Cinderella appears to be a “passive” seeker waiting to be discovered after she leaves the ball. Her role as a passive seeker does not correspond exactly to what Maria Tartar describes about the two kinds of heroes in fairy tales:
Just as villainy creates victims, a lack leads to a search. The hero of a fairy tale
can be either victim or seeker, a meek martyr or a bold adventurer. As a passive
victim of circumstances, adventures befall him; as an active seeker of worldly
glory, he embarks on a search with a specific goal. (62)
The conventional dichotomy of male/female, seeker/victim, active/passive and defiant/docile is therefore partially subverted by Cinderella’s shifts in her role from a docile stepdaughter to a defiant pursuer and then to a passive seeker for the royal groom.
If we put our focus on the events referred to in words in the storyline, we learn that it is the prince that intends to find the lady he admires. Thus, if we define the prince as the seeker-hero due to his lack of a bride, the role of the sought-for person is occupied by Cinderella. Then the tale should be divided into two moves. In the first move, Cinderella, fulfilling the role as a female hero, longs to attend the ball and achieves it with the help of her godmother. The second move begins with the prince’s desire to find his dreamboat which is designated as function a (lack). We can infer that
42 Cinderella’s elusion from the prince at the ball represents a trial of love to the future spouse. To find out who and where the unknown lady is becomes a difficult task the prince is required to resolve. The relation between a seeker (Cinderella) and an object of love (the prince) in the first move is inverted in the second move.
Move 1 Move 2
1. Cinderella wishes to go to the ball. 1. The prince wants to marry the
mysterious lady who leaves a slipper
at the ball.
2. Cinderella is aided by her 2. The prince sends his men to find out
godmother. the owner of the slipper by
conducting the shoe test.
3. Cinderella arrives at the ball and 3. The prince learns that Cinderella’s
attracts the prince, dressing so foot fits the slipper.
gorgeously that even her
stepsisters can not recognize her.
4. Cinderella returns home hastily, 4. The prince gets married with
leaving a slipper behind. Cinderella.
The chart above displays the key incidents in the story. Cinderella’s explicit lack
(a longing for her attendance at the ball) in the first move is liquidated as soon as she
43 is sent to the ball by a magical coach. The implicit lack (her quest for a husband) is not eliminated until the prince recognizes his future bride with the shoe test and marries her at last. In some way, her quest is interwoven with the prince’s while the subject of actions is switched to the prince in the second move. Cinderella, a former seeker, slips into the role of the person sought for.
“Aschenputtel”, the Grimms’ version of “Cinderella”, elaborates the pursuit scene in particular. The female protagonist’s radiant display at the festival catches the prince’s eye and her fleeing initiates his courtship efforts. He fails twice in pursuit of the beautiful lady who slips away from him. On the third night, he tries to keep her by spreading the stairs with pitch and gets the slipper as a proof of her identity. The recognition scene is also dramatized by the stepsisters’ foot mutilation for the sake of claiming to be the bride. Following the plot outline of Perrault’s version, the German version trebles the elements M-N (difficult task-solution)7, inserts an episode about
the false brides before the identity of the female protagonist is revealed and concludes
the story with an additional remark about the stepsisters’ blindness as a punishment.
Despite the fact that some details and certain functions are added to the Grimms’
version, these two popular versions have a similar structural pattern and show the
7 “Trebling” refers to repetition of certain elements, such as individual details of an attributive nature, individual functions, pairs of functions, groups of functions or entire moves (Propp 74). According to Propp’s observation, trebling may appear “as a uniform distribution (three tasks, three years’ service), as an accumulation (the third task is the most difficult, the third battle the worst), or may twice produce negative results before the third successful outcome” (74). In this case, the prince pursues after the elusive lady three times and finally gets her slipper on the third night. Later, the lady tries on the slipper to prove her identity successfully after her two stepsisters fail to deceive the prince in the shoe test.
44 same ambiguity. On one hand, Cinderella’s role as an active seeker is turned into a passive one in the latter part of the story. On the other hand, she becomes the object of the prince’s pursuit as well. The multiple roles Cinderella performs and the transposition of the subject-object relationship between Cinderella and the prince imply the possibilities and constraints on female agency within traditional gender framework. Besides, the shared roles as a seeker and a sought-for person of the potential couple show their mutual power over each other and reflect the negotiation of power in a courtship.
II. Morphological Analysis of the Romance Texts
Propp’s theory is applied in this chapter to see whether there are certain
structural parallels between fairy tale and modern romance genre. In the subsequent
chapters are discussions about on how the above-mentioned ambiguity is developed to
reimagine contemporary gender roles as the Cinderella tale is expanded into a lengthy
narrative.
In the following analysis, Propp’s concepts are applied to examine the main plot
of the texts. Only important events are singled out to determine which functions occur
since some minor ones do not accomplish the narrative purpose but serve to slow
down the plot development or dramatize the story. To distinguish one move from
45 another, the events may not be mentioned in the order of their sequence in the texts8.
Non-princess in the Castle
The first move begins with an initial situation which introduces the male
protagonist, Yen Yen (言晏) who passes the exam and gains a position in Mo
Ching-yuan’s (莫靖遠) company as well as the female protagonist, Shan Yeh-hui (單
夜茴) who is Ching-yuan’s half-sister. The preparatory section involves the leaving of
Yeh-hui’s half-sister and Yeh-hui’s emotional attachment to her, indicated by the fact
that Yeh-hui cares about nobody but her half-sister, Hsiao-chen (曉晨). Yeh-hui’s
departure from home is related to her psychological emptiness caused by both
Hsiao-chen’s leaving and the emotional harm brought by her mother which is
presented in flashback.
The explicit lack of self-regard and implicit lack of the true love drive the plot
development. Yeh-hui moves out and rents an apartment where she encounters Yen
Yen for the first time. Yen Yen, as a donor, tries to melt her coldness by showing his
friendliness and warmth during a series of coincidental meetings and conversations.
The increasing interaction leads to Yeh-hui’s positive feelings toward Yen Yen.
Because of her willingness to accept Yen Yen’s concern and love, she is helped by him
to recover from the traumatic experience in her childhood.
8 The sequence of the functions and the order arrangement of the events in each text are shown in Appendix I.
46 The subplot about Yeh-hui’s interaction with her half-brother and her mother constitutes the second move of this story. As an illegitimate child, Yeh-hui has been demanded by her mother to please her agnate siblings. Her reverence for her half-brother, a form of the positive reaction to the donor figure, mixes with her sense of inferiority and a longing for familial love. Mo Ching-yuan, as a helper figure, allows Yeh-hui to live in her own way. Although Yeh-hui’s mother makes efforts to persuade her daughter to accept a marriage of convenience, Ching-yuan helps her to get rid of those arranged dates and promises her that she can choose her future husband at will. In this way, her lack of familial love is liquidated by her final realization of her half-brother’s love in the form of his support and protection.
The storyline of the third move overlaps with the one of the first move. Move 3 centers on the male protagonist, Yen Yen, who happens to be Yeh-hui’s neighbor in the apartment. In spite of his attempt to marry a woman with wealthy parents, he falls in love with Yeh-hui without knowing her real identity. His failure to pass the preliminary test is represented by Yeh-hui’s negative responses to his advances. He wins her trust eventually when he goes to the clinic with her thoughtfully as soon as he knows she suffers from stomachache. His difficult task is to help Yeh-hui overcome her childhood trauma. The task is resolved when Yeh-hui is content with her romantic relationship with him. Yeh-hui is transformed into a happy woman.
47 Consequently, the implicit lack in the first move is also eliminated.
The story comes to an end when Yeh-hui returns her half-sister’s mansion with
Yen Yen, planning to introduce him to her family members. It is in the recognition scene that Yen Yen realizes Yeh-hui is a half-sister of his boss, Mo Ching-yuan—in other words, Yeh-hui who used to be mistaken for a bankrupt, turns out to be a rich
lady. Yen Yen’s fulfillment of the task is finally rewarded with a happy marriage—he
marries not only the one he loves but also the one of a wealthy family.
The narrative scheme of this text is more complicated than a single-move tale
since the three moves are intertwined. Frequent pauses of each move are found
because of the insertion of an episodic move. If we try to single out the narrative
scheme of each move respectively, we get the following result:
5 Move 1:αβγδa↑〔DEneg.Fneg〕 DEFKTQW
Move 2:αFηθA PrRsK
Move 3: AC↑↓DEFKMNW
Strayed
There are two moves in this story. Move 1 starts with the female protagonist’s
depression about her boyfriend’s proposal for a breakup and then prepares the way for
their reunion. The initial situation involves the female protagonist, Ho Man-nung (何
曼儂), who is depicted as a stunning beauty, the male protagonist, Fan-Chiang Yi (范
48 姜頤), who is a handsome and successful businessman as well as the secondary
characters including her high school schoolmates and Wang Yang (汪洋), who is
Man-nung’s puppy lover. Man-nung runs into Wang Yang, who reminds her of
another breakup in the past when she is quite depressed about Fan-Chiang Yi’s refusal
to maintain their romantic relationship. She accepts Wang Yang’s apology for his
previous failure in ending the relationship with her gracefully. Wang Yang becomes a
helper who gives advice to Man-nung and pushes her to develop a more fulfilling
relationship with Fan-Chiang Yi. Fan-Chiang Yi is the villain who hurts Man-nung
very much because he proposes to break up with her. Man-nung’s ambivalent feelings
toward him during the encounters with him after their breakup imply that she fails to
get over the pain. Her efforts to conceal her true feelings during each encounter
symbolically represent her struggle with him. Fan-Chiang Yi’s defeat doesn’t occur
until he realizes he is still drawn to Man-nung and decides to fix their relationship.
Move 2 starts with Fan-Chiang Yi’s conversion of his role from an ex-boyfriend
to a wooer. He has to fulfill the tasks of courting Man-nung’s affection as she suspects
his sincerity. With Wang Yang’s encouragement, Man-nung tries to rebuild her
relationship with Fan-Chiang Yi. Difficult tasks and their resolutions (Functions M-N)
are repeated to enhance their closeness and mutual understanding. As Man-nung and
Fan-Chiang Yi move forward in their relationship, the final task of the male
49 protagonist is to make Man-nung accept his marriage proposal. At last, a magnificent wedding, the ending scene in the playlet featuring Man-nung, follows the fulfillment of the tasks. This wedding is also a happy ending of Man-nung and Fan-Chiang Yi’s romance. It marks Man-nung’s success in both her career and love.
In the second move, trebling of functions M-N appears as a form of accumulation. The positive result of each task is indicative of the increase on the extent to which the potential couple’s relationship goes further. As Man-nung accepts
Fan-Chiang Yi both sexually and emotionally, her acceptance of his proposal of marriage represents Fan-Chiang Yi’s success in courtship. He wins the heart of his future bride. In addition, Man-nung’s implicit lack of a bridegroom which is made known in the introductory section in the first move is liquidated. In this sense, the follow-up storyline of the first move is provided simultaneously in the development of the second move. The resultant narrative scheme is presented as follows.
Move 1:αA↑DEHI neg.FHIDEFHIPrRsK
Move 2: aMNFMNMN(=K)W
The Wealthy Gourmet
The author tries to blend the issue of women’s career aspiration with her
romantic quest in this novel. The story begins with sketchy presentation of the female
protagonist Feng Hsu (奉姁), who is depicted as a professional chef hired by the
50 Chueh (闕) family whose members are all picky about food, especially the male protagonist Chueh Tung-chen ( 闕 東 辰). The shared lack of a lover of both protagonists is anticipated due to the conventions of the romance genre. What moves
the plot development forward is Feng Hsu’s efforts to get a high score on every
cooking practice and Tung-chen’s eagerness to find another satisfying chef after Feng
Hsu resigns her job in his household. Several incidental encounters with Feng Hsu
enables Tung-chen to taste the food she cooks that always increases his appetite. Since
the new chef of his household Ms. Chiu (秋) fails to prepare food catering to his taste,
he decides to employ Feng Hsu as his private cook. Feng Hsu is highly rated by
Tung-chen and his relatives for her professional cooking skill and attentive service. As
a candidate to become next lead of the Feng family which has had an excellent
reputation for the cooking skill, Feng Hsu is required to win her employer’s
recognition. Tung-chen, as a donor and helper figure, serves as a judge who will play
a crucial role in her final competition. His recognition gives Feng Hsu more chances
of success. The first move begins with Feng Hsu’s exterior goal to become an
excellent chef and comes to an end when Tung-chen promises to help her achieve her
goal. This move posits the female protagonist as the hero figure. Its narrative scheme
is presented as follows:
Move 1:αaDEDEDEFPrRsK
51 The hero-helper relationship between Feng Hsu and Tung-chen is inverted in the second move. Tung-chen, who strives for the position as the chairman, succeeds in getting the support of the major shareholder with the aid of Feng Hsu. The difficult task of Tung-chen follows the elimination of his explicit lack of career success. Once
Feng Hsu is selected as the lead of the Feng family, she has to spend ten years performing her duty. During the period of her service, she is not able to take full care of her own family. A long-term separation from her husband cannot be avoided. As an important judge in Feng Hsu’s competition, Tung-chen is the one that can determine her future. At last, he promises to support her to achieve the career aspiration rather than keep her confined in the sphere of hearth and home. His decision resolves the task and wins her heart. Feng Hsu’s declaration of her affection toward Tung-chen is counted as function W (wedding) to conclude this story. The implied lack of a lover shared by both protagonists is thereby eliminated as well. The male protagonist who performs the role of the sought-for person in the first move is assigned the role as the hero in the second move. Feng Hsu’s role transforms from a seeker to a sough-for person in this move. The following scheme shows the narrative structure.
Move 2: aFKMNW
The Prince Who Turns into a Frog
The initial situation of this drama depicts the lead roles’ antagonism toward each
52 other and introduces their interrelationship with the supporting roles. The male protagonist (Shan Chun-hao) (單均昊), an heir of Senwell Hotel Group, is handsome, capable, and assertive. However, he is too dominant to make room for others. Hsu
Tzu-chien (徐子騫), a son of another cofounder of Senwell Hotel Group, is capable
likewise but not as competitive as Chun-hao. Although he loves Chun-hao’s fiancée,
Fan Yun-hsi (范芸熙), he chooses to conceal his feelings. Yun-hsi, an orphan brought
up by Chun-hao’s parents, has expected to be Chun-hao’s bride for a long time,
placing love at the center of her life. Their attempted engagement ceremony is
cancelled because of Chun-hao’s absence which is caused by a car accident. This
accident leads to Chun-hao’s loss of memory and his new life in Kuanmei (觀美)
village with the female protagonist, Yen Tien-yu (葉天瑜), who dreams of marrying a
rich man.
Not knowing Chun-hao’s real identity, Tien-yu takes him to Kuanmei village
where she lives with her stepmother and stepbrother. Losing all of the past memories,
Chun-hao becomes a kind and thoughtful person. A number of events scattered in the
form of functions D-E-F become the spurs to Tien-yu’s affection toward Chun-hao.
Just as their romance seems to go better, Chun-hao’s fiancée finds him and asks
Tien-yu to send him back home. The second move begins with the occurrence of
another accident when Tien-yu grants Yun-hsi her request. This accident causes
53 Chun-hao to restore his past memories except for his life in Kuanmei village. The first move involves an unintentional accident which results in Chun-hao’s brain injury, the development of love and concern between Chun-hao and Tien-yu and the recognition of Chuan-hao’s real identity which introduces the barrier between the lead couple. The scheme is presented as follows.
Move 1:αAοηθ〔DEF〕3 QK
Move 2 begins with Tien-yu’s loss of her true love and the crisis of Kuanmei
hotel which causes her to leave for Senwell hotel so that she can negotiate with
Chun-hao for reopening Kuanmei hotel. Affected unconsciously by her perseverance
and sincerity, he even helps manage another crisis of Kuanmei hotel in the
food-poisoning incident. The ownership battle over Kuanmei hotel ends when
Chuan-hao agrees to return the hotel to its original owner while there are other
barriers for the lead couple to overcome. Her rediscovery of her beloved (a form of a
difficult task) is made possible only when Yun-hsi agrees to divorce with Chun-hao
right after the wedding day. The following scheme shows the morphological analysis
result of this move where the female protagonist is assumed to be the hero figure.
Move 2: ABC↑DEF↓LKMNWneg
Move 3 interwoven with move 2 centers around the complex love affairs among
Chun-hao, Tien-yu, Yun-hsi, and Tzu-chien. There is a shared lack of true love for the
54 lead couple because Chun-hao does not remember the sweet memories with Tien-yu.
For the sake of Yun-hsi, Tzu-chien decides to pursue Tien-yu in order to prevent her from getting more involved with Chun-hao. Chun-hao’s initial hostility toward her starts to melt away gradually with the increase of interaction with her in the workplace. With her encouragement, he resolves his business crisis. He declares his love to Tien-yu when he realizes he fails to hold back his affections for her even when he cannot recall their previous romance. Tien-yu makes no positive responses because she sways between her affection for him and her sympathy for Yun-hsi. Chun-hao fails the difficult task of persuading Tien-yu to accept his affection even if he returns the ownership of Kuanmei hotel to its original owner. Tien-yu does not dare to respond to his advances until he is almost stabbed at the wedding ceremony for
Yun-hsi and himself. The release from their respective vows to Tzu-chien and Yun-hsi, a form of the resolution of the difficult task, marks an end of their quests for true love.
However, their eventual union is delayed when Tzu-chien finds out his father’s death is caused by Chun-hao’s father. When the male protagonist is assumed to be the hero figure, the resultant scheme is presented as follows.
Move 3: aLMNnegMNWneg
Move 4 begins with Tzu-chien’s take-over of Senwell hotel. He attempts to sell the gangsters this hotel to revenge his passing parents. Chun-hao decides to stop
55 Tzu-chien from selling their fathers’ enterprise to those who intend to change it into a casino for money-laundering. Meanwhile, Tien-yu also comes to interrupt the process for the contract signing. Tzu-chien changes his mind before signing the contract. All of them escape from the vicious buyers’ pursuit except for Tien-yu. A head injury seems to result in Tien-yu’s memory impairment. She forgets her past life experiences about Chun-hao and herself. It turns out to be pretended memory loss because Tien-yu wants Chun-hao to know what it feels like to be forgotten by the beloved. To unmask her pretension becomes the difficult task of Chun-hao. It is finally fulfilled when
Tien-yu reveals her concern for him and forgives him for his prior ruthlessness. The functions arranged in this move are presented as follows.
Move 4:αABC↑F PrRsK↓MNW
Fated to Love You
The initial situation involves a plain-looking but good-hearted woman named
Chen Hsin-yi (陳欣怡) whose self-introduction at the beginning of the drama makes
the audience aware of her longing for Prince Charming. The first move is mainly
about the first meeting between the potential couple. Hsin-yi loses her virginity
accidentally to the male protagonist named Chi Tsun-hsi (紀存希) and finds herself
unexpectedly pregnant. As a consequence of the unintentional pregnancy, Tsun-hsi is
forced into a marriage with Hsin-yi even though he originally plans to propose to his
56 girlfriend, Anna.
An accidental encounter with Dylan may be considered as an indirect form of testing. Dylan becomes her helper not only because she displays her kindness and simple-mindness but because she happens to have the same name as his missing sister.
The central part of the second move is the intension of the attraction between the potential couple. Being misunderstood as a calculated seducer, Hsin-yi has to endure
Tsun-hsi’s hostility and indifference. She proves herself worthy of his affection during the incidents such as the search for the missing dog, the confrontation with Steve
Chou (史帝夫周), and the birthday celebration for Tsun-hsi. Just as Tsun-hsi
appreciates her character traits more and more, Anna’s return impedes their union.
Anna’s lie indirectly causes Hsi-yi’s miscarriage that motivates her departure
from Tsun-hsi. With the help of Dylan, she becomes a ceramicist without letting
Tsun-hsi knows where she is. The incidental reencounter with Tsun-hsi two years later
interweaves their quests for each other. On the part of Hsi-yi, the misunderstanding
invoked by Anna’s lie makes her suspect that Tsun-hsi does not love her at all. For
Tsun-hsi, his lack of the beloved one is not eliminated until he carries out the tasks
including the clarification of the misunderstanding, the declaration of his love and his
proposal of marriage regardless of her infertility. He is rewarded with an even happier
marriage with her when it turns out that the infertility is a wrong diagnosis.
57 The first move describes why Hsi-yi loses her virginity accidentally to Tsun-hsi and how they help each other to face the embarrassing moment—Hsi-yi is humiliated
by her two-timing boyfriend; Tsun-hsi is embarrassed by his girlfriend’s absence
when the staffs on the cruise are ready to celebrate that his proposal is accepted. The
second move explains why Tsun-hsi is attracted by Hsi-yi. As for Hsi-yi’s search for
her true love, it is prolonged into the third move interwoven with the last move which
centers on how Tsun-hsi overcomes the barriers to reunite with the one he really loves.
All functions of this drama are arranged in the following scheme.
Move 1:αABC↑HIK↓
Move 2: DEFABC〔DEF〕3K
Move 3:ηθABC↑FTQL↓ExUK
Move 4: a G↓MNnegMNnegMNW(=K)
Next Stop, Happiness
The first section of this drama includes two interconnected moves. The two
moves revolve around the lead protagonists’ quests for their true love. The initial
situation provides a character sketch of the female protagonist named Liang
Mu-cheng (梁慕橙) by presenting briefly her growth after the decline of her family’s
fortune caused by her father’s death. The male protagonist named Jen Kuang-hsi (任
光晞), though young, handsome and rich, is an arrogant and cool-hearted person who
58 does not trust women for his misunderstanding about his mother. A bet to win a kiss within 24 hours brings Kuang-hsi and Mu-cheng together again after their first encounter which ends up with mutual dislike. His discord with her even heats up after this bet due to her sarcastic retort. His revenge ceases as he is touched by her tears.
The first encounter, the bet and his revenge amount to function D (the first function of the donor) which prepares Kuang-hsi for the role as a protector of Mu-cheng. He always comes to save her when she is in danger. These rescue events serve as
Mu-cheng’ tests for him and therefore can be designated as function D. As she gets to know him better, she realizes her love for him . She insists on staying with him to deal with his brain tumor. Her choice to become a supporter is designated as function F
(receipt of a magical agent). As a happy ending seems to approach after they declare their love for each other, the opposition of Kuang-hsi's mother to their match leads to their separation.
Under the pressure from Kuang-hsi’s dominant mother, Mu-cheng leaves
Kuang-hsi, not knowing she is carrying his child. On the part of Kuang-hsi, he loses all of his memory after the brain surgery. After his recovery, he becomes a successful lawyer. Six years later, just as he is engaged with Ho Yi-chien (何以茜) who is a supporter during his rehabilitation treatment, a sentence of community service leads
him to Hautien (花田) village where Mu-cheng lives with their child named Liang
59 Hsiao-le (梁小樂). Despite Mu-cheng’s deliberate alienation, Kuang-hsi finds it hard
to be unconcerned about her and her son. He earns their trust as they spend more time
together. Facing the dilemma of obeying his father-in-law to be or confronting the
oppression from Huanyu (寰宇) company run by his fiancée’s father, He decides to
help the villagers resolve the purchase dispute over their farmlands. He returns to
Taipei right after he helps the villager get compensation. Afterwards, the restoration of
memory makes him realize his mother and Yi-chien have lied to him about his life
before the brain surgery. He cancels his wedding with Yi-chien because he hates to be
manipulated. Upon knowing Hsiao-le is his son, he blames Mu-cheng for concealing
the true paternity from him. He uses their child as an excuse to force her to marry
him.
The last part is mainly about the difficult task of Mu-cheng to make Kuang-hsi
regain trust in her love. Severely heart-broken by Mu-cheng’s desertion six years
earlier, Kuang-hsi’s mistrust deepens as he is jealous of her close friend, Hua To-yeh
(花拓也), who is her another suitor. To-yeh’s involvement in a murder interrupts a pivotal moment when Mu-cheng is close to disclosing the reason why she left him six years ago. The suspicion and jealousy is finally cleared off after To-yeh exposes the true reason and Mu-cheng admits her affection. The lead couple’s reunion represents the end of two leads’ quests. The initial lacks of both move 1 and move 2 are hence
60 removed.
This drama is composed of three moves. Each move is created respectively by
Mu-cheng’s quest for a bridegroom, Kuang-hsi’ quest for true love, and the purchase dispute over Hautien village as well as Kuang-hsi’ memory loss. Mucheng’s quest serves as a connecting thread that combines each move. The narrative scheme of each move is presented as follows.
Move 1:αβDEnegFnegDEnegFnegDEFaοLQMNnegMNW(=K)
Move 2:〔DEF〕3 a G DEFL↓FK
Move 3: ABCF↑Ex↓K
III. The Evolution from Fairy Tale to Romance
Basically, the schemes of the texts analyzed above do not deviate much from the
general pattern outlined by Propp. It is evident that functions D-E-F and functions
M-N are most often repeated. The journey of the hero may not always begin with
his/her exit from home especially when the quest involves emotional struggle. Thus,
functions departure(↑), return(↓), and spatial transference(G) are sometimes made use
of to create the situation for the potential couple’s encounter or their physical
separation. This is why the position of function departure or function return does not
completely correspond to that suggested by Propp. The exchange of the places among
the functions does not result in a new structural system but an inverted sequence.
61 Remaining functions are still connected to one another out of logical necessity.
In modern romance genre with a contemporary setting, neither magical things nor helpers with magical power appear in the story while the overwhelming power of love is expressed in the fictional world. From the perspective of the developing relationship, any furtherance of the love relationship between the couple can be viewed as a symbolic form of a magical agent because it signifies that this couple can deepen their relationship later and finally surmount the barriers with their stronger bond. In the fore part of the text, a series of events depicting the increasing attraction between the potential couple usually occur in the form of functions D-E-F.
Sometimes, the harm to the potential couple may be caused by the abstract force like natural disasters, sudden illness, bad luck or other coincidences. These are unique forms of function A (villainy) or function Pr (pursuit). In these cases, no concrete being is responsible for such misfortunes which either facilitate the development of the romantic relationship between the potential couple or prevent their union. It is also observed that the development of the romantic relationship is usually presented in functions D-E-F or functions M-N. As the key elements of the romance text, these functions occur repeatedly to demonstrate the gradual intensification of the potential couple’s emotional bond. The wedding is not necessarily mentioned in the text as long as there is a hint that the couple will have a harmonious relationship in the end.
62 Therefore, both a promise of marriage and a guarantee of a long-lasting relationship between the couple are forms of the last function (function W) in modern romance genre. It should be noted that the definition of function T (transfiguration) is expanded in this study to include the acquisition of a new psychological state or perception which is effected by means of love or the action of a helper.
The distribution of the roles among main characters in the texts roughly corresponds to the basic types of Propp’s dramatis personae9. The male protagonist, as
a sough-for person in the female counterpart’s quest, tends to figure both as a donor
and a helper. He tests or threatens the female protagonist who takes on the role of the
hero and then aids her by offering her concern or counsel. The shared role of a
princess (sough-for person) between the potential couple results in the multiple roles
of the female protagonist as well. The roles of a princess, a donor, and a helper are
fused and belong to the female protagonist. She tests or begs the male protagonist to
offer his help and renders him assistance or support in return.
As the text involves two moves concerning the quests of the two protagonists for
each other, there are shared roles of both the seeker and the sough-for person between
them. Both the female protagonist and the male protagonist are prone to merge the
roles of a donor and/or a helper with the role of a princess. The structural arrangement
9 The tables in Appendix II show how the seven categories of roles are assigned to the main characters in each text.
63 makes it possible to direct the focus of the narrative to both protagonists and the process of establishing a romantic relationship between the couple in the form of trials and rewards. The role of a false hero is usually performed by love rivals in most cases.
S/he is also likely to be designated as a helper as seen in Strayed and Next Stop,
Happiness or a villain in The Prince Who Turns into a Frog, and Fated to Love You.
The tendency of the potential couple and their rivals to combine other roles becomes one structural feature of the romance genre.
In most traditional fairy tales, it is a male hero that overcomes some difficulties brought by the antagonists or completes difficult tasks with the aid of some magic gifts or helpers offered by a donor figure. In modern romance genre, the narrative focuses on a female hero instead. The features of romance texts, as Pamela Regis points out, include love relationship, happy ending, and the importance of the female hero (22). Regis defines the romance text as “the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more heroines” (14). Namely, the importance of the female protagonist is highly emphasized in the romance text. The courtship plot may incorporate the quest of the female protagonist with the pursuit of the male protagonist. However, the shift of the focus to a female protagonist is not absolute in modern romance genre for high frequency of inverting the subject-object relation between the female protagonist and her male counterpart in the texts examined above.
64 The analysis results indicate the modern romance genre has retained the structure of fairy tales while some functions are slightly altered or repeated to fit in contemporary texts. Romance texts can be read as extended forms of fairy tales. The constant narrative pattern provides the audiences with basic pleasure. The fairy-tale structure enables audiences to consume the romance texts with ease and enjoyment.
However, the romance texts need to provide other facets of pleasure so that they can attract a wider audience. What are possible factors that contribute to the commercial success of the romance texts? I will continue to explore the secrets of their popularity in the following chapters.
65 Chapter Three
(Re)casting a Love Spell:
Strategies of Reworking an Old Romantic Story
The common elements in the Cinderella fairy tale identified by folklorists, according to A. K. Ramanujan, include the persecuted heroine, magic help, meeting the prince, proof of identity and marriage with the prince (266). As an extended form of the fairy tale, early romance novels develop a recurrent narrative pattern which
Tania Modleski summarizes as:
A young, inexperienced, poor to moderately well-to-do woman encounters and
becomes involved with a handsome, strong, experienced, wealthy man, older
than herself by ten to fifteen years. The heroine is confused by the hero’s
behavior since, though he is obviously interested in her, he is mocking cynical,
contemptuous, often hostile, and even somewhat brutal. By the end, however, all
misunderstandings are cleared away, and the hero reveals his love for the
heroine, who reciprocates. (36)
This pattern retains the sharp distinction of socioeconomic status between the hero and the heroine for readers to recognize this love story as the Cinderella plot type while some specific elements like magic help or the recognition scene may be replaced with more details about the events in a developing romance.
66 Laura Stempel Mumford suggests in her study about soap opera that the pleasure
of consuming all sorts of formula fiction arises from “[i]nformed speculations about
how narrative enigma will be resolved” (80). Two basic enigmas in a romance novel,
as Modleski discusses in the inquiry about the appeal of mass-marketed romances, are
related with the true motive of the hero behind his puzzling behaviors as well as the
reasons why the heroine is unique for the hero (38-39). Since the readers are certain
about the general narrative trajectory and the closure due to their familiarity with the
plot pattern, their enjoyment is directed toward the process through which the story
reaches to an end. Their main pleasure is derived from negotiating the tension
between the wish for the predicted resolution and the postponement of the narrative
closure (Mumford 84-85). This postponement requires the narration device described
by George Duckworth as “suspense of anticipation” which can facilitate the
engagement of readers/viewers with the text as they know “what is to happen, but not
when or how” and follow the progression of the narrative “with ever-increasing hope
or fear the coming of the expected event” (qtd. in Neale and Krutnik 34). Therefore,
the capacity of each individual text to heighten the sense of suspense becomes one
key to its success.
I. Reconstitution of Stereotypical Characters
Hsi Chuan’s novels provide good examples of keeping the readers in suspense by
67 her ability to renew the Cinderella pattern. A reversal of gender is employed in
Nonprincess in the Castle featuring the heroine as the woman of higher economic status than the hero. The inversion of financial positions between two leads along with the mistaken identity plot device enables readers to enjoy comic misunderstandings that ensue and makes them curious about when and how the hero gets to know the heroine is not as poor as he assumes. The hero’s attachment of the allusive meanings of affluence and poverty to the descriptors “princess” and “Cinderella” respectively implies the association of the individual identity with not only one’s family background but also his/her own lifestyle. The consistency of cultural assumptions on the metaphoric meaning of Cinderella between the author and the readers increase readers’ interests to find out how the already princess-like heroine realizes
Cinderella’s quest for love or how the Cinderella-like hero enacts the fortune reversal of rags-to-riches.
As the Cinderella tale is expanded into a romance novel, the contrast between
Cinderella and her stepsister is usually translated into the opposition between the heroine and the female rival. Aware of the conventional paring of a cute, naïve and spunky woman with a handsome, sophisticated, and ambitious entrepreneur, the author makes use of the reversed roles of Cinderella figure and her romantic rival in
Strayed, trying to make a new pair. Although the storyline follows a commonly used
68 “breakup and makeup” narrative pattern, Strayed features a rich, sexy, and beautiful
woman that is usually the embodiment of a bad woman who is a romantic rival of the
innocent heroine in other conventional romance novels. The role reversal breaks
readers’ expectations based on their previous reading experiences. It is also a
challenge for the author to persuade the readers that such a gorgeous lady is a more
suitable match for the hero than the girl next door since it is easier for readers to
identify with a relatively ordinary heroine. For readers, especially the adept ones, they
are suspicious about the justification of the couple’s reunion with the hope that the
twist on the roles can work out in the end. It is the oscillation between the suspicion
and the expectation that intrigues the readers.
The novels mentioned above illustrate Hsi Chuan’s attempts to subvert the
Cinderella conventions within the formulaic limits. Even in The Wealthy Gourmet, an undoubted Cinderella-based story about a rich businessman falling in love with his private chef, the ironic tone pervades in her description about going steady with a wealthy man.
What is it like to date with a rich man? Transported by a luxurious car, shopping
in various boutiques, participating in celebrity parties, being a focus of tabloid
photographers…Such a scenario of Cinderella versus Prince Charming is a
fantasy of a large number of female audiences, so all fellow sisters burst out
69 screaming as soon as they were told that she would go to a beauty salon and buy
attire and shoes before going to the party with Mr. Chueh…Those lonely
singletons, deeply involved in their fantasy, have created numerous versions of
romance novels even though they don’t think a clumsy woman like Feng Hsu is
likely to capture the heart of Prince Charming. (The Wealthy Gourmet 188-189)
The knowingness of the Cinderella cliché revealed in the irony adds a new flavor to
the Cinderella plot type in this novel. In this Cinderella rework, sibling rivalry for a
royal marriage is altered into a cooking contest among female youths in a matrilineal
kinship family. All competitors support the principle of fair play and form a strong
sisterhood. The role of a fairy godmother is taken on by a female supervisor who is
responsible for scoring disciples’ culinary skills. The novel becomes more readable
because of the recasting and the double-layered plot that combines the heroine’s quest
for love with her quest for the champion in the contest.
II. Reactivation of Emotional Responses
A well-structured plot with skillful employment of suspense is an essential part
in a good storytelling for sure. However, this is not an exclusive characteristic of
popular romance texts. People who consume romance texts expect to experience the
feelings during a courtship. The feeling of love needs to be mediated through “the risk,
vulnerability, and hesitation typical of flirtation” and culminates in a couple’s union
70 (Grindon 21). Experiencing the courtship depicted in the texts gives readers/viewers
“the sense of exquisite tension, anticipation and excitement” without worrying about the disappointment or embarrassment elicited by romantic failure because they are quite acquainted with the predictable happily-ever-after end (65). So, another kind of pleasure comes from sharing emotional ups and downs of the characters during the development of a satisfying love relationship.
The conventions employed in Next Stop, Happiness such as antagonism into love, parental objection, secret pregnancy, memory loss, a forced marriage, and makeup after a series of misunderstandings are not unusual in the romance genre. The implausibility of these sensational events must be balanced by sufficient credibility for the audience to “care about what happens to the characters and to be able to relate to their feelings, situation and emotional journey” (Mortimer 73). The performance virtuosity of central characters in this drama is vital in terms of prompting viewers’ immediate affective responses. For example, the female protagonist’s sobbing when she unbuttons her shirt under the male protagonist’s threat, her whimpering after rescued from her stepfather’s attempted rape and her silent tears as she realizes the male protagonist has forgotten her draw the audience’s empathy successfully. Ien Ang explains the emotions recognized as real construct a “psychological reality” that calls for the audience’s involvement in an fictional world experienced as pleasurable (47,
71 49).
In this fictional world exists a seductive fantasy where the “mean, moody, and magnificent” romantic hero discovers that “without the heroine he is no longer able to enjoy his life” and is conquered by the heroine in the end (Donald 81, 83). Just as
Tamar Jeffers Mcdonald claims, “the conflicting pulls of realism and fantasy” provide complicated pleasures that appeal to audiences (7-8). The intricate combination of familiar narrative devices and the verisimilitude produced by performers’ excellent acting skills reinforce the cliffhanging effect of this drama.
One effective way to maximize the popularity of a text is to hybridize generic traits (Mcdonald 8). Contemporary idol dramas tend to multiply audience appeal by adding comic elements to a romantic narrative. Both laughter generated by hilarious situations and crying elicited by the pain, loss, or distress related with love along the path to an optimistic conclusion are central parts in the narrative. In Next Stop,
Happiness, the sentimental tone is sometimes interlaced with the trivial play of humor, like the linguistic humor revealed in the names of residents in the village where the two leads reencounter, or the comic moment in which the male protagonist tries desperately to dry his hand when his son’s urine drops accidentally on it.
Another drama Fate to Love You deploys many comic conventions to amuse the audience. For example, a romantic sex scene is interrupted by the scenes of a missile
72 firing, a plane lifting off and a train passing through the tunnel. The female protagonist is mistaken for a robber and gets caught in the public toilet. Then, unexpectedly, the result of her pregnancy test is broadcasted in the live news report. In other cases, the male protagonist falls into the sea accidentally on his way to his business rival’s factory; unintentionally, he admits that he impregnates the female protagonist and is beaten seriously by her mother as she blames him for his irresponsible behavior. Subsequently, his awkward behaviors teased by his grandmother and assistant are also amusing as he fails to suppress his growing affection toward the female protagonist. The unexpected and misunderstandings give delight to the viewers and drive them to expect next comic surprise. The comic figures are primarily the secondary characters like the female protagonist’s family members, the male protagonist’s grandmother and his assistant. They place an important part in generating laughter. The comedy of this drama serves to reassure the audience there is always “a safety net where all will come well at the end” even though the central characters are “put through the emotional wringers” (Mortimer
146).
The manifestation of the delightful facet of love indicates the contemporary preference for developing a romantic relationship in a light-hearted way. The Prince
Who Turns into a Frog depicts the first encounter of the two leads in a comic moment
73 when the female lead, unaware of the hole on her shorts, exposes her underwear in public. The female lead’s declaration scene occurs when she assumes mistakenly that the male lead is dead. She confesses her love toward him openly in the hospital, only to find that he is still alive and hears what she has said. Even when turbulence in their relationship appears, the sentimental aura is neutralized by the comic tone the secondary characters establish. A delicate interweavement of emotions intensifies affective responses and cultivates a balance between comic distance and emotional involvement to satisfy the desire for laughter and love (Gridon 23).
III. Re-creation of the Modern Prince
The portrayal of the development of a satisfying love relationship is usually
concerned with “the u-turns in love, the sharp veering ironies of human conditions,
the coincidences of chance, the luck of the draw, the cute-meet” and above all,
“[u]topias promised between the book’s covers but never experienced in reality”
(Kaler 6). The affirmation of the ideal love relationship in the romance texts creates a
fantasy of “love triumphant and permanent, overcoming all obstacles and difficulties”
(Cawelti 41-42). Even in the revised fairy-tale-based romance, what remains
unchanged is the resonating theme of unconditional love as a reward for a modern
woman who follows her instincts and her heart (Smith 61).
Georgina Isbister claims postfeminism manages to resolve the uneasy
74 relationship between feminism and femininity as well as the independence/love dilemma contemporary women face by repackaging and assimilating feminist ideals into a heteronormative context (7, 11). Its superficial assumptions of feminist ethos result in “the diversity and sometimes paradoxical expressions of female identity”
(12). As the romance genre evolves into the postfeminist era, the modernization of
Cinderella figure represented in contemporary romance texts exemplifies such contradictions, as will be analyzed in next chapter.
A noticeable shift of gender representations can be also found in the images of the male characters. Since the postfeminist discourse stresses women’s autonomy, freedom and choices, it follows that one of the most crucial decisions a woman can make is to choose the right man:
The postfeminist fantasy—that feminism did its work in eliminating barriers to
equality, massively expanded women’s “choices,” and gave them the tools they
need to solve any problems that come their way—depends on the possibility of
postfeminist men as the most crucial of those tools. (Dow, “The Traffic in Men”
127)
The depiction of each ideal male partner in romance texts entails the accommodation to contemporary expectations, interests and pleasures in order to make the romantic fantasy work. The following analysis will focus on the “good man” image women
75 dream of in the postfeminist age.
In Amy Burns’ observation of male images in women’s fiction, six aspects of masculinity are coded as important qualifications of a desirable lover for contemporary women. They are attractiveness, success, mystery, broken-heartedness, domesticity and devotion to the heroine (1). The fairy tale version gives little information about the prince except for his royal parentage that implies his power and wealth. Compared to this vague imagery, the male protagonists in contemporary romance texts, the incarnations of the prince figure, are fuller roles whose expressions of masculinity in common are their attractive appearances, professional achievement and tender emotions. These features fit in with Burns’ argument about the “new man” image. I suggest these attributes are closely associated with consumer culture. In other words, the male protagonist in the romance texts, to be perceived as “a princely man”, is expected to hold the purchasing power so that he can adorn himself and please his beloved woman.
Words like “handsome”, “gorgeous” or “good-looking” are commonly used in the physical description of the romantic hero. The author may try to enhance the plausibility of his attractiveness through the voice of female characters or the objective narrator. In The Wealthy Gourmet, for example, one female character’s tone
of speech reveals what a heartthrob the hero is: “Who is that man? Wow, how
76 gorgeous! I know him. I saw his photo before. He looks much more handsome in person than on the photo” (Hsi 17). Another instance is the hero in Nonprincess in the
Castle who is depicted as a man wishing to marry a lady of a wealthy family. The narrator makes positive comments on his eligibility:
All their kin determined to marry a rich lady so as to reduce their economic
burden and take a shortcut to success. They meet the eligibility criteria indeed.
They all perform well in academic studies. They are so handsome, tall,
upstanding and mild-mannered that they have attracted a lot of female admirers
since they were young. (Hsi 13-14)
In addition to a fine-looking face, a sexy body becomes a requirement for male attractiveness.
Gee, what a hot kiss scene of the handsome guy and the belle. It is more
sensational than a TV show…
“ I never know that graceful guy is so passionate.”
“ Neither do I. How I wish to take a look at his figure hidden under the suit. It
must be spectacular.”
“He is not merely gorgeous and wealthy. He even has a vigorous body. It is Not
fair.” (Hsi, Strayed 139)
The dialogue above not only suggests the appreciation of the hero’s appearance but
77 also reveal a peculiar phenomenon in contemporary popular culture.
Rosalind Gill notices that the pervasive sexualization of current media culture results in frequent erotic presentation of both males’ and females’ bodies while women are portrayed as active, desiring sexual subjects who plays with her sexual power (150-151). The unashamed admission of desiring to watch a male’s body mentioned above hints a new way of looking. The male is being looked at and
evaluated by female characters within the text. The reader can feel what one character
feels through identification; S/he can use one character as placeholder, taking an
objectively analytical stance toward the character’s actions, words, and emotions as
well ( Kinsale 32). Therefore, the reader outside the text can not only look vicariously
with these female characters at the male but also measure their evaluation of him
(Burns 4-5).
The female gaze is made more obvious in televisual texts. The drama The Prince
Who Turns into a Frog introduces the male protagonist with several sequences which
highlight the way he dresses, walks, and talks in a limelight and the admiring remarks
from female employees. Moreover, the first episode of Fated to Love You caters to the
audience’s interest by displaying the uncovered body of the male protagonist with
only a pair of swimming trunks on. Both of the male leads in Fated to Love You and
Next Stop, Happiness are shown taking a shower with the lingering shot on their
78 abdominal or upper back muscles. Most well-fitted attire of the male protagonists in these idol dramas accentuates their stature. The visual pleasure here can be said to be different from that depending on the “woman as image/ man as bearer of the look” mechanism analyzed by Laura Mulvey (11). The inversed role of the woman as an active looker, however, does not challenge conventional masculinity model.
According to Tim Edwards, the irony of the so-called New Man images of well dressed and muscular masculinity lies in the expression of many old views. They still focus on traditional values of virility and success (43, 54). The commercialized masculine scripts promote a hierarchy of masculinities based on appearance and exclude the lives and experiences of economically and socially marginalized men
(Beynon 108).
In addition to the link with sexual appeal, the fine-tailored office dress and the stylish casual wear of the male protagonist gain associations of rank and status in society. Tim Edwards notes that men’s dress can demonstrate status “through the level of expense involved” (16). Explicit marks of the high status and high income of the male protagonists are their occupations such as a manager of a big company in
Strayed, The Wealthy Gourmet, and The Prince Who Turns into a Frog, a business owner in Fated to love you, or a lawyer in Next Stop, Happiness. Otherwise, he is
depicted as an aspiring and capable man who has the potential to ascend the corporate
79 ladder like the hero in Nonprincess in the Castle. Most of them live in mansions, drive shiny and expensive cars, hire house maids, drivers and executive assistants, dine out in high-class restaurants, enjoy VIP treatment in lofty clubs, and have easy access to limited edition products. All of these privileges complete “the corporate power look” of a man who is definitely “in control and on the up” (Edwards 41).
The texts try to distinguish the male leads from the profligate and incompetent men by linking their sufficient affluence with individual professional skills and hard work. The hero in Strayed is described as an intelligent and scrupulous negotiator in
the business sphere who always prioritizes his work. In The Wealthy Gourmet, the hero has to prove his excellent skills in corporate management before he is allowed to inherit familial property. In The Prince Who Turns into a Frog, the revival of an inn nearly closed down relies on the specialized hotel management ability of the male lead. The male protagonist in Next stop, Happiness is a top-rated lawyer who wins almost every lawsuit. As for the male protagonist in Fated to Love You, he is competent enough to expand his family firm into an international enterprise, marketing the products to foreign countries. Their financial success coupled with the career achievement represents a respectable masculinity.
The equation of tasteful consumption with the elite masculinity is salient in these texts. The members in the Chueh family depicted in The Wealthy Gourmet are rich by
80 birth. Their abilities to choose fine food are taken for granted. The consumption of worldwide delicacies is essential in their lifestyle. The preference for fancy places is also assumed to be an indication of good taste. Therefore, the hero in Strayed astonishes his employees when he enters a small cafeteria: “all employees eating in the cafeteria see him. Their manager is so noble, tasteful and picky that he even asks his private chef to prepare his lunchbox. To everyone’s surprise, he will dine here”
(Hsi 33). An astute consumer’s insight is also implied when the hero in Nonprincess in the Castle observes the heroine’s dress and table setting: “Though she is not wearing designer brands, the decent style of her clothing matching suggests she is a woman of noble birth…A white plate which looks expensive, silverware with carved patterns, and a goblet with red wine in it…The scene conveys a strong sense of tastefulness” (Hsi 44, 52). In addition, the male leads’ demands for a unique design of a wedding ring or the coded meanings of their trendy outfits shown in the TV dramas enhance the link of economic/professional success with high-quality-based (also high-price-afforded) consumption practices.
Kathleen Rowe asserts that a caring masculinity closely bound to the ability to make money allows the transformation of evil and destructive aspects of capitalism
(199). The hero’s transformation in Strayed offers a good example. His obsession with work used to make the heroine feel neglected. As he decides to make up with her, he
81 begins to please her by tolerating her defiance, serving the breakfast, and giving her monthly disposable contact lens as a present which suggests his attention to the trivial matters in her life. The heroine is surprised at his accurate knowledge about the degree of her refractive error. What moves her is his careful thought even if the present is not as expensive as those jewels given to her before. If the hero’s flaws associated with the negative kind of capitalism seem correctible, Kathleen Rowe maintains that capitalism itself is affirmed to be ultimately right (199).
In Fated to Love You, a nurturing quality of the male protagonist is expressed through his chivalry of spending a large amount of money in the casino to revenge the female protagonist on her cheating boyfriend. Without hesitation, he buys the female protagonist a yacht as a birthday present for two million NT dollars because she wants to eat local Chinese buns sold in her hometown located across the river. What matters may be the fact that he makes the buns by hand for her. But such a lavish way he spends his money suggests he can provide his beloved woman with an affluent life. A bread-or-love dilemma is resolved by the depiction of a successful businessman who is a caring, nurturing and devoted lover. But too much emphasis on the economic prowess tied to the masculinity, as Kathleen Rowe warns us, not only confirms the power of capitalism but also reassures male authority (200).
Abby Zidle argues the reconstruction of the mass-market romance hero results
82 from women’s dissatisfaction with the limited versions of manhood composed by the playboy and the wildman:
The hero often begins as the playboy (or has played this role in his past),
extravagant in his consumption of money, goods, and women. Finding this
constant gratification ultimately unsatisfying, upon meeting the heroine, he
begins to move through the wildman role. He begins to be more aware of his
own feelings, his own need for nurture, and his lack of emotional connection to
others. The novel culminated in the hero’s departure from both roles, keeping
his wealth and emotional awareness but directing it toward the heroine and her
needs. (29)
The passage cited above can be viewed as an outline of a typical romance text characterized by the redemption plot. Earlier romances depict more about the hero’s frivolity, contempt, even violence until he is reformed into a tender nurturer near the end of the narrative. However, Dawn Heinecken contends that newer western romance novels put more emphasis on his sensitivity and gentleness. Simply speaking, the heroes in earlier romances become softened; new heroes start soft (164).
Similar changes are found in romance texts examined in this research. Utilizing the redemption plot, Next Stop, Happiness completes the transformation of the angry and cynical male protagonist in the early episodes. His vulnerability is disclosed when
83 he is diagnosed with a brain tumor. His pursuit for intimacy, mutual care and commitment in a romantic partnership encourages a belief that men have evolved “at a pace consistent with feminist thought” (Zidle 25). His special fondness for his son without knowing their biological relationship is premised on the legitimacy of male nurturance in (post)feminist discourses. His heroic aspect is manifested through his gallant behavior when he stops the scoundrel from drugging the female protagonist.
He is eager to help powerless villagers fight against the large corporate enterprise to reclaim their land ownership. He embodies the qualities of a benevolently paternal figure: both nurturing and protective. If male nurturance is naturalized in this text, the paternal dominance in the nuclear family is also reasserted. The new version of masculinity takes into account feminist critiques of traditionally masculine traits by softening the harsh aspects. Mary Douglas Vavrus argues some traditional notions about men are challenged in the revised representations while “significant aspects of patriarchal privilege within domestic space” and “a connection between men and heterosexuality” remain intact (353).
The overt treatment of men’s frustration and sensitivity is detectable in the characterization of the romantic hero in Nonprincess in the Castle. The author mentions his unpleasant experience in the company rather than persists in depicting a man always in control of his work. He does not mind that his self-disclosure in front
84 of the heroine may disrupt his manliness. He cares for the heroine meticulously when she suffers from stomachache; he notices her melancholy alertly when she resists expressing all her feelings. Most importantly, he guides her patiently on the path of recovery from childhood trauma. The presentation of the father-daughter relationship in the closing scene works to reinforce the “soft man” image: “The man gave a loving kiss to his wife and daughter when he came home after working overtime. His daughter told him the story she had just heard…‘Go to sleep now. You have to go to school tomorrow. There will be many kids waiting to play with my little princess’ said the man in a gentle, lulling tone” (Hsi, Nonprincess 252).
The evolved representation of ideal male mate gives credence to postfeminist claims about the progressive sexual politics. Being quite different from those stereotypical heroes who have a fear of commitment and marriage, the male protagonist in The Wealthy Gourmet is much more eager to settle down and start a family. He is also willing to support the heroine’s career and take more responsibility in the domestic sphere. He promises he will assist her rather than hinder her in the search for career advancement:
You don’t need to consider my expectations if you hope to achieve the peak of
your career. As your boyfriend, husband-to-be and lifelong partner, I hope you
can realize your dream. I won’t be an obstacle in your career path…Personally, I
85 do not approve of your earning the title of Feng’s lead. But I hope that we will
not feel regretful when we get old. This is why I help you willingly…I like you
because you value your job. I appreciate your attention, your talent, your
spirituality, and your efforts. I take my career seriously, too. I admit I am
reluctant to see you take the position of Feng’s lead. However, I will support you
anyway. (Hsi 231, 234-235).
The resolution of the career/family conflicts is achieved by constructing an ideal image of a romantic hero. What an ambitious woman need is a perfect partner embodied by the male protagonist who will “soothe, cherish, share the chores, as well as the social and sexual pleasures” and recognize that what she does is as important as he does (Chapman 231).
To many heterosexual women who want to have it all, the idealized romantic partner reflects their yearning:
If the contemporary, heterosexual woman finds herself flummoxed in the face of
all the various roles, often at odds with each other, that she must
play—professional, partner, mother, never-aging vixen, moral leader, etc.— then
it only makes sense that her fantasized mate must also negotiate a highly
convoluted personality. (Mukherjea 11)
John Beynon argues contemporary versions of masculinity tend to weave the traits of
86 “nurturer-narcissist” (120). If his contention about the feminization of men is correct, the hybridized form of manliness fantasized in the romance texts, I’d say, proves women’s craving for an all-embracing partnership. The paragon of manhood—a successful professional, a devoted lover, a caring father, a supportive husband and a responsible provider—not only brings together the ideals of both the nurturing and the narcissistic man but also incorporates the endearing traits of traditional masculinity.
Just as Margaret Marshment’s direct comment on the more admirable aspects of conventional masculinity, they are viewed acceptable by society and feminist standards (33). A conditional combination of positive aspects of both patriarchal and feminine characteristics, though some qualities are contradictory, makes the main male characters in the romance texts riveting. They are syntheses of the breadwinner and the caregiver roles.
Rowena Chapman claims the new man ideal is a reactionary figure that is manipulated to reinforce the existing power structure:
The new man is many things—a humanist ideal, a triumph of style over content,
a legitimation of consumption, a ruse to persuade those that called for change
that it has already occurred… he is patriarchal mutation, a redefinition of
masculinity in men’s favour, a reinforcement of the gender order, representing
an expansion of its power over women and deviant men. (247)
87 Despite the worry that male dominance continues to be widely socially approved,
Ananya Mukherjea appreciates the contribution of popular literature in responding female yearnings and needs as well as addressing feminine desires and pleasures (12,
16). Every instance of confronting gender stereotypes, as Marshment remarks, has its own limitation. If we dismiss it as merely co-option of feminist values into the service of patriarchy, we will risk negating its partially progressive messages (43). The pervasive postfeminist discourse with its rhetoric of equality and choice validates the desired masculinity in the romantic fantasy. Furthermore, its contradictory nature allows diverse evaluations of the romance texts. This may be a challenge for critics but not for readers/viewers who draw multiple forms of pleasures from the texts which assume both the gains of women’s movement and the benefits of patriarchal protection. “Having it all”, according to Deborah Philips, turns out to be about
“having it both ways” (251).
A successful formulaic work, as John G. Cawelti suggests, should bring new elements in addition to the pleasure inherent in the conventional structure (12). The texts analyzed in this study offer the basic pleasure by the conventional story pattern expressed in the exquisitely detailed and well-paced narration. Their appeal is increased by introducing an unexpected facet of the stereotypical characters, arranging the conventions in a particular manner, or adding a touch of humor. John
88 Fiske contends that a television program needs to be polysemic so that “it can serve the interests of the dominant and of the subordinate at one and the same time” (406).
His argument is applicable to account for the popularity of the texts analyzed here.
The postfeminist discourse embedded in the texts corresponds to the current trend in our popular culture. It also makes both preferred and oppositional readings possible because the gender representations in these texts are based on the “double entanglement”, described by Angela McRobbie as the coexistence of neoconservative values and feminist agendas (“Postfeminism and Popular Culture” 28). Therefore, the texts can attract a wider audience.
89 Chapter Four
A Double Face of Modern Cinderella:
Two-sided Femininities in Postfeminist Culture
Fairy tales are believed to be one tool for acculturation. The negative models for readers are those heroines who are exalted for being pretty, patient and passive. A misleading link among beauty, traditionally feminine virtues and a happy-ever-after marriage in most fairy tales is the target of critique. Marcia K. Lieberman claims that the Cinderella story is a prime example of female martyrdom. It suggests a patient sufferer “who is singled out for rejection and bad treatment, and who submits to her lot, weeping but never running away, has a special compensatory destiny awaiting her” (194). With a stand against female passivity, Karen E. Rowe affirms that the subtle causality implied by the linkage of sexual awakening with materialistic gain in romantic tales encourages women to adopt conventional female virtues and patterns of desire approved by cultural norms (217). The romantic patterns transmitted from fairy tales to popular fictions, as Karen E. Rowe states, still influences female expectations of their roles in patriarchal cultures:
Although conscious that all men are not princes and some are unconvertible
beasts and that she isn’t a princess, even in disguise, still the female dreams of
that ‘fabulous man’. But as long as modern women continue to tailor their
90 aspirations and capabilities to conform with romantic paradigms, they will live
with deceptions, disillusionments, and/or ambivalences. (222)
Moving away from criticizing unilaterally the conservative aspects of Perrault’s version of Cinderella, Mei Huang maintains that its textual complexity and ambiguity open up more interpretive possibilities. She tries to differentiate Cinderella from
Snow White or the Sleeping Beauty by highlighting some textual evidences which imply the emergence of her agency: “Perrault’s Cinderella, though apparently more passive than other of her sister cinder girls, does express her will and take the initiative at the crucial points of her life” (4). The ambiguity, as Mei Huang suggests, becomes the paradox of Cinderella theme: “on the one hand, the heroine is praised for her humility, her patience and self-effacement; yet on the other hand, all the vivid details hint at a longing and plotting girl, one who is the necessary underside of the
Christianized heroine” (5).
The ideological contradictions Mei Huang recognizes within the fairy tale are more apparent in contemporary popular romances. Modern Cinderella occupies various subject positions that oscillate between powerfulness and powerlessness, fragility and strength, activity and passivity. Changes in female representations put forward an empowered femininity, responding to earlier feminist critiques of feminine conventions and renegotiating the relationship between feminism and femininity. The
91 femininity involving glamorous youth, domesticity, and emotional passivity is reinterpreted with new meanings of female empowerment, feminine strength and individual choice. This process of resignification creates a more complex and paradoxical form of contemporary femininity. It can be argued that the ambiguous quality of a “postfeminist femininity” (or coined as “postfemininity” by Stéphanie
Genz) constitutes the paradox of modern Cinderella: a link with feminist discourses of female emancipation is established “without fully relinquishing its heteronormative, patriarchal connections” (Postfemininities 83, 96).
Contemporary popular romances reserve a space for a postfeminist discourse that entangles both feminist and anti-feminist themes. The features that comprise a postfeminist discourse, as Rosalind Gill has identified, include:
the notion that femininity is a bodily property; the shift from objectification to
subjectification; the emphasis upon self-surveillance, monitoring and discipline;
a focus upon individualism, choice and empowerment; the dominance of a
makeover paradigm; a resurgence in ideas of natural difference; a marked
sexualization of culture; and an emphasis upon consumerism and the
commodification of difference. (149)
The tension between female agency and patriarchal objectification is resolved by the notions of personal choice and self-regulation. Angela McRobbie argues “the regime
92 of personal responsibility” appeals to the young generation because of its emphasis on
“the enlargement of freedom and choice” (“Post-feminism” 261, 260). Feminist notions of female empowerment and agency make the postfeminist discourse acceptable and marketable. The “feminine feminist” stance, according to Genz, is possible within a postfeminist framework that allows of the transformation and resignification of traditional femininity (Postfemininities 27). It is from this feminine
feminist stance, as I will demonstrate later, that readers/viewers can gain pleasure
from consuming the romance texts without the guilty of forgetting their feminist
loyalties.
I. Performances of Glamorous and Classed Femininity
The hidden agenda in a large number of romance texts is the important role of visual effect in attracting male attention. Linda K. Christian-Smith notes that the code of beautification found in romance novels convinces the readers that “beauty is the ticket to romantic success, power, and prestige” (43). Lots of women spend much time and energy on their appearances no matter how unattainable the beauty ideal is.
The beauty myth, as Naomi Wolf asserts, is “the last one remaining of the old feminine ideologies” and it “seek[s] right now to undo psychologically and covertly all the good things that feminism did for women materially and overtly” (10-11).
Dean MacCannell and Juliet Flower MacCannell use the term “feminine beauty
93 system” to refer to diverse cultural practices permeated with such an ideology. They claim the beauty system not only reinforces male dominance but also maintains cultural power under a masculine sign (208). As this system of beauty extends from high culture to popular mythology, women are offered few role models except for those women cling to rigid physical standards set by men’s culture, appearing on the screen and the glossy page (Wolf 58-59).
Current romance texts based on the Cinderella pattern usually feature a woman of average beauty or fairly plainness rather than a stunning beauty. The attribute to attract the male protagonist is mental capacity rather than physical appearance. In this respect, it can be argued that more focus on the female protagonist’s personality than her look is a sign of progress from a gender perspective. However, the make over paradigm frequently employed in these texts suggests the contradictory views about ideal femininity and the uneasy relationship between feminism and beauty practices.
A fairy-tale version of metamorphosis is made possible by supernatural guidance and magic power while a typical makeover scene in contemporary romance text depicts how the female protagonist is transformed into a beautiful lady through the modern magic of fashion and beauty practices. Her transfiguration enables her to gain men’s approval, especially the male protagonist’s admiration. This narrative convention undermines the notion about the privileged value of inner goodness over
94 outer beauty. Besides, it emphasizes the importance of the male evaluation when it comes to the judgment on female attractiveness.
In contrast with the absolute protest again fashion and beauty practices which are claimed by some critics as a form of women’s compliance with the patriarchal norm of feminine beauty, the investment in a feminine appearance, according to Paula
Black, is simultaneously associated with pleasure and freedom for the “have it all” generation despite the pressure and restriction to appear groomed (154). For Black, the endeavor to achieve an ideal femininity is women’s active choice to “make the best of their situation within a field of limited potentials” (157). A “power femininity”, a term coined by Michelle M. Lazar to describe a modern feminine identity in the post-feminist context, becomes a feminine subject position that reinterprets the self-aestheticization through beauty practices as a means to combine feminist empowerment with patriarchal codes of femininity (506). The post-feminist subject adopts femininity as a liberating determinism that confines as well as creates, oppresses as well as relieve, inhabiting a contradictory space that is both constraining and emancipating (Genz, “(Re)Making the Body Beautiful” 73).
The episodes about the female protagonist’s makeover in the drama Fated to love you exemplify the two-sidedness of femininity. With the attempt to give Chen Hsi-yi’s two-timing boyfriend a lesson, the male protagonist Chi Tsun-hsi demands that the
95 stylist in the salon transforms her into an attractive woman—a woman, in his sense, captures men’s attention easily. Hsi-yi’s makeover is effected by replacing her
old-fashioned eyeglasses and conservative dress with contact lenses and a beautiful
outfit along with a decent hairstyle and the use of makeup. It turns out that her
presence at the VIP casino immediately provokes whispers about how beautiful and
radiant she is. Her unfaithful boyfriend Ku Chih, who is stunned by her change can
hardly avert his eyes. The deliberate use of physical beauty helps Hsi-yi occupy the
position which can offer the empowerment represented by the complimentary
comments of the spectators in the casino as well as the approving cheer of the
audiences who expect the upcoming revenge on Ku Chih’s prior insult to her.
Although the male gaze is still paramount, the controlling gaze is refined into an
admiring gaze. Hilary Rader draws on Laura Mulvey’s notions of fetishism and
femininity to assert a woman can “control the gaze of the male (rather than being
controlled)” by becoming the fetish purposely (69). A post-feminist woman is likely
to construct desirable femininity self-consciously for her own use. Her relation to
femininity, discussed by Charlotte Brunsdon, is different from either the pre-feminist
or the feminist woman:
She is neither trapped in femininity (pre-feminist), nor rejecting of it (feminist).
She can use it. However, although this may mean apparently inhabiting a very
96 similar terrain to the pre-feminist woman, who manipulates her appearance to
get the man, the post-feminist woman also has ideas about her life and being in
control which clearly come from feminism. She may manipulate her appearance,
but she doesn’t just do it to get a man on the old terms. (86)
In Hsi-yi’s case, her transformation may not be a thorough one within a post-feminist’s project of self-presentation because her original meekness is not adapted to the change of her exterior. However, her makeover goal is not to get a man but to punish a man for his false sincerity and unfaithfulness. Ku Chih’s gaze with astonishment not only verifies his shallowness but proves her triumph.
The triumph is not achieved without a price. The sequence of Hsi-yi’s process of transformation focuses on her squeezing into the girdle, her suffering when plucking her leg hair as well as the discomfort and awkwardness of putting on contact lenses.
Though these aesthetic labors are represented in a comic way, they illustrate the pain a woman has to endure as she tries to make herself look good. Repeated and endless efforts are required to embody the beauty ideal. The heroine in the novel Strayed, for example, is depicted as a particularly beautiful woman blessed with naturally physical advantages. Ironically, the grooming routine takes her at least three hours. The restrictive feature of beauty procedures is signaled by the impatience of other female characters when they leave the facial mask on. They even describe themselves as
97 victims confined to bed with a lump of “mud” on their faces (Hsi, Strayed 169). The beauty practices revealed to be empowering may be also enslaving since the maintenance of beauty is such a time-consuming and highly demanding job.
The aesthetic labors also call attention to the performative acts of femininity and the constructiveness of gender identity. The makeover scene conveys implicitly that the potential for transformation is premised on the modifiability of one’s appearance through the use of cosmetic products and fashionable dresses. Although the makeover sequences suggest the ways in which women can shift between different looks and construct different femininities, the narrative of the drama Fated to Love You highlights the precariousness of the masquerading image. Hsi-yi undergoes the second transformation as she decides to disentangle herself from the past. She determines to shake off the meekness, the sense of inferiority, and her anguish over the miscarriage in order to live a new life. She changes her hair style, learns to apply makeup, goes to art classes and becomes a ceramics. She makes herself over to be an independent, confident and stylish woman named Elaine. This improved image turns out to be only a disguise for her true feelings. She remains affectionately attached to the man Chi
Tsu-hsi, who she fails to forget as is revealed by her confessional whisper “I still wants to be your Chen Hsi-yi” while he is sleeping. What she means by the name
Hsi-yi may not be the previous self who is always meek and unconfident but the one
98 who used to have the access to accompany her beloved man. Efrat Tseëlon points out in the questionnaire-based study that a sense of confidence derived from the outer look has a fragile base, stating that “ [u]nder a scrutinizing gaze, or under the fear of one, the self-assuring image seems to crumble. Good appearance is a shield which is easily pierced” (63). For Hsi-yi, the emotionally vulnerable self is exposed finally under the power of love, or to put it more concretely, under the loving gaze of the man
she desires for.
Tseëlon argues that the one who is doing the gaze may not always achieve the
position of power by providing an example of the gaze of two men in the context of
courtly love: “The gaze of the socially superior husband is that of powerful
surveillance. The gaze of the troubadour who is her social inferior is that of the
powerless unconsummated desire.” (70). The dynamic power/gaze structure is
illustrated in the context of Hsi-yi’s makeover in the drama Fated to love you. The
gaze of the unfaithful boyfriend in her first transformation does not situate her in the
position of powerlessness as the object of the gaze. It implies his groveling reverence
which confirms the victory in her revenge. The gaze of her beloved man in her second
transformation reminds her of the unrealized romantic desire which renders her
powerless; while it also suggests the man does not necessarily occupy the position of
ultimate power since he is also relatively powerless as he desires for her reciprocal
99 love. The powerfulness of his gaze is partially conferred by Hsi-yi’s failure to repress her own affection.
The uncovering of one’s real self behind the masquerade contributes to the emotional and sexual tension between the potential couple as Hsi-yi’s case in Fated to
love you and the case in the novel Strayed. In the world of Strayed, the female
protagonist is Ho Man-nung, depicted as a classy, sexy and wealthy woman who used
to be a visually other in Cinderella-themed texts. The Cinderella figure is translated
into the character Hsu Wei-lien (徐薇蓮), depicted as a naïve, outspoken and
interesting working-class woman who serves as the foil for Man-nung. The disguise
as a docile and meek lady makes Man-nung a dull woman in the eye of the male
protagonist. After their breakup, she is no longer eager to please him. Only when she
shows her defiance and headstrongness can she capture his heart.
Good performance of the right sort of femininity becomes an important measure
of marriageability. One of the concerns of this novel is the relationship between
marriageability and lifestyles associated with the class background. Hsu Wei-lien, as
many other Cinderella figures in the romance genre, attracts the male protagonist by
her simplicity and unsophistication. However, the conventional logic that the
opposites attract does not work in this novel. Behind her frugality and the male
protagonist’s generosity are their different attitudes toward money. Her
100 unpretentiousness on some occasions may not fit in with social etiquette. The discrepancy in their preferred way of living suggests their mismatch. The novelist tries to show that the desirable femininity centers not only on a good appearance but on acceptable behaviors which are sanctioned by upper-class people. It is a classed femininity that the Cinderella persona needs to perform so as to be recognized as the princess in disguise and to be chosen as a suitable marriage partner. The novelist plays with the dialectic relationship between the naturalness and artificiality, trying to negotiate an “appropriate” femininity between social expectations and individual choices. Being too pretentious as Man-nung is conceals her natural charm, whereas being too straightforward, for Wei-lien, suggests her lack of cultivation.
II. Domesticity and Feminine Strength
Most of female protagonists in contemporary romance genre need to pass the
preliminary test. The test constitutes the early phase of the love relationship between
the potential couple. This part explains why the male protagonist is attracted. The
narrative which elaborates this part and creates the wonderful chemistry well between
the pair is more likely to arouse readers’ interest. The domestic test, formulated by
Kay Mussell in the study of western romance fiction, shapes the conventions of
romance. It requires women to prove their worth by performing service roles as a wife,
a mother and a homemaker.
101 It requires heroines to maintain feminine qualities that attract heroes without
relying on artifice or design. It guides women as they learn to express their
sexual impulses at the right time with the proper mate. It places a premium on
nurturing behavior toward children and the weak, and it rewards women with
traditionally feminine interests in homemaking. Success comes to women who
possess the innate traits of good women—sexual control, modesty, intuition,
selflessness, caring—but who use those qualities actively to benefit others.
(Mussell 90)
Whether the female protagonist can win Mr. Right relies on her performance in the domestic test. The content of the test offers an alternative discourse to counterbalance the emphasis on outer beauty implied by the makeover convention.
However, the notion of inner beauty is based on the traditional assumptions of proper female behaviors. The domestic qualities required in the test accord with patriarchal ideals of feminine virtues.
Betty Friedan has articulated her refusal to conform to such a domestic femininity in her influential book The Feminine Mystique first published in 1963. She tries to debunk the illusionary image of a happy suburban housewife by pointing out countless women are trapped in a feeling of desperation, dissatisfaction or frustration.
These women struggle with “the problem with no name” for they are socialized to
102 cherish this mystique of feminine fulfillment as wives and mothers (15). The narrow definition of a respectable femininity locks women in the patriarchal service roles and blocks the search for their own complete human identity. Friedan encourages women to break through the feminine mystique by looking for creative work which enables her to grow as part of society (345).
The impact of Friedan’s text is so great that many feminists join her in disapproving the domesticity imposed on women. Stéphanie Genz thinks their devaluation of domestic practices creates “a dichotomy between private and public spheres, between downtrodden housewife and the feminist revolutionary” (“I Am Not a Housewife” 51). In response to the resignification of domesticity as female agency and the shift of the purpose of paid work from personal fulfillment to economic necessity due to the changing socioeconomic and cultural context, Genz argues that domestic femininity is “a site of undecideability, of meaning in question” (“I Am Not a Housewife” 50). The diverse spectrum of ways of being and living encompassed by the domestic femininity deserves scrutiny in (post)feminist terms (Genz, “I Am Not a
Housewife” 52).
The drama Next Stop, Happiness illustrates the renegotiation of the relationship between feminism and domestic femininity. Depicted as a beautiful, kindly, nurturing and diligent woman, the female protagonist Liang Mu-cheng resembles the heroines
103 in earlier romances in many ways. Yet, this drama tries to add a few inspiring touches to her attributes. Born in a wealthy family, Mu-cheng used to live in affluence until her father’s death and bankruptcy. The impoverishment does not frustrate her; instead she lives with her stepmother, choosing to bear the hardships boldly and optimistically.
Her courage and integrity even influence the rakish hero and heals his emotional wound later. Though misunderstood as a mercenary by the male protagonist’ mother, she refuses to accept the break-up fee and defends herself softly instead of weeping timidly or swallowing the insult silently just like the meek heroines in the past. As she leaves the male protagonist with the secret pregnancy, the decision to be a single mother is presented as her self-determination and elevated as an emblem of female strength and strong will.
The previously repudiated domestic femininity is reconstituted by a mix of traditional feminine virtues with positive attributes which are viewed as the source of female power. Examining the relationships between feminism and femininity with respect to the domestic in the postfeminist discourses, Joannne Hollows writes “the domestic can’t be simply celebrated as a site of feminine virtue or as a site of pre-feminist subordination” (“Can I go home yet” 114). The hybrid form of domestic femininity exhibited by Mu-cheng makes the housewife a problematic figure for feminist critique. It also reflects postfeminism’s tendency of updating contemporary
104 femininities to engage selectively with feminist values.
What we can observe from the characterization of Mu-cheng is the emotional posture advocated by postfeminism, that is, “the need to care for others” and “a kind of personal spiritual tranquility” (Negra 140). As Mu-cheng reencounters the male protagonist Jen Kuang-hsi and learns he has lost his memory, she determines to keep her child’s paternity secret so as not to impede his upcoming wedding. Faced with financial difficulties and the worries to have a child suffering from the diabetes, she prepares to confront the cruel reality on her own and takes care of her son even without the man she loves. So serene and moderate is she that we may tend to appreciate her selfless love and emotional toughness. However, this model of femininity reflects not only proper mood management postfeminism values but also
“a form of affective tyranny”, as Diane Negra argues, which prefers a state of composure to rougher emotions like jealousy, anger, and resentment (140).
It is arguable to say the entire drama is ideologically regressive just because of the glorification of the conservative and overidealized femininity exhibited by the female protagonist. The noteworthy part of this drama is its positive representation of another female character Ho Yi-chien. Conventionally, the romantic rival, as the incarnation of Cinderella’s stepsister, has been assumed to display the repulsive traits.
Besides, the distinction between good and bad femininity is translated into the
105 contrast between the housewife and the career woman figure. The negative stereotypes of career women are recurrently deployed in media representations to rationalize the approval of domestic femininity.
As Hollows intends to call our attention to interrogate the necessity of creating the opposition between the feminine identity (the ordinary woman) and the feminist identity (the feminist heroine) in the book Feminism, Femininity and Popular Culture,
she proposes a stance to avoid the impasse that renders each identity simply
oppositional and inflexible (17, 193). This view is partially echoed in this drama. It
presents Yi-chien as a professional pediatrician. She is smart, patient and
understanding without any cues that are frequently recognized in the demonized or
perverted image of the heroine’s foil. Her intervention in the lead characters’ romantic
union is not made by her malice but by circumstances. She gives Kuang-hsi her
sincere blessing even though he cancels their wedding after he restores his memory.
Her graceful demeanor is worthy of praise. The plot device of “a trick of fate” renders
Yi-chien innocent. It frees Yi-chien from being an overtly oppositional character
against a good woman represented by Mu-cheng. Consequently, the binary division
between housewife/domestic femininity/goodness and career woman/feminist
femininity/evil is dismantled here. Both Mu-cheng and Yi-chien reserve traditionally
virtuous characteristics while simultaneously give expressions to their female strength
106 when tortured with emotional disappointment.
In the final episode, the scene of domestic harmony in which Mu-cheng lives peacefully and gleefully with her husband and their son is undoubtedly the ultimate happiness for Mu-cheng. As for Yi-chien, she decides to study abroad after her wedding is cancelled. Her photo on a famous medical magazine proves her professional achievement. Two visions of a happy life for a woman are presented just as the title of this drama Next stop, happiness implies. It seems no hostility toward career women is found in this drama. Although this drama neither vilifies a single, ambitious and professional woman nor disavows professional achievement to be personal success, its ambivalent attitude toward the relationship between women and work is shown in the implication that Yi-chien’s decision to study further in the medical field is just a secondary choice. Negra notices that postfeminism tends to discredit the value of work in women’s life or make romance prior to work in the
“retreatist” plot or “adjusted ambition” narratives (88). Since the drama is chiefly concerned with how the female protagonist achieves the romantic goal and familial wholeness, Yi-chien’s career achievement becomes the second best version of a happy ending for a woman.
Compared to other idol dramas which end with the celebration of coupledom by pairing the supporting characters in addition to the protagonists, Next Stop, Happiness
107 tries to offer another path to reach a good end. A figure of a single and successful professional in the medical field embodied by Yi-chien expands the definition of happiness for a woman. The female romantic rival is no longer portrayed as a jealous, sinister and revengeful woman. It can not be denied that the drama attempts to resolve the love triangle without splitting women into polar opposites. This is a step forward with respect to the representation of working women regardless of the implicit subordination of the role of career goal. The ambiguous message conveyed through the drama reflects the contradictory nature of postfeminist culture in the way it both adheres to and objects to feminist arguments.
The Wealthy Gourmet is another example which showcases the grappling of pro-feminist with antifeminist discourses. The repetitive character of housework as
Simone de Beauvoir mentions in The Second Sex, ruins the pleasures easily no matter how positive or creative it appears. She explains that the sexual division of labor makes the domestic work inessential and insignificant (453-454). This novel presents a female chef as the central figure and the narrative depicts how the male protagonist appreciates her customized cooking style, employs her as his private cook and falls in love with her. The author of The Wealthy Gourmet sidesteps the issues about the boredom of housework as well as inequities in relation to gender and class. She romanticizes domestic work by linking the job with a chance for romance and access
108 to a luxurious life. This narrative frame is not uncommon in the “domestic romance” named by Suzanne Leonard to refer to the texts that focus on the romantic fulfillment of a female domestic laborer (110). In order to imagine the domestic work as an opportunity for individuation, such domestic romance usually portrays the low-status occupations as jobs that require special skills, even gifts (Leonard 111).
The female protagonist Feng Hsu is distinguished for her cooking talent. She is described as a descendant of the Feng family, which has been branded as a lineage of excellent chefs for many generations. The family records the cooking tips in the secret book and passes it only to female offspring. Male family members have no access to the account of the advanced cooking skills. Unlike household duties which are perceived to be trivial and dull, cooking is professionalized by the manner Feng Hsu prepares the meal and serves the dishes plus her acute observation on each eater’s preference for food.
The kitchen is usually wet and full of soot. But Feng Hsu is a cleanly person;
she always keeps the surroundings clean. Neither vegetable waste nor water spot
is found in the sink. The food is arranged neatly on the countertop. The
preparation of next dish only starts after the sink unit is tidied up…Her white
overall is always clean. No apparent blot is seen on it. Its whiteness makes
people feel comfortable. Of course, she always wears an apron when she cooks
109 to avoid food and grease stains. The well-worn apron with eight pockets is quite
impressive. Although she allows bare-hand contact with the raw food, she will
put on the transparent gloves to touch the cooked food when arranging the dish.
(Hsi, The Wealthy Gourmet 171)
A cooking master manipulates eaters’ tastes; while you accommodate your
cooking methods to eaters’ different tastes. These are two kinds of achievements.
I think you are more excellent. (Hsi, The Wealthy Gourmet 194)
The author makes use of the fictional family to reverse the patriarchal inheritance system and to revalue culinary practices that once connote drudgery or meaningless work.
The imaginary matriarchal pattern and the professionalization of cooking may elevate the position of women and feminine activities. However, the straightforward reversal in this novel does not challenge the notion of gender hierarchy. Nor does it resist male domination completely. The positive image of a female cooking expert is constructed at the cost of reinforcing the essentialist views of femininity. Women are presumed to perform better in domestic tasks. Men take on the roles that enjoy the food and rate the taste.
The author resolves the female protagonist’s work/family dilemma with a romantic fantasy in which the male partner is willing to support her to achieve her
110 career aspiration. Though the female protagonist can choose to join or quit the competition for the headship of the Feng family, the male protagonist is one of the judges who can decide whether she wins or not. It is he that grants her the chance to devote herself to the promotion of cooking art. The female protagonist negotiates the conflicts between work and family by returning to the domestic realm as long as she fulfills the duties of the head of the Feng family. After ten years spent on devotion to work, the role as a wife and mother will become her top priority. Conversely, she adjusts her lifelong career path to pursue temporary success in the professional field.
Packaged as voluntary domesticity, this choice naturalizes women’s retreat from the public sphere in order to maintain the intimate relationship. Male approval still steers the direction of female ambition. The downgraded version of work/home balance, according to Genz, is a personalized solution which understates women’s economic and social pressures in their real lives and implies that women’s most important work is at home (“I Am Not a Housewife” 56).
Patriarchal appropriation of feminist values is reflected in the solution which acknowledges female professional performance at the same time that it is facilitated by male sanction. The implicit message of this novel is that women will reconcile themselves to domestic roles given that the male partners deserve their love/sacrifice.
Without questioning the necessity of female sacrifice, a compromise is made in favor
111 of the romantic fulfillment rather than career success. Such a compromise is romanticized as shown in the female protagonist’s childish complaint. She writes to her aunt talking about her lover’s “threat”.
Auntie, don’t you think he is too willful? If I don’t train somebody to cook for
him, won’t he starve to death when I am not with him? He even responded to me
that I could hurry home before he was starving…He continued to say “having a
child may be effective in strengthening our bond. But I will be jealous if you
come back just for the sake of our child. I need to make sure you concern about
me. Wherever you are, I hope you will come back to cook for me before I starve
to death”. (Hsi, The Wealthy Gourmet 239-240)
Her tone makes it difficult to take her protest seriously. The feminist potential of this
novel is also undermined by glorifying heterosexual partnership. However tough,
capable, and ambitious the female heroes are, they surrender the agency when they
reach a “snapping point” to become sacrificial heroines (Crosby 155). To maintain
patriarchal authority, a rubber band effect is created for tough female heroes to force
them to relinquish their toughness (Crosby 154).
III. Romanticized and Empowered Forms of Female Passivity
Contemporary romance texts make this snap in a similar fashion to transform
active and strong female heroes into passive and vulnerable heroines. In The Prince
112 Who Turns into a Frog, the snap is rationalized by dominant gender ideology which, according to Negra, encourages women to embrace a studied femininity linked with secret-keeping and the mysterious so as to heighten men’s interest and demands
“hyper-engagement with the needs and concerns of others while requiring (at least outwardly) a romanticized emotional passivity in regard to one’s own desires” (140).
The female lead Yen Tien-yu is initially constructed as smart, vigorous and keen to marry a rich man. Such an image is different from traditional representation of passive femininity. She is eager to make money with the attempt to make her family better off. She has a glib tongue whenever she needs to defend her community and herself. She seeks to overcome the difficulties in the straitened circumstances. As she falls in love, a dramatic change occurs. Her mercenary motives are replaced with pure affection. She becomes silent when she feels wronged by the man she loves. She chooses to be a helpmate for the male protagonist rather than a problem-solver herself.
The narrative snaps the female protagonist smoothly as the narrative details the character development and the process of the romantic relationship. Her transformation is taken for granted due to the assumption that women tend to be more vulnerable and emotionally engaged in romantic relationships. The snap is considered natural and inevitable as long as the audiences are convinced that women’s inner
113 vulnerability is always cloaked with outer toughness. Therefore, a modern heroine is expected to act courageously in many situations except for romance-related ones. It is acceptable that the female character acts in an unladylike manner, being blunt, casual and hot-tempered; while she will definitely maintain traditional femininity as to the matters of intimate relationships.
Tien-yu can be seen as one example of preferred heroines in contemporary romance genre. She is constructed tough in her ability to carry heavy stuff, secure her family and community, and strive toward her goals. She is also depicted caring, tolerant and altruistic in dealing with conflicts in interpersonal relationships. This blending of masculine and feminine traits creates a transgressive image on the surface because a normative heterosexual romance allows her limited capability to blur gender boundaries. Spirited as Tien-yu is, she is required to conform to typical passive femininity so that a standard formula can work.
Rosalind Gill and Elena Herdieckerhoff suggest the formula that builds romantic tensions between the male savior and female victim makes it necessary to downplay the heroine’s independence, intelligence and assertiveness and to highlight the hero’s chivalry, wit and expertise (495). In The Prince Who Turns into a Frog, there are several rescue scenes which reinforce traditional gender norms. For example, the male protagonist carries Tien-yu home on his back after she accidentally sprains her ankle.
114 Later, his legal knowledge and strong will help her stop tearing down Kuanmei hotel.
He even disguises himself as her rich boyfriend so as to save her from being embarrassed by her high school classmates. These rescue moments make the dynamic between the strong hero and the needy heroine work so well that female dependence on male protection is romanticized and naturalized.
The terrain of traditional femininity remains intact although the enactment of masculinity in some situations represents a new image of modern Cinderella. The transformation of the female protagonist in The Prince Who Turns into a Frog reveals that her sacrifice is motivated by her selfless love. She may be transgressive in some ways while the atypical traits are usually effaced as she finds a trustworthy man to be her protector. The patriarchal notions about the courtship etiquette put limits on her behaviors as well. For example, the male protagonist turns down her kiss, insisting the man be the one who takes the initiative. His prohibition works well by giving a kiss to her right after he stops her, saying in a soft tone that a woman should not be too active.
Distracted by the romantic allure in such kiss scenes, the audiences may be hardly aware that his insistence is actually an implicit reaffirmation of male dominance.
The recent trend of mixing masculinity and femininity in the characterization is also found in the novel Non-princess in the Castle. The female protagonist Shan
Yeh-hui is a silent girl, cool and remote. She is able to keep calm when faced with the
115 threat of gangsters. She can handle harassment from unwelcome suitors on her own.
Besides, she is versatile enough to take care of her domestic life. One of the classic formulas in contemporary romance genre focuses on “the heroine’s taming of the dangerous hero or her healing of the injured hero, or both” (Regis 206). Interestingly, there is a deliberate gender reversal of this formula in this novel. Shan Yeh-hui resembles a typical hero in terms of her psychic pain and reluctance of self disclosure.
The mentally wounded woman is eventually healed by the male protagonist who is caring, tender and emotionally stronger. The depiction of the male protagonist is quite different from that in earlier romances in which the hero is often endowed with traditionally masculine traits.
The combination of masculine and feminine traits does not result in radical changes in gender roles. The narrative still follows the male savior/the female victim pattern to develop the plot. Rescue scenes in which the hero shows up in time when
the heroine is in trouble are crucial in their relationship development. He is a guiding
figure in her journey toward confidence and security. However, the novel makes use
of the “softened” hero to emphasize the importance of caring relationship, emotional
expressiveness and mutual support. For Dawn Heinecken, the emphasis on mutuality
is more comfortable to feminist sensibility because it is based on “connection and
inclusion rather than individualism and control” (165).
116 The structural arrangement of the female protagonist to be a seeker and a sought-for person respectively in the bifurcated moves (as has been discussed in
Chapter 2) creates a paradox that she is both active and passive. She can enact masculinity effectively in struggling with difficult problems while she tends to be relatively passive as soon as “male characters recognize that the hard, successful outer shell is not the real woman inside” (Gill and Herdieckerhoff 498). The outward toughness turns out to be a narrative strategy to stress a woman’s emotional fragility so that the status of male protector is justified.
The female protagonist in the novel Non-princess in the Castle embodies a modern Cinderella who is partially masculine so as to accord with contemporary social expectations. At the same time, she maintains her emotional passivity as she interacts with the male protagonist. The potential couple’s courtship follows a conventional course during which the male makes advances actively. Most of the time, the female protagonist can be said to play a more passive role before she opens up her mind and initiates a kiss on their date. Although she does not exhibit overt courtship behaviors, she provokes the wooer to do things for her. Female predominance finds an expression in her decision to reject or yield to his courtship. In other words, female characters in the story about courtship are privileged an indirect form of power to decide on whether she gives positive responses or not. Regis asserts that this freedom
117 of choosing one’s own romantic partner should not be discounted because it is “the most personal hopes of millions of women around the world” (207).
Modern Cinderella figures in contemporary romance texts display masculine attributes at times while they are likely to embrace their feminine sides out of individual choices in other circumstances. The older feminist critique of the male gaze, the feminine virtues and female passivity becomes complicated in postfeminist terms.
Once the multidimensional meanings are explored, it is easier for us to understand the intricate interplay of gender, power relations, cultural products and social changes in postfeminist era.
From the discussions above, the evolution of Cinderella shows not only the influence of her predecessor in fairy tale versions but also the contribution of feminist movement in modern times. As Maria Salzmen, Ira Matathia and Ann O’reilly note, women under the pressure to “do it all” in contemporary society are willing to surrender “a certain amount of responsibility” to her partner. Therefore, the popularity of the new type of Cinderella is based on modern women’s secret wish to both seek autonomy or freedom and enjoy protection or comfort from a reliable and understanding man. This is one of the reasons that can account for the popular acceptance of the contradictory aspects of the Cinderella persona.
Due to the coexistence of feminist elements and patriarchal values, it is difficult
118 for critics to assert whether such texts are progressive or regressive with regard to gender issues. The construction of contemporary femininity of modern romance heroines involves implications which may be even contradictory sometimes. Thus, any absolute conclusion about the possibility of subverting or reinforcing the existing power imbalance between the sexes will invoke much controversy. However, they are undoubtedly compelling narratives for a majority of audience members who are anxious to reconcile their romantic longings with feminist aspirations. The romance texts blend female empowerment with a happily-ever-after end successfully, offering an individualistic solution to contemporary women’s predicaments. They make the competing demands compatible so they can arouse resonance from readers/viewers who experience similar contradictions, struggling to negotiate the conflicts between
“feminist and feminine associations, between individual and collective achievement, between professional career and personal relationship” (Genz, Postfemininities 135).
119 Chapter Five
Toward a Happy Ending:
The Cooperative Project of Postfeminist Women and Girls
I. Secrets of Creating Successful Romances
The romance genre, as one type of popular literature, has provided a mass
audience with lots of satisfying love stories that fulfill people’s dreams and fantasies.
The recurrence of the constant narrative pattern can offer them pleasure whether they
are conscious of the narrative scheme or not. For Umberto Eco, the readers of the first
level, the naive ones, enjoy guessing what will happen next in the story without
realizing the recurrence of the same narrative structure. The second-level readers, the
smart ones, appreciate the strategies of the variations that make the same story appear
to be different. Eco writes:
The former [naive reader] uses the work as semantic machinery and is the victim
of the strategies of the author who will lead him little by little along a series of
previsions and expectations; the latter [smart reader] evaluates the work as an
aesthetic product and enjoys the strategies implemented in order to produce a
model reader of the first level. (174)
The conventional narrative structure, whether recognized by readers/viewers or not, is
fundamental to their enjoyment. The simplicity of the fairy-tale structure enables
120 popular romances to become easy to read. The already known narrative paradigm acquired through reading experiences in early childhood is helpful for recipients to facilitate their reading comprehension and engagement with the texts.
In Linda J. Lee’s reading of romance novels as reworked fairy tales, she points out romance works adhere mostly to the fairy-tale structure while they offer more descriptions of the development of the romantic pairing (58). Echoing Lee’s argument,
I view the romance genre as an extended and elaborated form of fairy tales. Propp’s approach is used in this study to examine the structural parallel between modern romance works and traditional fairy tales. Propp concludes in his study that the construction of all fairy tales follows certain rules to form a stable compositional system. The total scheme is inducted by Propp as follows:
HJIK↓Pr-RsL ABC↑DEFG QExTUW10 LMJNK↓Pr-Rs
The variable schemes are on the whole subject to the narrative logic of the general pattern though there are some cases in which some functions are omitted or the sequence of functions are changed (Propp 107-108).
Table 4 shows the narrative patterns of the texts analyzed in the second chapter.
10 Four types of fairy tales that are classified by the presence of elements struggle-victory (H-I) or difficult tasks and their solutions (M-N) are proved to have a similar morphological structure. Propp explains: Moves H-I develop according to the upper branch; moves with both pairs first follow the upper part and then, without coming to an end, develop following the lower offshoot; moves without either H-I or M-N develop by bypassing the distinctive elements of each. (105)
121 The narrative configuration of each text is built upon the total scheme formulated by
Propp. As the fairy tale is extended into a novel-length story or a 20-episode serial drama, the text is constructed to have several moves which are interconnected.
Elements the first function of the donor-the hero’s reaction-receipt of a magical agent
(Functions D-E-F) and difficult tasks-solutions (Functions M-N) are oft-repeated to give more descriptions about the creation of the romantic pair. Fairy tales provide few details in the development of the intimate relationship while romance texts make this section the most significant by offering elaborated descriptions of how a committed relationship is established (L. Lee 58). Two of the essential elements in a romance text, designated as “the attraction” and “the barrier” by Pamela Regis can be mapped onto the necessity of functions D-E-F and functions M-N (32-33). A series of group functions D-E-F can represent the growing attraction between the potential couple; the pair functions M-N establish the reasons why the protagonists’ romantic union is impeded and how the obstacles are overcome.
Table 4
The Morphological Structures of the Romance Texts
Text Move Narrative Scheme
5 Non-princess in I αβγδa↑〔DEneg.Fneg〕 DEFKTQW the Castle II αFηθA PrRsK
122 III AC↑↓DEFKMNW
I αA↑DEHI neg.FHIDEFHIPrRsK Strayed II aMNFMNMN(=K)W
The Wealthy I αaDEDEDEFPrRsK
Gourmet II aFKMNW
I αAοηθ〔DEF〕3 QK
The Prince Who II ABC↑DEF↓LKMNWneg
Turns into a Frog III aLMNnegMNWneg
IV αABC↑F PrRsK↓MNW
I αABC↑HIK↓
II DEFABC〔DEF〕3K Fated to Love You III ηθABC↑FTQL↓ExUK
IV a G↓MNnegMNnegMNW(=K)
I αβDEnegFnegDEnegFnegDEFaοLQMNnegMNW(=K) Next Stop, II 〔DEF〕3 aGDEFL↓FK Happiness III ABCF↑Ex↓K
Table 5 displays the roles played by both protagonists in each text. The role of the dispatcher—and in some cases, the role of the false hero—is not always fulfilled as shown in the appendix II. This truncation, as explained by Kristin Bidoshi, is due to
123 the fact they are unconnected elements on the structural level which are not so vital to the narrative purpose (285). The elements which are not fully explained or elaborated in the romance text lead to a simplified dramatis personae. Another structural feature of romance texts is also shown in the table below. There is a notable combination of the roles of the princess (the sought-for person), the donor and the helper occupied by main characters. The generic convention of the romance texts ensures that the lead protagonists have a shared lack of true love whether stated explicitly in the storyline or not. Both of them have to undergo the preliminary testing to prove the identity as the destined lover for the other party. Therefore, the attributes of the donor figure transfer to the role of the sought-for person. Besides, the intensified intimate bond between the potential couple is represented symbolically in the merged roles of the sought-for person and the helper.
Table 5
The Distribution of Fairy-tale Roles between the Protagonists
Text Move Male Protagonist Female Protagonist
Princess/Donor/ I Hero Helper Non-princess in the Castle II Hero
III Hero Princess/Donor
124 I Villain Hero Strayed II Hero Princess
I Donor/Helper Hero The Wealthy Gourmet II Hero Princess/Helper
I Hero Villain/Donor
Villain/Donor/ The Prince Who Turns into a II Hero Helper/Princess Frog III Hero Princess
IV Hero Princess/Helper
I Hero
Villain/Donor/ II Hero Fated to Love You Princess
III Princess Hero
IV Hero Princess
Princess/Donor/ I Hero Helper Next Stop, Happiness II Hero Princess/Donor
III Helper Hero
The result of a morphological analysis demonstrates the narrative patterns of the
125 romance texts are based on the conventional structure of fairy tales. The readers/viewers at least can enjoy the game of guessing for the outcome of the events depicted in the text always meets their expectations. The innovative aspects of the text provide another layer of pleasure. Strategies of variations are employed to invite readers/viewers to appreciate the incongruities made purposely in the texts as a demonstration of creativity and innovation. In this case, the ingenuous readers/viewers are transformed into critical ones who enjoy the way in which their expectations are frustrated (Eco 171).
The transplantation of fairy-tale figures into the romance texts is easily recognizable on the surface level. The wealth gap between the two protagonists conjures up the class difference between Cinderella and the prince. The image of the female protagonist is usually represented in the persona of woman-next-door. The male protagonist is constructed as a man of high socioeconomic status who is strong, handsome, and powerful. The adversaries or female love rivals are associated with
Cinderella’s steprelatives. Hsi Chuan retains most romantic conventions in her novels while her self-conscious play of intertexuality with traditional Cinderella tale introduces us a new facet of the Cinderella figure.
Gender reversal is employed in Non-princess in the Castle in which the inverted class hierarchy creates an unconventional romantic pairing. A renewed stereotype
126 embodied by the heroine in Strayed combines the traits of opposing characters and invites readers to question the stereotypical ideas about good/bad women. The addition of career aspirations to the heroine in The Wealthy Gourmet represents female resistance to patriarchal domestication and redefines a happily-ever-after end for a woman. The ability to give new vitality to stereotypes and the capacity to invent new touches of plot or setting are two special skills that the creators need to have if they want to heighten audiences’ interests (Cawelti 10-11). Hsi Chuan’s novels are the instances of stereotype vitalization. A more sophisticated reader can gain critical pleasure when he or she grasps the meaning of the author’s ironic reference to
Cinderella.
The idol dramas examined in this study are conventional most of the time.
Audiences are led to experience augmented emotional fluctuations through the conventional narrative and performers’ excellent acting. Lots of stereotypical situations are employed while there are moments of humorous touches to romantic storylines. Comic situations or verbal jokes, as discussed in the first part of the third chapter, are added to make these humorous moments. The intensity of melodramatic sentiments is balanced with hilarious moments which are created for relaxation. The incorporation of comedic devices into a typical romantic narrative can enlarge the audience base. Just as Scott McCracken claims, bestseller texts do not always fit
127 neatly with one particular genre. They are characterized by their abilities to integrate several popular genres (42).
Contemporary romance works, to be popular, need to engage with their readers/viewers by structuring the narrative conventionally and depicting people’s hopes and aspirations in a way that fits with their sensibilities (Pattee 2). Such sensibilities are related to audiences’ shared perception about gender relationships and their collective imagination of romantic love. The depiction of palatable facet of love and the positive vision of romantic love captures the sensibilities of youth. In addition to the humorous tone that addresses audiences’ desire to laugh, gender roles in the romance texts are adapted to keep pace with emerging trends. Contemporary manhood and womanhood are reconstructed and reevaluated in response to feminist intervention.
The negotiated acceptance of feminist concepts, according to Sarah Projansky, is characteristic of contemporary postfeminist popular culture (Watching Rape 89). The improved versions of heterosexual masculinity and femininity are promoted by postfeminist discourses about women’s freedom, choice and gender equality. The revised gender representations in the romance texts, in turn, support postfeminist claims about progressive sexual politics. The infiltration of postfeminist ideas into the romance works contributes to their commercial success. The popularity of these
128 works, in my view, shows the ability of the romance texts to reflect and shape cultural sensibilities about gender.
Collectively, the construction of the desired male in the romance texts places an emphasis on his attractive appearance, career achievement and nurturing quality. The attractive appearance is defined in terms of a pretty face and a virile body that invite female gaze. Contradictory as it may be, the combination of feminine beauty and masculine strength in the role of the male protagonist wins audience approval.
Underlying the stress on career achievement is the traditional view of male success that pays special attention to his performance in the public sphere. As his professional achievement is linked with the economic prowess, the expressions of his financial success, however, depend on his consumption practices which used to be associated with feminine activities. Material comfort guaranteed by high consumption ability is disguised as his taste, life style and fashion sensibility so that a commercialized version of masculinity is justified without hinting a marital choice based on economic calculations.
Last but not least, a caring masculinity is highly demanded when it comes to the requirements of an ideal lover. Whether the man turns sensitive and affectionate in the course of the story or he is originally a tender and thoughtful man in the beginning, his softness is always the core of the postfeminist romantic fantasy. It is admirable
129 that the traditional line between men and women is blurred when male nurturance is stressed in the texts. But the enactment of a caring masculinity through paternal protection points to the danger of reasserting male domination. The confusion over “a loving man” and “a controlling man” is enhanced when the caring and nurturing masculinity is embodied by a protective lover in the romance texts.
A versatile mate is constructed to respond to female yearnings. The romance texts propose a quasi-traditional script of the male model as an effective solution to solve women’s dilemmas— the conflicts between feminist aspirations and feminine pleasures, bread and love, career and family. Even so, the progressive aspects are too conspicuous to be neglected. Undesired aspects of traditional masculinity are excluded; an intimate relationship based on egalitarianism and reciprocity is encouraged. An ideological swing between patriarchal values and feminist ethics reflects the contradictory character of postfeminist gender politics.
The fourth chapter continues to pinpoint the ambiguous portrayal of female images, attributing the popularity of the romance works to the equivocation of postfeminist gender politics. The meanings of male gaze, domestic femininity and female passivity are reinterpreted in the postfeminist context. First, the makeover paradigm commonly used in the Cinderella-themed romance associates ideal femininity with youth, glamour, and consumption on beauty products, perpetuating
130 the patriarchal norm of feminine beauty. However, it is also linked with the concepts of self-presentation and self-improvement. Physical attractiveness can be attained through “ego-expressive products” that provide seductive power for women (Illouz
35). The beauty practices may empower a woman when she tries to manipulate her appearance to control the male gaze; the maintenance of beauty is also disempowering because a woman has to subject herself to patriarchal codes.
Second, the positive depictions of feminine traits or tasks like care, nurturance, tolerance, child-rearing and cooking work to signify a form of female strength and to elevate the values of feminine activities. The compatibility of the feminine identity and the feminist identity is shown in the dissolution of the opposition between a housewife and a career woman figure. As the relationship between feminism and domestic femininity is renegotiated, there is a possibility of reinforcing the essentialists’ views about the natural connection between domesticity and femininity.
Third, the presence of a bold, spunky, and active female protagonist marks an espousal of women’s empowerment in the romance texts. Positive images of female characters encourage the transcendence of gender boundaries. But there are situations in which the female protagonist slips into passive roles. Rescue scenes, for example, romanticize female passivity in order to make the strong hero/needy heroine trope work. Assumptions about the relationship between love and vulnerability give the
131 rationale to female passivity. Falling in love makes a person vulnerable. One appears passive and helpless in order to be cared for. Therefore, independent and assertive as the female protagonist may be in the public domain, her exposure of emotional fragility before her beloved is taken for granted. Moreover, postfeminist awareness of power dynamics in a courtship process allows female passivity to be a source of power. A man, as an active and desiring subject, is entitled to initiate courtship behaviors but his power is weakened and confers to the woman he woos when he desires for her positive response. A woman holds the power to evaluate his performances in the courtship process and decide whether or not to move their romantic relationship forward. This freedom of mate choice contained in the idea of romantic love articulates feminist goals of women’s self-realization, autonomy, and gender equality (Illouz 74-75).
Postfeminist reinvention of the Cinderella persona as the female model in the
21st century provides a sense of female empowerment. Changes, though not entirely radical, do occur in the romance texts and prove attractive to contemporary audiences.
The absence of effective and thorough social reforms, as Judith Stacey claims, drives some women, as well as men, to accept an individualized version of solutions—that is, to succumb to “the modern quasi-patriarchal bargain” (69). They perform some desirable aspects of traditional masculinity or femininity in exchange for a more
132 harmonious relationship. The new postfeminist woman, as Stéphanie Genz contends, tries to combine her job aspiration with her desire for a rewarding home, her feminist belief in agency and independence with pleasures of feminine adornment and heterosexual romance because she wants to have it all (“Singled Out” 98).
The coexistence of appeals of female empowerment as well as reactionary appeals of benevolent patriarchy results in a divide among romance critics. Sexual politics in romance texts has been one preoccupation in romance criticism. The claims about subversion or restoration of patriarchal ideology depend upon critics’ differing perspectives. Just as Celestino Deleyto explains, for critics who focus on the convention of a happy ending, the romance texts have the same conservative ideology.
But the subversive potential is always found in the middle that encompasses variety, contradiction and complexity. I adopt the both/and logic in the subversion-restoration mode, suggesting the equivocation of an ideological bent contributes to the popularity of these romance texts. Popular texts, as Scott McCracken explains, succeed in making a coalition of different groups of readers/viewers (167). Different ideologies attract various people. Diverse pleasures offered in the romance texts can attract a broader audience. These romance texts are popular because there are more interpretative possibilities for diverse groups of readers/viewers to choose from. My argument is not about how postfeminist the romance texts are, but how the
133 postfeminist discourse in the texts works to attract a wider audience.
The romance texts offer multiple pleasures by retaining the simplicity of a fairy-tale structure and adding new elements to the conventions. The most significant part of the new elements is the updated gender representations. A postfeminist sensibility, as I try to demonstrate in this study, reflects the cultural force that generates the complex and ambiguous portrayals of maleness and femaleness in the romance texts. The reconstruction of Cinderella and the prince serves as “a recurrent sales technique” that promotes the products behind the new images to potential consumers—who do not want “to be left behind”(J. Lee, “Care to Join Me” 168).
II. A Happy Ending for Modern Cinderella? The (Dis)advantages of
Postfeminism
Postfeminism adopts a discourse of “Girl Power” that convinces girls and young
women of their equality to their male counterparts and promises a world of fun,
sassiness, and dressing up to please oneself (Griffin 33). Constituted as subjects with
“active wishes and desires”, postfeminist girls and women are encouraged to embrace
girl culture that revolves around heterosexual desires, consumer choices and sexual
freedom (Griffin 35). The term “girl” which older feminists considered demeaning is
now a word that invokes a feeling of independence, irreverence and freedom from
judgment (Baumgardner and Richards 61). The redefinitions of girlhood, femininity
134 and feminism distinguish young feminist from second-wavers. They reconsider the compatibility of feminist and feminine identities, rejecting “the hectoring, critical tone of second-wave feminism” and distancing themselves from older feminists’
“puritanical politics” (Ferriss and Young 88; Young 178). In second-wave critique of postfeminism, postfeminists are accused of having misunderstood the feminist legacy and waning the radical spirit of feminist politics (Adkins 428). This divide between second-wave feminism and postfeminism is usually understood as the battle between second-wave “mothers” and their student “daughters” who refuse to follow all the rules of their feminist predecessors (Hollows and Moseley 8).
Within the construction of opinions of young women (second-wavers’ daughters) as “naïve, disrespectful, and historically uninformed”, being young is closely linked with inexperience and immaturity (Eisenhauer 80). The mother (adult)/daughter (child) divide constitutes a child as one we should teach and the childhood as a moment we need to protect. Similar discursive practices are prevalent in romance criticism.
Despite acknowledgement of the entertaining and subversive dimensions of the romance genre, researchers are more cautious about including the romance works in the reading/viewing lists for middle school students. Commentators tend to urge adult intervention to prevent negative influences of romance texts on adolescents.
Publishers are expected to introduce more non-salacious books to young readers
135 (Su-hui Huang 301). The instructive aspect as Fan Tsui-ling suggests, is an important criteria for teachers to make a book recommendation. Young people, as Hsueh
Wen-hsuan suggests, need parental instruction and media literacy education to cultivate right values of love when they have more access to popular media texts
(107-109).
Clearly, local critical writings are infected with more anxiety over the representations of sexuality and romance in contrast to the celebration of sexual freedom and erotic pleasure along with confidence in young individuals as active consuming agents in popular culture. I am not trying to question the appropriateness of adults’ suggested readings/viewings and their intervention for teenagers. What I am trying to point out is the tension between entertainment and pedagogy in evaluating children’s literature. What adults think young adults should read may not always correspond to what they like to read. Amy S. Patte has defended the status of popular media texts in the lives of young adults. She writes:
While librarians’ booklists, class assigned reading and literary reviews may
delineate a canon of young adult literary classics or touchstones, popular fiction
for young adults—that adolescent literature written in the popular vein that is
picked up and popularized further by readers—occupies a different, equally
important, but often overlooked canon (1-2).
136 Popular romances belongs to this overlooked canon. They are popular media texts favored by young adults but seen by scholars as less “orthodox” young adult literature.
The romance texts describe the transition of the main characters into a more emotionally or sexually mature state just like those coming-of-age stories which focus on experiences of initiation and personal growth. Therefore, Hannah E. Sanders claims it is proper to situate the initiation-themed texts with more adult characterization in relation to teen audience although they do not posit adolescents as central characters (74).
This study tentatively makes a connection between postfeminist debates and romance criticism with an attempt of highlighting the relation of popular media texts to studies in adolescent literature and culture. Then, what happens when a postfeminist perspective is utilized in adolescent literature criticism? What is the role that postfeminism plays for our next generation? I will extend Beverly Lyon Clark’s argument to talk about the potentials and limitations of postfeminism.
Many feminists, as Clark claims, ignore children’s perspectives and devalue children’s literature because of an “anxiety of immaturity” (237). Using maternal metaphors to describe the uneasy relationship between feminism and children’s literature, Clark contends feminists critics are wicked stepmothers too often, having rarely recognized the position of the child owing to their eagerness to establish their
137 own maturity (244). She advocates applying feminist analysis to children’s literature:
[F]eminist theory can be a fairy godmother. It can offer genuine insights into
approaches and politics. Let us use those insights. Let us learn about the images
of women (children), about the possibilities of a women’s (children’s) tradition,
about the possibilities for deconstructing binary thinking and giving play to the
preoedipal semiotic, about the confluence of race and class and sexuality and
imperialism and history (and age) with gender. Let us learn too about those
insights—talk about marginalization and appropriation—against feminist theory
itself. (244)
The relationship between postfeminism and adolescent literature is also an ambivalent one. Postfeminism criticism can be a fairy godmother. Since postfeminism draws more attention to the popular cultural domain, it creates a space for popular media texts in the field of adolescent literature. A postfeminist approach moves beyond the either/or debate about judging whether the text is progressive or regressive, exploring how the both/and structure produces complex, contradictory and unstable subject positions within the texts as well as identifying the changing feminist code of practice (Projansky “Mass Magazine” 69; Young 188).
Yet, postfeminism may continue to be a wicked stepmother if the elevation of the girl as a strong and distinct feminist identity is only applied to grown women who
138 embrace “a sense of eternal girlhood” (Baumgardner and Richards 60). In this case, the word “girl” is appropriated in the postfeminist discourse without considering the right of the girl (defined in terms of age in the real life) to voice her own subjectivity.
However, postfeminism can be a “good” stepmother in the sense that it displaces the second-wave foremother and builds a new sisterhood—as Clark expects, to reject the assumption of a sisterhood limited to and governed by adult females (244). This coalition is on the basis of the emphasis on difference as well as the awareness of the contradictory selves and multiple agency positions. New resistance strategies as E.
Ann Kaplan suggests, can be developed under a collaborative project (26).
On the other hand, the positive side of postfeminism, as Jessica K. Taft claims, is its emphasis on individualism and personal responsibility that encourages young people to try new things and believe in themselves (74). It provides them with opportunities to be active desiring agents. However, the connection between active consumption and empowerment may limit their power to the commercial realm (Taft
75). The role of postfeminism for our next generation shifts from a benevolent godmother to a “wicked” one when young people are constructed as active consumers that end up being caught “in a permanent state of dissatisfaction or desire” (Griffin
42).
Hopefully, postfeminism is likely to combine the positive aspects of a fairy
139 godmother and a stepmother to be a “big sister” who will work with little sisters to recognize the contradictions and the challenges they face, live with them to seek for empowerment and pleasure and strive together to make a “post-patriarchal” world—a world disenchanted with male domination and male supremacy, in Stacey’s definition
(70). This is another happily-ever-after end in my version of postfeminist Cinderella.
140 Works Cited
Primary Works
Fated to Love You(命中注定我愛你). SET (三立電視台). 22 Mar.-30 Aug. 2008.
Hsi, Chuan(席絹 ). Non-princess in the Castle(城堡裡沒有公主). Hsintien(新店):
Wansheng(萬盛), 2001.
╴╴ . Strayed(迷路). Hsintien(新店): Wansheng(萬盛), 2004.
╴╴ . Wealthy Gourmet(富貴饕家). Taipei: Feitien(飛田), 2008.
Next Stop, Happiness(下一站幸福). SET(三立電視台). 10 Oct. 2009-6 Mar. 2010.
The Prince Who Turns into a Frog(王子變青蛙). SET(三立電視台). 11 June-22 Oct.
2005.
Secondary Works
Adkins, Lisa. “Passing on Feminism: From Consciousness to Reflexivity?” European
Journal of Women’s Studies 11.4 (2004): 427-444.
Ang, Ien Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination. London:
Routledge, 1985.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. “What’s Your Flava? Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture.”
Introduction. Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular
Culture. Ed. Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham: Duke UP, 2007.
201-226.
141 Baumgardner, Jennifer and Amy Richards. “Feminism and Femininity: Or How We
Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Thong.” All about the Girl: Culture,
Power and Identity. Ed. Anita Harris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 59-67.
Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Trans. and ed. H. M. Parshley. New York:
Vintage Books, 1989.
Berger, Arthur Asa. Popular Culture Genres: Theories and Texts. Newbury Park: Sage,
1992.
Beynon, John. Masculinities and Culture. Buckingham: Open UP, 2002.
Bidoshi, Kristin. “Beauty and the Beast à la Russe.” Marvel & Tales 22.2 (2008):
277-295.
Black, Paula. “Discipline and Pleasure: The Uneasy Relationship Between Feminism
and the Beauty Industry.” Feminism in Popular Culture. Ed. Joanne Hollows
and Rachel Moseley. Oxford: Berg, 2006. 143-159.
Braithwaite, Ann. “Politics of/and Backlash.” Journal of International Women’s
Studies 5.5 (2004): 18-33.
Brooks, Ann. Postfeminisms: Feminism, Cultural Theory and Cultural Forms.
London: Routledge, 1997.
Brunsdon, Charlotte. Screen Tastes: Soap Opera to Satellite Dishes. London:
Routledge, 1997.
142 Budgeon, Shelly. “Emergent Feminist (?) Identities: Young Women and the Practice
of Micropolitics.” European Journal of Women’s Studies 8.1 (2001): 7-28.
Burns, Amy. “Tell Me about Your New Man: (Re)construction Masculinity in
Contemporary Chick Texts.” Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA
Postgraduate Network. 4.1 (2011): 1-34. 19 August 2012
Cawelti, John G. Adventure, Mystery and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and
Popular Culture. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1976.
Chang, Hung-yuan(張宏源). “Cultural Export Catching the Eye of the World: The
Production Mode of Taiwanese Idol Dramas in the cases of SET and GET (「文
化出口」臺灣偶像劇揚名國際 臺灣影視內容產製模式—以三立、八大為例).”
Industry Management Review(產業管理評論) 2.1 (2007): 49-58.
Chapman, Rowena. “The Greatest Pretender: Variations on the New Man Theme.”
Male Order: Unwrapping Masculinity. Ed. Rowena Chapman and Jonathan
Rutherford. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1988. 225-248.
Cheng, Ya-pei(鄭雅佩). “A Study of the Relationship between Romance Novels and
Female Readers(言情小說女性讀者與文本關連性研究).” Master Thesis.
Chinese Culture U(文化大學新聞研究所碩士論文), 1998.
Cheng, Yi-wen(鄭伊雯). “Rhetorical Criticism from a Feminist Perspective: A
143 Fantasy-Theme Approach to the HsiTai Romance Series(女性主義觀點的語藝
批評—以幻想主題分析希代「言情小說」系列).” Master thesis. Fu Jen Catholic
U(輔仁大學大眾傳播研究所碩士論文), 1996.
Chiu, Tzu-hsiu(邱子修). “The Three Waves of Feminist Criticism in Taiwan(台灣女
性主義批評三波論 ).” Journal of Women’s and Gender Studies(女 學學誌：婦女
與性別研究) 27 (2010): 251-273.
Christian-Smith, Linda K. Becoming a Woman through Romance. New York:
Routledge, 1990.
Chua, Beng Huat. “East Asian Pop Culture: Consumer Communities and Politics of
the National.” Paper at the International Conference on Cultural Space and
Public Sphere in Asia, March 15-16, 2006, Seoul, Korea. 27-43.
Clark, Beverly Lyon. “Fairy Godmothers or Wicked Stepmothers? The Uneasy
Relationship of Feminist Theory and Children’s Criticism.” Children’s Literature:
Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies. Ed. Peter Hunt. Vol. III. New
York: Routledge, 2006. 236-247.
Crosby, Sara. “The Cruelest Season: Female Heroes Snapped into Sacrificial
Heroines.” Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture. Ed.
Sherrie A. Inness. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 200. 153-178.
Deleyto, Celestino. “The Comic, the Serious and the Middle: Desire and Space in
144 Contemporary Film Romantic Comedy.” Journal of Popular Romance Studies
2.1 (2011). 27 July 2013 jprs2.1_deleyto_romcom.pdf>. Donald, Roby. “Mean, Moody, and Magnificent: The Hero in Romance Literature.” Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the romance. Ed. Jayne Ann Krentz. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1992, 81-84. Dow, Bonnie J. “The Traffic in Men and the Fatal Attraction of Postfeminist Masculinity.” Women’s Studies in Communications. 29.1 (2006): 113-131. ╴╴ . Prime-Time Feminism: Television, Media Culture, and the Women’s Movement Since 1970. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1996. Dundes, Alan. “Introduction to The Second Edition.” Introduction. Morphology of the Folktale. By Vladimis Propp. Trans. Laurence Scott. Rev. ed. Austin: U of Texas P, 1968. xi-xvii. Eco, Umberto. “Innovation and Repetition: Between Modern and Post-Modern Aesthetics.” Daedalus. 114.4 (1985): 161-184. Edwards, Tim. Men in the Mirror: Men’s Fashion, Masculinity and Consumer Society. London: Cassell, 1997. Eisenhauer, Jennifer. “Mythic Figures and Lived Identities: Locating the ‘Girl’ in 145 Feminist Discourse.” All about the Girl: Culture, Power and Identity. Ed. Anita Harris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 79-89 Faludi, Susan. Backlash: The Undeclared War against American Women. New York: Crown, 1991. Fan, Tsui-ling(范玲翠 ). “A Study of Hsi Chua’s Novels and Her Popularity(席絹小說 及其流行現象之研究).” Master thesis. Tung Hai U(東海大學中國文學系碩士 論文), 2006. Ferriss, Suzanne and Mallory Young. “Chicks, Girls and Choices: Redefining Feminism.” Juncture: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue 6 (2006): 87-97. Fiske, John. “Television: Polysemy and Popularity.” Critical Studies in Mass Communication 3.4 (1986): 391-408. Franz, Marie-Louise von. “The Beautiful Wassilissa” Cinderella: A Casebook. Ed. Alan Dundes. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1988. 200-218. Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: Norton, 1997. Gamman, Lorraine and Margaret Marshment. Introduction. The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Ed. Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment. Seattle: Real Comet P, 1989. 1-7. Genz, Stéphanie and Benjamin A. Brabon. Postfeminism: Cultural Texts and Theories. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2009. 146 Genz, Stéphanie. “(Re)Making the Body Beautiful: Postfeminist Cinderellas and Gothic Tales of Transformation.” Postfeminist Gothic: Critical Interventions in Contemporary Culture. Ed. Benjamin A. Brabon and Stéphanie Genz. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. 68-84. ╴╴. “I Am Not a Housewife, but…: Postfeminism and the Revival of Domesticity.” Feminism, Domesticity and Popular Culture. Ed. Stacy Gillis and Joanne Hollows. New York: Routledge, 2009. 49-62. ╴╴ . Postfemininities in Popular Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. ╴╴. “Singled Out: Postfeminism’s ‘New Women’ and the Dilemma of Having it all.” The Journal of Popular Culture 43.1 (2010): 97-119. Gill, Rosalind and Elena Herdieckerhoff. “Rewriting the Romance: New Femininities in Chick Lit?” Feminist Media Studies 6.4 (2006): 487-504. Gill, Rosalind. “Postfeminist Media culture: Elements of a sensibility.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 10.2 (2007):147-166. Griffin, Christine. “Good Girls, Bad Girls: Constitution of Contemporary Girlhood.” All about the Girl: Culture, Power and Identity. Ed. Anita Harris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 29-43. Grindon, Leger. The Hollywood Romantic Comedy: Conventions, History, Controversies. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 147 Heinecken, Dawn. “Changing Ideologies in Romance Fiction.” Romantic Convention. Ed. Anne K. Kaler and Rosemary E. Johnson-Kurek. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State U. Popular P, 1999. 149-172. Hollows, Joanne, and Rachel Moseley. “Popularity Contests: The Meanings of Popular Feminism.” Feminism in Popular Culture. Ed. Joanne Hollows and Rachel Moseley. Oxford: Berg, 2006. 1-22. Hollows, Joanne. “Can I Go Home Yet? Feminism, Post-feminism and Domesticity.” Feminism in Popular Culture. Ed. Joanne Hollows and Rachel Moseley. New York: Berg, 2006. 97-118. ╴╴ . Feminism, Femininity, and Popular Culture. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2000. Hsu, Hsiu-pei(許秀珮). “Romance Novels: Women’s Writings for Women(羅 曼史小 說：女人寫給女人的書).” Master thesis. National Tsing Hua U(國立大學清華 社社會學研究所碩士論文), 2002. Hsueh, Wen-hsuan(薛文軒). “A study on the Sixth-graders’ Interpretations of the Concept of Romantic Love in Taiwanese Trendy Dramas(國小 六年級學童解讀 臺灣偶像劇愛情概念之研究).” Master thesis. National Taipei U of Education(教國立臺北 育大學教育傳播與科技研究所碩士論文), 2007. Huang, Mei. Transforming the Cinderella Dream: from Frances Burney to Charlotte Brontë. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1990. 148 Huang, Nuan-yun(黃暖雲). “An Analysis of Advantageous Resources and Production Strategies of Taiwanese Idol Dramas(台灣偶像劇之優勢資源與產製策略分 析).” Master Thesis. National Chung Cheng U(國立中正大學電訊傳播研究所 碩士論文), 2006 Huang, Shuling. “ National-branding and Transnational Consumption: Japan-mania and the Korean Wave in Taiwan.” Media, Culture & Society. 33.1 (2011): 3-18. Huang, Su-hui(黃淑慧). “A Study on the Relationship between Taiwanese Popular Romance Novels and Traditional Female Education: A Case Study of High School Students(台灣俗言情小說與通 傳統女子教育的關係研究—以高中職 學生為例).” Master thesis. National Kaohsiung Normal U (國立高 雄師範大學 國文學系碩士論文), 2010. Hung, Chun-hsiang(洪群翔). “A Study of Trust, Cooperation and Collaboration between the Two Leading Characters in Fantasy Literature Based on the Theory of Morphology of the Folk Tale: A Case Study of His Dark Materials Trilogy(從 《故事形態學》談幻想小說中雙主人公的信任與合作—以《黑暗元素三部 曲》為例.” Master thesis. National Taitung U(國立臺東大學兒童文學研究所碩 士論文), 2012. Illouz, Eva. Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. Berkeley: U of California P, 1997. 149 Isbister, Georgina. “Sex and the City: A Postfeminist Fairy Tale.” Online Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Cultural Studies Association of Australia, December 6-8, 2007. Ed. Susan Luckman, Jackie Cook, and Dino Murtic. Adelaide: CSAA, 2008, 1-14. Sustaining Culture. 18 August 2012 Kalbfleisch, Jane. “When Feminism Met Postfeminism: The Rhetoric of a Relationship.” Generations: Academic Feminist in Dialogue. Ed. Devoney Looser and E. Ann Kaplan. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1997. 250-266. Kaler, Anne K. “Conventions of the Romance Genre.” Introduction. Romantic Conventions. Ed. Anne K. Kaler and Rosemary E. Johnson-Kurek. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State U Popular P, 1999. 1-9. Kaplan, E. Ann. “Feminism, Aging, and Changing Paradigms.” Generations: Academic Feminist in Dialogue. Ed. Devoney Looser and E. Ann Kaplan. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1997. 13-29. Ke, Yin-chiao(柯尹喬). “An Exploratory Study of Brand Building Elements for Trendy Drama in Taiwan: A Case Study of SET’s Trendy Drama(台灣偶像劇品 牌建構要素之初探性研究—以三立偶像劇為例).” Master Thesis. Shih Hsin U(大世學新公共關係暨廣告學系碩士論文) , 2010. Kinsale, Laura. “The Androgynous Reader: Point of View in the Romance.” 150 Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the romance. Ed. Jayne Ann Krentz. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1992, 31-52. Lai, Yu-chin(賴育琴). “A Study on Romance Fiction in 90s in Taiwan(台灣年代九○ 言情小說研究).” Master thesis. Tamkang U(淡江大學中國文學系碩士論文), 2001. Lazar, Michelle M. “Discover the Power of Femininity: Analyzing Global Power Femininity in Local Advertising.” Feminist Media Studies 6.4 (2006): 505-517. Lee, Janet. “Care to Join me in an Upwardly Mobile Tango? Postmodernism and the ‘New Woman’.” The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Ed. Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment. Seattle: Real Comet P, 1989. 166-172. Lee, Linda J. “ Guilty Pleasures: Reading Romance Novels as Reworked Fairy Tales.” Marvel & Tales 22.1 (2008): 52-66. Leonard, Suzanne. “Ready-Maid Postfeminism? The American ‘Domestic’ in Popular Culture.” Feminism, Domesticity, and Popular Culture. Ed. Stacy Gillis and Joanne Hollows. New York: Routledge, 2009. Li, Chih-chiang(李志薔 ). TV-Film．Trendy Drama⁄Drag Queen: From Dream to Film(電視電影．偶像劇∕豔光四射歌舞團：一部電影的完成). Hsintien(新店): 151 Yuan Tsu Wen Hua(遠化足), 2004.文 Li, Shao-ling(李韶翎). “Romance Readers, Reviewers and Fans: A Study on Contemporary Commercial Romance Novels and Online Community(我們讀，我 們寫，我們迷：當代商業羅曼史與線上社群研究).” Master thesis. National Chung Cheng U(國立中正大學電訊傳播研究所碩士論文), 2007. Lieberman, Marcia K. “Some Day My Prince Will Come: Female Acculturation through the Fairy Tale.” Don’t Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England. Ed. Jack Zipes. New York: Routledge, 1989. 185-200. Lin, Fang-mei. “Social Change and Romantic Ideology: The Impact of Publishing Industry, Family Organization, and Gender Roles on the Reception and Interpretation of Romance Fiction in Taiwan, 1960-1990.” Diss. U of Pennsylvania, 1992. Lin, Hsin-chieh(林歆婕). “From Being Weeds to Being ‘Makeinu’: The Gender Ideology and the Construction of Women’s Images in Taiwan’s Idol Dramas(從 雜草到敗犬：台灣偶像劇中的性別意識與形象建構).” Master Thesis. National Chung Hsing U(國立中興大學台灣文學與跨國文化研究所碩士論文), 2011. Lin, Ying-chieh(林英杰). “Creating Romance and Consuming Love: The Production, Sales and Reading Culture of Romance Novels in Taiwan(製 造浪漫 消費愛 152 情：臺灣羅曼史小說的產銷與閱讀文化).” Master thesis. National Taiwan U(國 立台灣大學中國文學系碩士論文), 1998. Liu, Chen-tu(劉真途). “ A Study of Jin Yong’s Novels from the Perspective of Fairy-tale Functions(從童 話功能考察金庸武俠小說的敘事特色).” Master thesis. Lingnan U( 嶺南大學哲學碩士論文), 2000. Lotz, Amanda D. “Postfeminist Television Criticism: Rehabilitating Critical Terms and Identifying Postfeminist Attributes.” Feminist Media Studies 1.1 (2001): 105-121. Lu, Ni-lin(呂妮霖). “A Postmodern Turn in the Hollywood Cinematic Adaptations of Fairy Tales(好萊塢後現代童話電影的敘事轉向分析).” Master thesis, National Chengchi U(治國立大政 學廣播電視學系碩士論文), 2008. MacCannell, Dean and Juliet Flower MacCannell. “The Beauty System.” The Ideology of Conduct: Essays on Literature and the History of Sexuality. Ed. Nancy Armstrong and Leonard Tennenhouse. New York: Methuen, 1987. 206-238. Marshment, Margaret. “ Substantial Women.” The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Ed. Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment. Seattle: The Real Comet P, 1989. 27-43. McCracken, Scott. Pulp: Reading Popular Fiction. Manchester: Manchester UP, 153 1998. Mcdonald, Tamar Jeffers. Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girls Meets Genre. London: Wellflower, 2007. McRobbie, Angela. “Post-feminism and Popular Culture.” Feminist Media Studies 4.3 (2004): 255-264. ╴╴. “Postfeminism and Popular Culture: Bridget Jones and the New Gender Regime.” Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. Ed. Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham: Duke UP, 2007. 27-39. ╴╴. “Shut Up and Dance: Youth Culture and Changing Modes of Femininity.” Cultural Studies 7.3 (1993): 406-426. Miller, Laura. “Japan’s Cinderella Motif: Beauty Industry and Mass Culture Interpretations of a Popular Icon.” Asian Studies Review 32 (2008):393-409. Modleski, Tania. Loving with a Vengeance: Mass-Produced Fantasies for Women. New York: Routledge, 1982. Mortimer, Claire. Romantic Comedy. London: Routledge, 2010. Moseley, Rachel and Jacinda Read. ‘“Having it Ally”: Popular Television (Post-)Feminism.’ Feminist Media Studies 2.2 (2002): 231-249. Mukherjea, Ananya. “My Vampire Boyfriend: Postfeminism, Perfect Masculinity, and the Contemporary Appeal of Paranormal Romance.” Studies in Popular Culture 154 33.2 (2011): 1-20. Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen 16.3 (1975): 6-18. Mumford, Laura Stempel. Love and Ideology in the Afternoon: Soap Opera, Women, and Television genre. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1995. Mussell, Kay. Fantasy and Reconciliation: Contemporary Formulas of Women’s Romance Fiction. Westport: Greenwood P, 1984. Neale, Steve and Frank Krutnik. Popular Film and Television Comedy. London: Routledge, 1990. Negra, Diane. What a Girl Wants: Fantasizing the reclamation of self in postfeminism. New York: Routledge, 2009. Pace, David. “Beyond Morphology: Lévi-Strauss and the Analysis of Folktales.” Cinderella: A Casebook. Ed. Alan Dundes. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1988. 245-258. Parsons, Linda T. “Ella Evolving: Cinderella Stories and the Construction of Gender Appropriate Behavior.” Children’s Literature in Education 35.2 (2004): 135-154. Pattee, Amy S. Reading the Adolescent Romance: Sweet Valley High and the Popular Young Adult Romance Novel. New York: Routledge, 2011. Philips, Deborah. “Shopping for Men: The Single Woman Narrative.” Women: A Cultural Review 11.3 (2000): 238-251. 155 Preston, Cathy Lynn. “Disrupting the Boundaries of Genre and Gender: Postmodernism and the Fairy Tale.” Fairy Tales and Feminism: New Approaches. Ed. Donald Haase. Detroit: UP of Wayne State, 2004. 197-212. Projansky, Sarah. “Mass Magazine Cover Girls: Some Reflections on Postfeminist Girls and Postfeminism’s Daughters.” Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. Ed. Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham: Duke UP, 2007. 40-72. ╴╴ . Watching Rape: Film and Television in Postfeminist Culture. New York: New York UP, 2001. Propp, Vladimis. Morphology of the Folktale. Trans. Laurence Scott. Rev. ed. Austin: U of Texas P, 1968. Rader, Hilary. “Pretty is as Pretty Does: Free Enterprise and the Marriage Plot.” Film Theory Goes to the Movies. Ed. Jim Collins, Hilary Radner and Ava Preacher Collins. New York: Routledge, 1993. 56-76. Radway, Janice A. Reading the Romance: Women Patriarchy and Popular Literature. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1984. Ramanujan, A. K. “Hanchi: A Kannada Cinderella.” Cinderella: A Casebook. Ed. Alan Dundes. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1988. 259-275. Regis, Pamela. A Natural History of the Romance Novel. Philadelphia: U of 156 Pennsylvania P, 2003. Rowe, Karen E. “Feminism and Fairy Tales.” Don’t Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England. Ed. Jack Zipes. New York: Routledge, 1989. 209-226. Rowe, Kathleen. The Unruly Woman: Gender and the Genres of Laughter. Austin: U of Texas P, 1995. Salzman, Marian, Ira Matathia and Ann O’reilly. The Future of Men. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Sanders, Hannah E. “Living a Charmed Life: The Magic of Postfeminist Sisterhood.” Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. Ed. Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham: Duke UP, 2007. 73-99. Smith, Jennifer Crusie. “This Is Not Your Mother’s Cinderella: The Romance Novel as Feminist Fairy Tale.” Romantic Conventions. Ed. Anne K. Kaler and Rosemary E. Johnson-Kurek. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State U Popular P, 1999. 51-61. Stacey, Judith. “What Comes After Patriarchy? Comparative Reflections on Gender and Power in a ‘Post-Patriarchal’ Age.” Radical History Review 71 (1998): 63-70. Stephens, John. “Utopia, Dystopia, and Cultural Controversy in Ever After and The 157 Grimm Brothers’ Snow White.” Marvels & Tales 16.2 (2002): 201-213. Stone, Kay. Some Day Your Witch Will Come. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2008. Taft, Jessica K. “Girl Power Politics: Pop-Culture Barriers and Organizational Resistance.” All about the Girl: Culture, Power and Identity. Ed. Anita Harris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 69-78 Tasker, Yvonne, and Diane Negra. “Feminist Politics and Postfeminist Culture.” Introduction. Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. Ed. Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham: Duke UP, 2007. 1-25. Tatar, Maria. The Hard Facts of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Expanded 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton U. P, 2003. Tsai, Hui-nieh(蔡蕙年). “The Modern Concept of Love in Taiwanese Idol Drama Meteor Garden I: A transformation of the Fairy Tale ‘Cinderella’ (《 流星花園 I》 的現代愛情觀：變形的灰姑娘童話).” Master thesis. National Taitung U(國立臺 東大學兒童文學研究所碩士論文), 2011. Tsao, Shu-yi(曹蜀宜). “The Influence of Idol Serials on the Consuming Behaviors of Teenagers: Using the Taiwan Self-produced Idol Serials as the Example(偶像劇 對青少年消費行為的影響—以本土自製偶像劇為例).” Master thesis. National Taipei Normal U( 國立台北師範學院教育傳播與科技研究所碩士論文), 2005. Tseëlon, Efrat. The Masque of Femininity: The Presentation of Woman in Everyday 158 Life. London: Sage Publications, 1995. Vavrus, Mary Douglas. “Domesticating Patriarchy: Hegemonic Masculinity and Television’s ‘Mr. Mom’.” Critical Studies in Media Communication 19.3 (2002): 352-375. Wang, Mei-yu(王郁梅). “Women, Marriage and Romance: A study on Hsichuan ’s Novels(戀女性、與言情婚─席絹小說的女性 書寫研究).” Master thesis. National Hsinchun U of Education(教國立新竹 育大學人資處語文教學碩士論 文), 2007. Wen, Tzu-hsin(溫子欣). “A Study on Romance Reading of Female Adolescent Students( 青少女學生閱讀愛情小說之研究：以兩班高職女學生為例).” Master Thesis. National Taiwan Normal U(範臺灣大師 學教育研究所碩士論文), 2003. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002. Wu, Yi-kuo and Chiang Yi-hui( 吳怡國、姜易慧). “A Diachronic Analysis of the Industry Transition of Taiwanese Trendy Drama(台製偶像劇產業發展變遷之歷 時性研究).” Paper at the Annual Conference of Chinese Communication Society(中華 傳播學會年會論文), July 3-5, 2010. 21 April 2012 f>. 159 Yang, Chao(楊照). “Love across the Times: The Change and Continuity in Taiwanese Popular Romance Novels(跨越時 代的愛情：台灣通俗羅曼史小說裡的變與不 變 ).” A History of Taiwanese Contemporary Novels(台灣 現代小說史綜論). Ed. Chen Yi-chih(芝陳).義 Taipei: Lienching( 聯經), 1998. 313-328. Yang, Ming(楊明). “Research of Taiwan Commercial Romance from 2001 to 2010(台 灣九○年代商業羅曼史研究).” Master thesis. National Sun Yan-sen U(國立中 山大學中國文學研究所碩士論文), 2011. Yeh, Ping-chun(葉品君). “The Previous Life and This Present Life of Cinderella: The Interaction Between Fairy Tales and Culture(灰姑娘的前世今生—論童話與文 化的互動).” Master thesis. National Taitung U(國立臺東大學兒童文學研究所 碩士論文), 2006. Young, Shelagh. “Feminism and the Politics of Power.” The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Ed. Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment. Seattle: Real Comet P, 1989. 173-188. Zidle, Abby. “From Bodice-Ripper to Baby-Sitter: The New Hero in Mass-Market Romance.” Romantic Convention. Ed. Anne K. Kaler and Rosemary E. Johnson-Kurek. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State U. Popular P, 1999. 149-172. Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion: The Classical Genre for Children 160 and the Process of Civilization. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. 161 Appendix I The Morphological Schemes of Six Romance Texts Non-princess in the Castle Move 1 Initial Situation: female hero (Yeh-hui) (夜茴), her half-brother (Mo Ching-yuan) (莫 靖遠) and half-sister (Hsiao-chen) (曉晨) introduced Absentation: Yeh-hui not loved by her parents; female hero’s mother (Wang Hsiu-chia) (王秀佳) loves fame and wealth more. Interdiction: Yeh-hui is demanded by her mother to please her agnate siblings. Violation: Yeh-hui only concerns about her half-sister. Lack: Yeh-hui lacks self-regard and a bridegroom. Move 2 Initial situation: Yeh-hui longs for familial love. Receipt of a magical agent: Ching-yuan supports Yeh-hui to live in her own way. Move 1 Departure: female hero leaves home. 1st Donor Function: Yen Yen (言晏) meets Yeh-hui for the first time. He advices her to move to another place. Hero’s reactionneg: Yeh-hui doesn’t accept Yen Yen’s suggestion. 1st Donor Function: Yen Yen buys dinner for Yeh-hui. Hero's reactionneg: Yeh-hui shows no friendliness. 1st Donor Function: Yen Yen advices Yeh-hui i to be frugal. Hero's reactionneg: Yeh-hui is still cold and slams the door. 1st Donor Function: Yen Yen tries to persuade Yeh-hui that love is more important than money. Hero's reactionneg: Yeh-hui satires Yen Yen. Move 2 Trickery: One wooer arranges a date with the help of Yeh-hui’s mother. Complicity: Yeh-hui attends the date. Move 1 1st Donor Function: Yen Yen discusses with Yeh-hui about her conditions for a 162 marriage partner. Hero's reactionneg: Yeh-hui shows her impatience. 1st Donor Function: Yen Yen complains about his colleague who snatches his merits in the company. Hero's reaction: Yeh-hui comforts Yen Yen. Receipt of a magical agent: Yen Yen admits he is attracted by Yeh-hui. Move 2 Villainy: Yeh-hui’s mother deprives her of the right to choose her future husband because she asks her to marry a rich man. Pursuit: Yeh-hui is asked to attend the arranged date again. Rescue: Ching-yuan interrupts the date. Move 3 Villainy: Yen Yen finds that Yeh-hui suffers from stomachache. Beginning counteraction: Yen Yen decides to send Yeh-hui to the clinic. Departure: Yen Yen accompanies Yeh-hui to the clinic. Return: Yen Yen comes back to his house with Yeh-hui. 1st Donor Function: Yeh-hui expresses that she is not happy at all. Hero's reaction: Yen Yen encourages Yeh-hui to seek for happiness. Receipt of a magical agent: Yeh-hui begins the romantic relationship with Yen Yen. Liquidation: Yeh-hui becomes healthier physically. Difficult task: Yen Yen needs to heal Yeh-hui’s psychological wounds. Solution: Yeh-hui overcomes her childhood trauma and feels no emptiness through her intimate relationship with Yen-yen. (also Liquidation in Move 1) Move 1 Transfiguration: Yeh-hui loves herself more after she develops the relationship with Yen Yen. Move 2 Liquidation: Ching-yuan helps Yeh-hui by sending her mother to Japan so that she can avoid all the arranged dates and promises her that she can choose whoever she loves as her husband. Move 1 Unrecognized arrival: Yeh-hui returns her sister’s mansion with Yen Yen, who remains ignorant of her real identity. (move 1) Recognition: Yen Yen finally learns that Yeh-hui is Ching-yuan’s sister. Wedding: Yeh-hui is married with Yen Yen. 163 Strayed Move 1 Initial situation: female hero (Ho Man-nung) (何曼儂) and male hero (Fan-Chiang Yi) (范姜頤) introduced Villainy: Man-nung is dumped by Fan-Chiang Yi. (also Lack: Man-nung longs to marry Fan-Chiang Yi, who she thinks is a perfect man for her. Departure: Man-nung moves out of Fan-Chiang Yi’s apartment and leaves his company. 1st Donor’s Function: Wang Yang (汪洋), Man-nung’s ex-boyfriend in high school days, apologizes for their breakup. Hero’s Reaction: Man-nung accepts his apology and views him as a comforter. Struggle: Man-nung meets Fan-Chiang Yi and his new girlfriend unexpectedly. Victoryneg: Man-nung feels frustrated. Receipt of a magical agent: Wang Yang agrees to be Man-nung’s boyfriend. Struggle : Man-nung meets Fan-Chiang Yi again unexpectedly. Victory: Man-nung refuses to talk with Fan-Chiang Yi. 1st Donor’s Function: Man-nung’s gets to know that Lin Hsin-lan (林欣藍) suffers from her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. Hero’s Reaction: Man-nung proves she is not the one who destroyed Hsin-lan’s relationship with her ex-boyfriend. Receipt of A magical agent: Hsin-lan becomes Man-nung’s friend/helper. Struggle: Fan-Chiang Yi tries to have more interaction with Man-nung in the party. Victory: Man-nung slaps Fan-Chiang Yi across the face after he gives her a peck on the lip. Pursuit: Fan-Chiang Yi flirts with Man-nung in a health club. Rescue: Man-nung tries to avoid being meeting him again. Liquidation: Fan-Chiang Yi is led by Wang Yang to the tea shop where he sees Man-nung. He asks her for reunion. Move 2 Lack: Fan-Chiang Yi desires for Man-nung’s emotionally positive responses. (a lack for a bride) Difficult task: Fan-Chiang Yi needs to persuade Man-nung to restart their relationship. Solution: Man-nung suppresses her true feeling but accepts Fan-Chiang Yi sexually. Receipt of a magical agent: Wang Yang helps Man-nung realize the one she really loves now is Fan-Chiang Yi. He encourages Man-nung to go back to Fan-Chiang Yi’s apartment. Difficult task: Fan-Chiang Yi has to make up with Man-nung. 164 Solution: Man-nung’s resistance becomes low because Fan-Chiang Yi tries to please her by giving a present which shows his thoughtfulness. Difficult task: Despite of the full schedule, Fan-Chiang Yi has to go to Hong Kong to propose to Man-nung. Solution: Man-nung accepts the marriage proposal. (also Liquidation in Move 1: Man-nung finds her future husband.) Wedding: Man-nung and Fan-Chiang Yi get married. 165 The Wealthy Gourmet Move 1 Initial situation: female hero (Feng Hsu) (奉姁) and male hero (Chueh Tung-chen) (闕 東辰) introduced. Lack: Feng Hsu desires to be selected as the lead of the Feng family. Implicit Lack: Feng Hsu needs a devoted lover. 1st Donor’s Function: Tung-chen asks for a lunch box. Hero's reaction: Feng Hsu prepares for his lunch willingly. 1st Donor’s Function: Tung-chen orders a Chinese dish in a French restaurant. Hero's reaction: Feng Hsu offers a satisfying dish. 1st Donor’s Function: Tung-chen needs a private chef. Hero's reaction: Feng Hsu designs perfect menus to match Tung-chen’s requirements. Receipt of a magical agent: Feng Hsu’s culinary skill is recognized by Tung-chen and his relatives. Move 2 Lack: Tung-chen desires to become the manager of the hospital by winning the support of one shareholder, Mr. Chao. Receipt of a magical agent: Feng Hsu helps Tung-chen as Mr. Chao recognizes her culinary skill. Move 1 Pursuit: The rivals of the Feng family want to see Feng Hsu. Rescue: Tung-chen doesn’t grant them their request. Move 2 Liquidation: Tung-chen is selected as the new manager of the hospital. Difficult Task: Tung-chen has to decide whether he will support Feng Hsu’s career aspiration or not. Solution: Tung-chen promises to be a supportive husband. (also Liquidation in Move 1) Wedding: Feng Hsu admits she likes Tung-chen as well. 166 The Prince Who Turns into a Frog Move 1 Initial situation The lead protagonists (Yen Tien-yu 葉天瑜 and San Chun-hao 單均 昊) and the supporting characters (Yun-hsi 芸熙 and Tzu-chien 子騫) introduced. Villainy: Chun-hao is hit accidentally by Tien-yu’s car. Unrecognized arrival: Chun-hao is taken to Kuanmei (觀美) village. Trickery: Tien-yu and her family members lie to Chun-hao, telling him that he is an illegal immigrant from Mainland China. Complicity: Chun-hao believes Tien-yu because he loses his memory. 1st Donor’s Function: Tien-yu falls into a valley. Hero's reaction: Chun-hao carries Tien-yu back home. Receipt of a magical agent: Tien-yu holds a favorable impression of Chun-hao. 1st Donor’s Function: Kuanmei hotel is about to be forced to close down. Hero's reaction: Chun-hao prevents Kuanmei hotel from being torn down. Receipt of a magical agent: Chun-hao wins Tien-yu’s trust. 1st Donor’s Function: Tien-yu needs a well-dressed and respectable male companion to join a birthday party. Hero's reaction: Chun-hao makes a stunning appearance at the party. Receipt of a magical agent: Tien-yu appreciates and admires Chun-hao. Recognition: Tzu-chien and Yun-hsi find Chun-hao. Liquidation: Chun-hao returns home and restores his memory. Move 3 Lack: Chun-hao’s memory about his romantic relationship with Tain-yu is lost. Move 2 Villainy: Chun-hao orders the owner of Kuanmei hotel to terminate business. Mediation: Tien-yu is informed of the crisis of Kunmei hotel. Beginning counteraction: Tien-yu decides to negotiate with Chun-hao. Departure: Tien-yu leaves for the head office of Senwell Hotel Group. 1st Donor’s Function: Chun-hao is trapped in an elevator. Hero's reaction: Tien-yu seeks help for Chun-hao. Receipt of a magical agent: Chun-hao agrees to reopen Kuanmei hotel Return: Tien-yu comes back to Kunmei hotel. Move 3 Unfounded Claims: Tzu-chien becomes Tien-yu’s boyfriend. Difficult task: Chun-hao declares his affection toward Tien-yu despite of his previous 167 vow to Yun-hsi. Solutionneg: Tien-yu refuses to respond to Chun-hao. Move 2 Unfounded claims: The wedding date of Chun-hao and Yun-hsi is set. Liquidation: The hotel ownership is returned to the original owner. Difficult task: Chun-hao is about to engage with Yun-hsi. Move 3 Difficult task: Tien-yu holds back her affection for Chun-hao. Solution: Tien-yu expresses her true feelings. Tzu-chien breaks up with her. Move 2 Solution: Yun-hsi agrees to cancel the marriage contract. Weddingneg: The reunion of Tien-yu and Chun-hao is impeded again by Tzu-chien. (also Weddingneg in Move 3) Move 4 Initial situation: Tzu-chien learns the cause of his father’s death and decides to revenge for his father’s murder. Villainy: Tzu-chien plans to sell Senwell hotel. Mediation: Chun-hao’s colleague, Chang Ming-han (張明寒), tells him that the potential buyer intends to transform Senwell hotel into a casino for money-laundering. Beginning counteraction: Chun-hao decides to stop Tzu-chien from transiting the ownership of Senwell hotel. Departure: Chun-hao rushes to the place of contract signing. Receipt of a magical agent: Tien-yu interrupts the process of contract signing. Pursuit: Chun-hao is pursuited by the vicious buyer. Rescue: Chun-hao and his helpers escape. Liquidation: Chun-hao keeps Senwell Hotel in his ownership. Return: Chun-hao comes back to Kuanmei village Difficult task: Tien-yu pretends that she loses her memory. Solution: Chun-hao makes Tien-yu reveal her true feelings. Wedding: Tien-yu and Chun-hao get married. (also the end of Move 2 and Move 3) 168 Fated to Love You Move 1 Initial situation: The potential couple (Chen Hsi-yi 陳欣怡 and Chi Tsun-hsi 紀存希), Hsi-yi’s boyfriend and Anna, who is Tsun-hsi’s girlfriend, introduced. Villainy: Hsi-yi’s boyfriend, Ku Chih (古馳), is unfaithful to her. Mediation: Tsun-hsi hears Ku Chih humiliate Hsi-yi. Beginning counteraction: Tsun-hsi decides to give Ku Chih a lesson. Departure: Tsun-hsi takes Hsi-yi to the casino after her makeover. Struggle: Tsun-hsi challenges Ku Chin on gambling. Victory: Tsun-hsi wins the card game. Liquidation: Ku Chih apologizes to Hsi-yi in public. Return: Tsun-hsi returns to his original way of life. Move 2 1st Donor’s Function: Dylan pretends that he is a priest. Hero’s reaction: Hsi-yi confesses to Dylan without any doubt. Receipt of a magical agent: Dylan becomes Hsi-yi’s future helper. Villainy: Tsun-hsi is unfriendly to Hsi-yi after they get married. Mediation: Tsun-hsi expresses his hostility to Hsi-yi who he thinks traps him into the marriage. Beginning counteraction: Hsi-yi vows that she will prove her unconditional love. 1st Donor’s Function: Tsun-hsi asks Hsi-yi to search for his missing dog. Hero’s reaction: Hsi-yi does her best to protect the dog. Receipt of a magical agent: Tsun-hsi’s negative impression of Hsi-yi changes. 1st Donor’s Function: Tsun-hsi plans to sell Hsi-yi’s homeland to an immoral businessman, Stephen Chou. Hero’s reaction: Hsi-yi confronts Stephen courageously. Receipt of a magical agent: Tsun-hsi admires Hsi-yi for her courage. 1st Donor’s Function: Tsun-hsi promises to spend his birthday with Hsi-yi but he goes back on his word. Hero’s reaction: Hsi-yi does not blame Tsun-hsi and even buys a pen as his birthday present Receipt of a magical agent: Dylan tells Tsun-hsi that it is not Anna but Hsi-yi that buys him a birthday present. Tsun-hsi is deeply touched. Liquidation: Tsun-hsi appreciates Hsi-yi’s selflessness and falls in love with her unconsciously. Move 3 169 Trickery: Anna lies to Hsi-yi that she is requested by Tsun-hsi to have an abortion. Complicity: Hsi-yi misunderstands that Tsun-hsi doesn’t want to have their baby. Villainy: Anna’s lie leads to Hsi-yi’s miscarriage and her romantic failure. Mediation: Hsi-yi is told that the car accident results in her miscarriage. Beginning counteraction: Hsi-yi makes up her mind to disentangle herself from the emotional turmoil. Departure: Hsi-yi leaves for Shanghai with Dylan. Receipt of a magical agent: Dylan encourages Hsi-yi to start a new life. Transfiguration: Hsi-yi becomes an independent and confident woman renamed Elaine. Move 4 Lack: Tsun-hsi desires a bride. (He loses contact with Hsi-yi) Spatial transference: Tsun-hsi goes to Shanghai on business. Move 3 Recognition: Tsun-hsi learns that Elaine is Hsi-yi. Unfounded claims: Anna is going to marry Tsun-hsi. Return: Hsi-yi comes back to Taiwan. Move 4 Return: Tsun-hsi returns home. Move 3 Exposure: Anna’s lie is made known. Punishment: Tsun-hsi decides not to marry Anna. Move 4 Difficult task: Tsun-hsi needs to convince Hsi-yi of his love. Solutionneg: Anna delays Tsun-hsi’s makeup with Hsi-yi. Move 3 Liquidation: Hsi-yi hears Tsun-hsi’s recorded message about his affection for her. Her prior romantic disappointment fades away. Move 4 Difficult task: Tsun-hsi asks Hsi-yi to accept his proposal. Solutionneg: Hsi-yi rejects the proposal because of her infertility. 170 Difficult task: Tsun-hsi has to prove that he wants to marry Hsi-yi for love not for having a son. Solution: Hsi-yi accepts his proposal. Wedding(=Liquidation): Tsun-hsi and Hsi-yi get married. (Tsun-hsi reunites with his beloved woman.) 171 Next Stop, Happiness Move 1 Initial situation: The female protagonist (Liang Mu-cheng) (梁慕橙)introduced. Absentation: Mu-cheng’s father passed away when she was young. 1st Donor’s Function: The male protagonist (Jen Kuang-hsi) (任光晞) stops a bus which Mu-cheng takes. Hero’s reaction: Mu-cheng sends Kuang-hsi to the police office Receipt of a magical agentneg: Mu-cheng’s accusation of Kuang-hsi’s obstructing traffic flow antagonizes him. 1st Donor’s Function: Kuang-hsi steals a kiss from Mu-cheng. Hero’s reaction: Mu-cheng lies to Kuang-hsi that his kiss enables her to win a bet. Receipt of a magical agentneg: Mu-cheng’s retort makes Kuang-hsi angry. 1st Donor’s Function: Kuang-hsi threatens to close down her stepmother’s restaurant if she does not have sex with him. Hero’s reaction: Mu-cheng sheds tears over his disrespect. Receipt of a magical agent: Mu-cheng’s tears shock Kuang-hsi out of insulting her. He becomes her protector. Move 2 1st Donor’s Function: Mu-cheng’s reputation will be ruined if Kuang-hsi shows the picture of their kiss in public. Hero’s reaction: Kuang-hsi chooses not to show the picture. Receipt of a magical agent: Mu-cheng’s negative impression of Kuang-hsi transforms. 1st Donor’s Function: Mu-cheng is kidnapped. Hero’s reaction: Kuang-hsi saves Mu-cheng. Receipt of a magical agent: Mu-cheng is moved by Kuang-hsi’s sacrifice. 1st Donor’s Function: Mu-cheng is accused of conducting prostitution. Hero’s reaction: Kuang-hsi makes efforts to prove Mu-cheng’s innocence. Receipt of a magical agent: Mu-cheng appreciates Kuang-hsi’s trust and falls in love with him. Move 1 Lack: Mu-cheng loses contact with Kuang-hsi. (She is requested to leave Kuang-hsi by his mother.) Unrecognized arrival: Mu-cheng goes to Hautien (花田) village. Move 2 Lack: Kuang-hsi' memory is lost due to the removal of his brain tumor. 172 Spatial Transference: Kuang-hsi is sent to Hautien village due to a sentence of community service. Move 3 Villainy: The president of Huanyu (寰宇) Company forces the villagers to sell the farmland of Hautien village. Mediation: The village head tells Mu-cheng that the loss of land ownership will make all villagers homeless. Beginning counteraction: Mu-cheng intends to stand by the villages to confront the oppression of Huanyu Company. Move 2 1st Donor’s Function: Mu-cheng’s son (Liang Hsian-le) (梁小樂) desires for fatherly love. Hero’s reaction: Kuang-hsi develops a good relationship with Hsian-le. Receipt of a magical agent: Hsian-le respects and trusts Kuang-hsi a lot. Move 3 Receipt of a magical agent: Kuang-hsi decides to help the villagers. Departure: Mu-cheng goes to Sheng Te (聖德) University to collect information about the illegality of Huanyu Company. Exposure: The attempt of Huanyu Company to cover the fact about the polluted land in Hautien village is exposed. Return: Mu-cheng comes back to Hautien village. Liquidation: The president of Huanyu Company promises to pay compensation. Move 1 Unfounded claims: Ho Yi-chien (何以茜) appears under the title of Kuang-hsi’s fiancée. Move 2 Unfounded claims: Hua To-yeh (花拓也) declares his deep affection toward Mu-cheng. Return: Kuang-hsi returns to Taipei after the community service. Receipt of a magical agent: Hsian-le’s accident leads to Kuang-hsi’s discovery of his paternity and his retrieval of memories. Liquidation: Kuang-hsi restores his memory. 173 Move 1 Recognition: Mu-cheng is recalled in Kuang-hsi’s memory. Difficult task: Mu-cheng has to regain Kuang-hsi’s trust. Solutionneg: To-yeh delays Mu-cheng’s declaration of her love. Difficult task: Mu-cheng needs to persuade Kuang-hsi of her love. Solution: Kuang-hsi believes that Mu-cheng loves him wholeheartedly. Wedding (=Liquidation): Kuang-hsi promises to love Mu-cheng for ever by giving a long kiss. 174 Appendix II The Distribution of Character Types among Dramatis Personae Move 3 Move Female Yeh-hui) (Shan protagonist Female Yeh-hui) (Shan protagonist Male protagonist (Yen Yen) Move2 Move2 Yeh-hui’s Yeh-hui’s wooers Unwelcome mother; Half brother Ching-yuan) (Mo Half brother Ching-yuan) (Mo Female Yeh-hui) (Shan protagonist Non-princess inCastle the Non-princess Move 1 Move Male protagonist (Yen Yen) Male protagonist (Yen Yen) Male protagonist (Yen Yen) Female Yeh-hui) (Shan protagonist Villain Villain Donor Helper Princess Dispatcher Hero hero False 175 Move Move 2 Former Yang) (Wang lover Female protagonist Man-nung) (Ho Male protagonist Yi) (Fan-Chiang Strayed Strayed Move Move 1 Male Male protagonist Yi) (Fan-Chiang Former (Wang lover Schoolmate Yang); (Lin Hsin-lan) Former (Wang lover Schoolmate Yang); (Lin Hsin-lan) Female protagonist Man-nung) (Ho Villain Villain Donor Helper Princess Dispatcher Hero hero False Move Move 2 Female protagonist Hsu) (Feng Female protagonist Hsu) (Feng Male protagonist Tung-chen) (Chueh Move Move 1 The Wealthy Gourmet Gourmet Wealthy The (opponents (opponents of the Male protagonist Tung-chen) (Chueh Male protagonist Tung-chen) (Chueh Female protagonist Hsu) (Feng The The Chiu family Feng Family) Villain Villain Donor Helper Princess Dispatcher Hero hero False 176 Move Move 4 Tzu-chien Tzu-chien Female protagonist Tien-yu) (Yen Female protagonist Tien-yu) (Yen Colleague (Chang Ming-han) Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Move Move 3 Female protagonist Tien-yu) (Yen Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Love (Tzu-chien) rival Move Move 2 Male Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Female protagonist Tien-yu) (Yen (Yun-hsi) Fiancée The Prince Who Turns into a Frog into a Frog Turns Who The Prince Move Move 1 Female Female protagonist Tien-yu) (Yen Female protagonist Tien-yu) (Yen Male protagonist Chun-hao) (Shan Villain Villain Donor Helper Princess Dispatcher Hero hero False 177 Move Move 4 Female protagonist Hsi-yi) (Chen Male Tsun-hsi) (Chi protagonist Move Move 3 Anna Anna Dylan Male Tsun-hsi) (Chi protagonist Female protagonist Hsi-yi) (Chen Anna Move Move 2 Fated to Love You You to Love Fated Male Male Tsun-hsi) (Chi protagonist Male (Chi protagonist Dylan Tsun-hsi); Dylan Male Tsun-hsi) (Chi protagonist Female protagonist Hsi-yi) (Chen Move Move 1 Hsi-yi’s Hsi-yi’s two-timing Chih) (Ku boyfriend Male Tsun-hsi) (Chi protagonist Villain Villain Donor Helper Princess Dispatcher Hero hero False 178 Move 3 Move President President of Huanyu company protagonist Male Kuang-hsi) (Jen head village The Female Mu-cheng) (Liang protagonist Move2 Move2 Female (Liang Mu-cheng); son protagonist Hsiao-le) (Liang Hsiao-le) Son (Liang Female Mu-cheng) (Liang protagonist protagonist Male Kuang-hsi) (Jen Another suitor (Hua To-yeh) Next Stop, Happiness Happiness Stop, Next Move 1 Move Male protagonist Male Kuang-hsi) (Jen Male protagonist (Jen Kuang-hsi) Male protagonist (Jen Kuang-hsi) Female Mu-cheng) (Liang protagonist Yi-chien) (Ho Fiancée Villain Villain Donor Helper Princess Dispatcher Hero hero False 179 Appendix III Chinese Excerpt from the Dissertation 從童話走入羅曼史的灰姑娘從童話走入羅曼史的灰姑娘：：：： 當代流行言情作品與後女性主義 一一一、一、、、前言前言前言前言————現代現代現代現代灰姑娘與後女性主義灰姑娘與後女性主義 灰姑娘是當代言情作品中極具代表性的人物，無數的言情小說或戲劇皆援引 灰姑娘為母題，貧窮女與貴公子之間的愛情故事反覆上演仍不減魅力。這些作品 承續了源自童話的愛情模式，並在父權文化的愛情腳本中納入女性主義的價值 觀。一方面，自主堅強的女性新形象挑戰了主流意識形態；另一方面，以異性戀 為中心的敘事則鞏固了傳統觀念。女性主義與反女性主義概念之間的糾葛，形成 了 Rosalind Gill 所 說的「後女性主義氛圍」(postfeminist sensibility) (161)，而現 代灰姑娘言情作品的成功則證明了後女性主義背後的經濟潛力。 後女性主義除了包含女性主義理念之外，同時也質疑了第二波女性主義的部 份概念。一方面提倡性別形象的重塑，以呼應女性主義對於女性賦權、獨立、與 選擇自由之訴求；另一方面重新闡釋女性主義與陰柔特質、異性戀論述之間的關 係，將過去頗受批判的女性慾望(feminine desires)納入 女性主義的框架中。後女 性主義強調差異與多元，承認不同的主體位置互有矛盾的可能性，拒絕單一化的 女性主義實踐。隨著後女性主義論述因流行文化產品大肆流傳，女性主義與流行 文化之間的關係更顯複雜。女性主義是否已然主流化獲得大眾認可？抑或是因為 過度商業化而削弱了政治意涵？這些議題在後女性主義現象的爭辯中仍然莫衷 一是。 言情的研究批作品評中可以觀察到類似的爭議 。以婚姻為結局的安排或被視 為父權社會下權力關係的再製與強化；也有另從積極面詮釋的作法，將美滿婚姻 當成是情感需求的滿足，甚至是彰顯女主角克服種種障礙後的勝利。另外自九Ο 年代以來，文本形塑的性別角色已出現鬆動男女性別氣質二元化的可能性，成為 父權結構中的顛覆力量。然而，學術界對於言情作品在女性主義文化政治實踐上 所扮演的角色看法不一。一派認為言情作品仍受到父權思想宰制，利用情愛幻想 再製性別意識形態的效果，無助於個人成長與社會改革；另一派則認為通俗文學 隨著大環境變動逐漸演化，潛藏其中的顛覆性有累積作用，終將促成變革。 本究研以廣受青少年喜愛的本土言情小說及偶像劇為例 ，探討當代言情作品 180 如何改寫灰姑娘童話以獲得廣大迴響。本土言情小說與國內原創偶像劇的敘事如 何承續童話模式？公式文學如何在讀者／觀眾已經預知情節走向的情形下，提供 閱讀的樂趣？文本中的性別形象如何反映出後女性主義思維中的矛盾？後女性 主義論述與文本受歡迎的程度有何關聯？研究者選用言情小說家席絹的作品以 及三立電視台的偶像劇為研究對象，主要原因在於這些文本皆屬本土言情作品， 且頗受歡迎，具有較高的知名度。席絹的作品是租書店中租閱排行榜的常勝軍， 報章雜誌及學術論文也因席絹廣受歡迎而有相關討論。三立電視台則是製播國內 原創偶像劇的知名品牌，多齣作品享有高收視率。以灰姑娘為原型的言情小說或 偶像劇甚多，本研究從 2000 至 2009 年中的選取作品席絹的言情小說 《城堡裡沒 有公主》、《迷路》、《富貴饕家》及三立電視台的偶像劇《王子變青蛙》、《命中注 定我愛你》、《下一站幸福》為主要分析文本。這些文本特別強調與童話之互文性， 刻意以灰姑娘、王子或公主等童話人物指涉文本中的角色，主題上則與跨階級的 戀情有關。研究者以普洛普(Vladimir Propp) 在《故事形態學》中提出的角色功能 論分析文本的敘事結構，從中了解言情小說、偶像劇與童話之間的同質性。就文 本內容的表現，則以後女性主義為視角，檢視其中的性別形象，探討後女性主義 論述對於當代讀者的吸引力，希冀藉此瞭解 21 世紀最初十年間流行文化與（後） 女性主義之間的關係。 二二二、二、、、灰姑娘的輪迴轉世灰姑娘的輪迴轉世灰姑娘的輪迴轉世————言情作品中的童話結構言情作品中的童話結構 普洛普在《故事形態學》中指出，構成童話故事的基本成份為角色的功能。 所謂「功能」指的是「從其對於行對過程意義角度定義的角色行為」(18)。洛普 普所歸納出的故事角色分別為主人公（尋找者）、對手（惡棍）、施予者、協助者、 公主（被追尋者）、使者、及假主人公（73-74 ）。除了故事開端的形態要素「初 始情境」(代碼α)有之功能外，項另共三十一項(24-59) 11： 代碼 功能 定義 β 外出 一位家庭成員離家外出 γ 禁止 對 主人公下一道禁令 δ 破禁 打破禁令 ε 刺探 對 手試圖刺探消息 ζ 獲悉 對 手獲知其受害者的信息 η 設圈套 對 手企圖欺騙其受害者，以掌握他或她的財物 θ 協同 受害上當者並無意中幫助了敵人 A 加害 對手對一個家庭成員帶來傷害或損失 a 缺失 家庭成員之一缺少某種東西，他想得到某種東 11 普洛普的《故事形態學》一書原文為俄文，英文譯本與簡體中文譯本所用之功能代碼不盡相 同，為求與本研究英文論文一致，代碼部份採用英譯本符號，功能項之定義及說明部份則參考中 文譯本之譯文。 181 西 災難失被或告缺知，向主人公提出請求或發出 B 調停 命令，派遣他或允許他出發 C 最初的反抗 尋找者應允或決定反抗 ↑ 出發 主人公離家 主人公受考驗、查問或攻擊，因而獲得魔法或 D 贈 與者的第一項功能 協助者 E 主人公的反應 主人公對施予者的行為做出反應 F 寶得物 的獲 寶物落入主人公掌握 G 空間移動 主人公轉移，被送往或引導到找尋之物所在地 H 交鋒 主人公與對手正面交鋒 J 打記印 給 主人公做標記 I 戰勝 勝利（對手被打敗） K 失災難的消或除缺 消災（起初的不幸或需求得到彌補或滿足） ↓ 歸來 主人公返家 Pr 追捕 追 擊（主人公被追補） Rs 獲救 主人公得救 主人公以讓人認不出的面貌回到家鄉或到達 ο 不被察覺的抵達 另一個國家 L 非要分求 假 冒主人公提出非份的要求 M 難題 給 主人公出難題 N 解答 難題被解答 Q 認出 主人公得到公認 Ex 揭露 假 冒主人公或對手的事跡敗露 T 搖身變 一 主人公改頭換面 U 懲罰 壞人受到懲罰 W 舉婚行禮 主人公 成婚或加冕為王 普洛普將主人公分成二類，一為做為尋找者的主人公，一為落難的主人公。 前者以尋找為目的而離家，後者的離家之旅並無尋找任務(35)。 灰姑娘飽受繼母 與繼姐們欺凌，看似落難的主人公。但研究者從形態意義來看，灰姑娘想參加王 子的舞會意味者想嫁入皇室的慾望，灰姑娘其實扮演著尋找者的角色，王子則是 被追尋者。只是當灰姑娘獲得神仙教母的幫助，如願參加舞會之後，主動尋找者 的角色在第二回合中轉變為隱性的尋找者，也是被動的尋找者。做為被追尋者的 王子在第二回合中反而同時扮演著主動追尋者的角色，他想要找到舞會中遇見的 夢中情人做為他的新娘。灰姑娘和王子之間的尋找者／被追尋者的關係，在第二 回合中遊走在模糊地帶，雙方皆扮演著尋找者，又同時是對方的追尋對象。灰姑 娘角色從主動的尋找者轉變成被動的尋找者及王子的追尋對象。這個轉變反映出 182 男女戀愛與追求過程中，女性自主的可能性與限制，以及男女雙方權力的流動。 當灰姑娘童話擴充為較長篇的敘事時，這樣的模糊地帶正是女權意識能夠發揮的 空間。 (一) 言情作品的形態分析 1.《 城堡裡沒有公主》 女主角單夜茴出身富貴，但因為母親當初介入別人家庭而深感自卑。對於同 父異母的哥哥莫靖遠及姐姐曉晨的感情非常執著，但也由於自己的心結未解，凡 事總以姐姐為中心。姐姐出嫁後即一人獨自搬出去住，巧遇住在同棟公寓的房客 言晏。男主角言晏原本家境不錯，但因家人簽賭而錢財散盡。原想娶個富家女少 奮鬥三十年，因與女主角譜出戀曲而打消念頭。最後才發現女主角並非如他想像 是個家道中落的落難公主，反倒是自己上司的妹妹，是個名符其實的富家千金。 2.路《》迷 男 主角范姜頤在情人節當晚和女主角何曼儂提出分手。分手後才發現何曼儂 並非如他想像，只是個美麗性感的富家大小姐，毫無個性主見。後來交往的對象 徐薇蓮雖坦率樸實，但雙方的生活方式及金錢觀其實相差甚遠，因此決定重新追 回女主角。而何曼儂也在高中初戀情人汪洋及校友林欣藍等人的協助下，找回自 我，不再刻意地偽裝柔順以迎合對方，決定以真實的自己面對愛情。 3. 《富貴饕家》 女主 角奉姁與家族的姐妹們將以廚藝角逐奉主之位。每位參賽者的成績除了 儲備期間的工作表現外，最後決賽也將由家族中的長老及自己的雇主評分。奉姁 的雇主闕東辰對食物極為挑剔，因為奉姁料理的食物符合他的口味，而雇用她為 私人廚師。男主角闕東辰從一開始對奉姁廚藝的肯定，轉而欣賞奉姁的敬業表 現，進而衍生出男女之情。由於奉氏家族的奉主必須服役十年，這也意味著奉姁 若當選為奉主，兩人將聚少離多。手中握有分數決定權的闕東辰仍舊決定尊重奉 姁的夢想，願意支持她成為奉主。奉姁感念之餘，也對闕東辰敞開心房，以真情 回報。 4.《 王子變青蛙》 男主角單均昊擔任 Senwell 飯店集團總經理，與未婚妻訂婚當天意外地被女 主角葉天瑜開車撞昏。立志嫁給有錢人的葉天瑜並不知道單均昊的真實身份，將 他帶回觀美漁村。清醒後的單均昊失去記憶，被指為大陸偷渡客，以新的身份「茼 蒿」在觀美漁村生活，變得體貼他人具有同情心，並與葉天瑜日久生情。偏偏就 在此刻，單均昊因為一場意外恢復記憶，又回到過去冷酷強勢的個性，準備與未 婚妻芸熙結婚。命運卻讓均昊與天瑜二人糾纏不清，最後讓均昊體認到自己真正 愛的對象是天瑜。芸熙黯然離開單家，並陷入精神崩潰。單均昊的好友徐子騫暗 戀芸熙已久，同時又得知單均昊的父親是自己的殺父仇人，為了替父親與芸熙討 回公道，奪下 Senwell 經營權，且意圖轉售，最後在單均昊與葉天瑜的勸阻下而 183 作罷。葉天瑜與買方斡旋過程中受傷昏迷，清醒後佯裝失憶。單均昊幾經考驗總 算獲得天瑜諒解，兩人終成眷屬。 5. 《命中注定我愛你》 男主角紀存希為一家日用化工集團的社長，原本打算在麗星郵輪上向女友 Anna 求婚，卻在陰錯陽差下與女主角陳欣怡發生關係，使其懷孕。紀存希被迫 與陳欣怡奉子成婚，婚後相處過程中逐漸喜歡上陳欣怡。此時 Anna 回國攪局， 導致陳欣怡流產。陳欣怡誤以為紀存希對她並無愛意，遂與 Dylan 到上海工作， 成為陶瓷家。二年後紀存希到上海出差而與陳欣怡重逢，努力解除兩人之間的誤 會並重新追求陳欣怡，經過一番波折後，兩人正式結婚。 6. 《下一站幸福》 任家獨子任光晞為聖德集團繼承人，因懷疑母親外遇害父親自殺身亡，從小 就不相信女人的真心。對女主角梁慕橙產生愛意之後，懂得在乎別人與付出。梁 慕橙原為大企業家之女，公司破產與父親車禍過世後，跟著繼母與繼父生活，遇 事樂觀堅強。她與男主角兩人愛意漸深之時，男主角卻罹患腦瘤。為了換取多一 倍的治癒率，她答應任母的請求，對光晞說謊，選擇離開，卻不知自己已懷有光 晞的孩子。六年後慕橙與兒子小樂和光晞在花田村重逢，此時的光晞因腦部手術 而失去過往的記憶，成為勢利的律師。慕橙為了成全光晞與未婚妻何以茜的幸 福，選擇不告訴他過去的事。婚禮前夕，光晞恢復記憶，埋怨當年慕橙絕情離開， 也恨她隱瞞小樂的事。他隱藏對慕橙的感情，以報復為由強迫慕橙與他結婚。兩 人之間原本充滿猜忌與不信任，隨著兩人逐漸卸下心防，最後終於因為彼此坦白 而盡釋前嫌。 研究者採用普洛普的形態學分析方法，細分文本中的主要敘事要素，從中觀 察言情小說與偶像劇在敘事構造上如何延伸童話的模式。分析結果如表一、表二 所示： 情表作一品：之敘事言 模式 文本 回合 功能項序列圖示 5 I αβγδa↑〔DEneg.Fneg〕 DEFKTQW 《城堡裡沒有公 II αFηθA PrRsK 主》 III AC↑↓DEFKMNW I αA↑DEHI neg.FHIDEFHIPrRsK 《迷路》 II aMNFMNMN(=K)W I αaDEDEDEFPrRsK 《富貴饕家》 II aFKMNW 《王子變青蛙》 I αAοηθ〔DEF〕3 QK II ABC↑DEF↓LKMNWneg III aLMNnegMNWneg 184 IV αABC↑F PrRsK↓MNW I αABC↑HIK↓ 《命中注定我愛 II DEFABC〔DEF〕3K 你》 III ηθABC↑FTQL↓ExUK IV a G↓MNnegMNnegMNW(=K) I αβDEnegFnegDEnegFnegDEFaοLQMNnegMNW(=K) 《下一站幸福》 II 〔DEF〕3 aGDEFL↓FK III ABCF↑Ex↓K 情表作二品：之言角色分配 角分色配 回 文本 假人主 合 主人公 對手 施予者 協助者 公主 使者 公 女主角 男主角 男主角 男主角 I (單夜茴) (言晏) (言晏) (言晏) 《 城 女主角 女主角 女主角 堡 裡 女主角 生母；其 II 兄長(莫 兄長(莫 沒 有 (單夜茴) 他追求 靖遠) 靖遠) 公主》 者 男主角 女主角 女主角 III (言晏) (單夜茴) (單夜茴) 女主角 女主角 初戀情 初戀情 女主角 男主角 I 人(汪 人(汪 (何曼儂) (范姜頤) 《 迷 洋)；校友 洋)；校友 路》 (林欣藍) (林欣藍) 女主角 男主角 女主角 II 初戀情 (范姜頤) (何曼儂) 人(汪洋) 女主角 秋家(奉 男主角 男主角 《 富 I (奉姁) 家對手) (闕東辰) (闕東辰) 貴 饕 男主角 女主角 女主角 家》 II (闕東辰) (奉姁) (奉姁) 185 表二：言情作品之角色分配 (續) 角分色配 回 文本 假主人 合 主人公 對手 施予者 協助者 公主 使者 公 男主角 女主角 女主角 I (單均昊) (葉天瑜) (葉天瑜) 女主角 男主角 男主角 男主角 男主角 未婚妻 II 《王 (葉天瑜) (單均昊) (單均昊) (單均昊) (單均昊) (范芸熙) 子變 男主角 女主角 情敵(徐 III 青蛙》 (單均昊) (葉天瑜) 子騫) 男主角 男主角 女主角 女主角 IV 徐子騫 同事(張 (單均昊) (葉天瑜) (葉天瑜) 明寒) 女主角 男主角 I 原男友 (紀存希) (古馳) 男主角 《命 女主角 男主角 (紀存 男主角 II Dylan 中注 (陳欣怡) (紀存希) 希)； (紀存希) 定我 Dylan 愛你》 男主角 男主角 女主角 男主角 III 原女友 Dylan 原女友 (陳欣怡) (紀存希) Anna Anna 男主角 女主角 IV (紀存希) (陳欣怡) 男主角 女主角 男主角 男主角 男主角 I 未婚妻 (梁慕橙) (任光晞) (任光晞) (任光晞) (何以茜) 《下 女主角 女主角 一站 男主角 (梁慕 兒子(梁 女主角 II 追求者 幸福》 (任光晞) 橙)；兒子 小樂) (梁慕橙) (花拓也) (梁小樂) 女主角 寰宇集 男主角 花田村 III (梁慕橙) 團總裁 (任光晞) 村長 (二)從童話到言情作品的演化 各文本的結構與普洛普所歸納出來的童話構造大致雷同，其中功能項 D-E-F 186 與 M-N 最常重覆出現。功能項 D-E-F 主來要描用述主角二人之間漸生的情愫， 而功能項 M-N 多用來描述二人後來如何克服障礙。由於言情作品的世界乃設定 在寫實場景中，雖無寶物或擁有魔法的協助者出現，主角二人之間的感情進展可 視為魔法的象徵形式，隨著愛情力量的茁壯，將來才能通過種種考驗與磨難。有 時候真正阻礙或促成二人戀情者係因命運安排，舉凡災難、急症或種種巧合就有 可能推論為功能項 A(加害)或 Pr(追捕)。外此 ，功能項 T(搖身變) 一 在情言作品中 則擴充定義為生理及心理上的蛻變。 的言情角色分作品配也符合普洛普的分類 。言情作品傾向於強調女主角個人 的情感追尋歷程，女主角做為主動的追尋者，在文本所描述的男女互動過程中， 仍多半轉換成被動的追尋者角色。值得一提的是，言情作品中同樣也出現主角二 人同時扮演尋找者與被追尋者的角色。此外，被追尋者更常同時扮演著施予者一 角，測試對方心意後，轉而回報自己的感情，成為協助者的角色。假主人公的角 色多半由情敵扮演，有時候也有可能成為主角戀情的推動者或阻礙者，因此假主 人公一角也有與協助者或是對手的角色融合的機會。多重角色的融合可說是言情 作品在結構安排上的特色，使得言情作品的敘事焦點能夠持續集中在主角二人之 間的感情進展狀況。 言情作品保留了童話結構，可說是童話的延伸。不變的敘事模式讓讀者／觀 眾能輕鬆自在地閱讀文本，享受基本的樂趣。但一部受歡迎的言情作品必須提供 更多面向的樂趣以吸引更多讀者／觀眾，接下來將從文本的改寫策略與性別形象 變化上探討言情文本能廣受喜愛的原因。 三三三、三、、、老調新彈老調新彈老調新彈老調新彈：：：：灰姑娘愛情故事的改造工程灰姑娘愛情故事的改造工程 以灰姑娘故事為藍圖的言情作品，多半強調主角二人的貧富差距，高傲冷酷 的富家公子最後愛上純真樸實的平凡女子是最常見的公式。John G. Cawelti 指出 成功的公式文學除了結構固定以外，也必須加入新的因子(12)的。如因何子讓新 同時也能符合言情作品的慣常設定，成為創作者表現創意又兼顧市場需求的主要 條件。席絹的小說保留了言情小說的圓滿結局，將人物重新設定，推翻了刻板印 象，成功地顛覆了灰姑娘模式。三立偶像劇雖維持一貫的人物設定，但以適當的 情節編排保持節奏緊湊，並透過演員的細膩演出，讓觀眾更能投入劇情；另外再 加入笑料，增添戲劇的趣味性。無論是言情小說或是偶像劇，在男主角刻劃上， 都搭上流行文化裡的後女性主義風潮，保守觀念與女性主義價值觀同時並存，因 此可以吸引到不同意識形態的讀者／觀眾。 (一)賦予定型人物新面貌 187 席絹在《城堡裡沒有公主》中將男女主角的財經地位互易，女主角出身富貴 人家，卻被男主角誤以為二人同樣是因為家道中落，才會住在破舊的公寓。作者 以「公主」、「灰姑娘」分別來比喻生活優渥及貧困的女子，又設定男主角為想娶 個富家女的「灰公子」。童話人物的意涵與現代文化連結，輔以性別反轉的手法 增添故事新意。《迷路》一書中則以美豔性感的富家女為女主角，另以單純自然 的女配角來陪襯，將言情小說中常見的清純女主角與妖豔情敵的設定徹底翻轉， 讓熟悉言情小說套數的讀者更加好奇故事的後續發展。即使是在《富貴饕家》中， 大公司老闆愛上自家廚師的設定雖不新鮮，但作者仍語帶諷刺，將言情小說的老 套拿來取笑一番： 跟富家大少家交往是什麼情況？出入名車代步、在每間精品店留下敗金 的血拼痕跡、在每個名流聚集的派對宴會上出沒、成為八卦鎂光燈的焦 點……這種看似白馬王子 V.S 灰姑娘的劇情深受廣大女性觀眾的支持， 所以當她昨天晚上在網上告訴眾家師姐妹們她今天下午將要被帶去做 頭做臉買衣買鞋、晚上準備陪著闕大少去參加宴會時，立即引起驚聲尖 叫……那些曠世怨女們雖然認為奉姁這個遲鈍宅女不可能拐到一匹白 馬，但是還是深陷在這種夢幻的情緒中，編織出浮想翩翩，自行寫成了 無數個版本的言情小說。(席絹 188-189) 《 富貴饕家》將姐妹在愛情戰場上的互鬥，轉變成母系家族中的廚藝比賽，強調 公平競爭及姐妹情誼。男女主角的情感追尋與在事業上努力爭取成功的過程巧妙 結合，因而增加小說的可看性。 (二)強化情感層面 有言情別於作其品他通俗文類的最大賣點在於主角二人的情感發展過程 ，讀 者／觀眾的樂趣來自於感受過程中的曖昧、期待、失落與滿足。即使劇情的安排 太過巧合或不具太多創新，但偶像劇主角的演技若能讓觀眾感同深受，同樣能吸 引觀眾注意。除了加強情感渲染效果，另一個有效吸引觀眾的作法便是融入其他 劇種的特色，例如《命中注定我愛你》的床戲就穿插了飛彈發射、飛機起飛和火 車過山洞的畫面；女主角驗孕場面意外地成為新聞現場轉播一幕，不想曝光的懷 孕一事反而鬧得人盡皆知；男主角意外落水以及被女主角母親痛打的喜感演出都 增加本劇笑點。此外，配角們的搞笑演出也增加不少笑果，吸引觀眾收看。本土 偶像劇選擇加入喜劇效果來擴大觀眾群，也迎合了現代人不喜過於沉重，想多看 一些愛情的輕鬆面之心理。 (三)打造現代版白馬王子 件無的條真愛是愛情故事中恆久不變的主題， 但言情作品中的情愛幻想需要 隨著時代調整才能符合現代人的期待與興趣。後女性主義強調女性的擇偶自由， 在後女性主義的幻想(postfeminist fantasy)中 ：「女性主義已成功消除了兩性平等 的障礙，且大幅增加女性的選擇自由，也給了女性解決問題的工具。要實現這個 188 幻想，有賴於後女性主義男性(postfeminist men)的出現， 成為女性最重要的工具」 (Dow 127) 。傳統童話故事對於王子的描述不多，相較於童話中王子的模糊形 象，現代言情文本中的男主角著墨較多，主要都在強調其外表魅力、事業成就、 與溫柔體貼。研究者認為這些特點與當代消費文化息息相關，所謂如王子般的男 子都擁有相當的購買力，能夠大肆消費，用來打理自己，也拿來取悅他的愛人。 文本中用女性利角色或敘述者的評斷 ，強調男主角外在的吸引力。例如《富 貴饕家》中，女配角初見男主角時直言：「那是誰啊？……哇，長得好帥！啊， 我知道他！我看過他的照片，但沒想到本人好看成這樣」(席絹 17)。又如《城 堡裡沒有公主》中，敘述者提到男主角與家族中其他子弟的外在條件：「他們表 兄弟都是有家計負擔的人，所以自幼就立志要娶富家千金來減少奮鬥三十年。而 他們是有這個條件的。長得帥，又高有挺拔，儒雅的白面書生樣，簡直是女子心 目中的白馬王子，所以自小圍在他們身邊團團轉的女生從沒少過」(席絹 13-14)。 當代媒體文化中廣泛的性化現象導致男性與女性身體再現的情色化趨勢，女 性被塑造為主動的慾望主體(Gill 150-151性)。凝在視下女 ，男性成為被觀看的對 象。比如《王子變青蛙》中男主角的出場乃透過攝影機特地觀看他的穿著與行走 的步伐；《命中注定我愛你》便出現男主角身著泳褲下水游泳的畫面；《下一站幸 福》中安排男主角裸露上身沖澡的畫面，都以強調男子身材為目的。觀影樂趣顛 覆了 Laura Mulvey 所稱「女性為影像，男性為觀看者」的機制(11)。 男主角的職業也多半是菁英份子所從事的工作，諸如大公司的經理，集團的 社長或是律師等。為了塑造男主角的專業形象以便和不學無術的紈褲子弟有所區 別，文本中亦會強調個人的經營能力及敬業精神，將男主角塑造成可崇敬的對 象。事業的成就也與經濟能力劃上等號，男主角在食衣住行育樂各方面都享有高 品質的生活，文本中也會塑造出他們品味高尚的形象。例如《富貴饕家》中的男 主角擅於品味美食、《迷路》中的男主角多半出入高級餐館、《城堡裡沒有公主》 的男主角能輕易辨識出女主角衣著的品牌，餐具擺飾的高級程度；抑或是偶像中 男主角總是穿著流行服飾，講究婚戒設計感的要求都將高品味等同於高消費。這 種高消費能力往往又成為男主角表現溫柔體貼的條件。例如《命中注定我愛你》 的男主角為女主角花大錢報復其劈腿的男友、貼心地買遊艇做為女主角的生日禮 物，讓她能夠隨時回娘家。《迷路》中的男主角細心地觀察到女主角的近視度數， 而且送給她最新型的隱形眼鏡。 男主角的細心、敏感與溫柔成為最佳情人的模範。《下一站幸福》中的男主 角，將罹患腦瘤的脆弱與無助展露在女主角面前；《城堡裡沒有公主》的男主角 會把公事上所遇的挫折坦白吐露，對妻女細心呵護；《富貴饕家》中的男主角雖 急著成家，但也願意支持女主角的事業，承諾分擔家務等。後女性主義論述中愛 189 家、愛妻、愛子的形象雖展現男性的柔性面，親善型的父權形象仍未完全擺脫男 性優勢，資本主義、異性戀及核心家庭的男性權威依然存在。 傳統陽剛氣質的優點與陰柔特質被偏好的部份結合，成為現代言情作品中完 美情人的範本。批評家 Rowena Chapman 認新為好男人的形象終究受到保守父權 勢力的操控，強化原來的性別秩序(247)。但 Ananya Mukherjea 反流倒行文認為 化產品回應了女性的渴望與需求(12)；Margaret Marshment 稱更如果聲 以女性主 義被收編為由而摒棄這些作品，等於否定了其中一些較進步的性別觀念(43)。後 女性主義論述中的矛盾使批評家各持一詞，但文本中並存的訊息能夠支持不同解 讀，反倒能吸引更多讀者／觀眾。 四四四、四、、、現現現現代灰姑娘的雙重面貌代灰姑娘的雙重面貌代灰姑娘的雙重面貌：：：：陰柔氣質的強勢與弱勢陰柔氣質的強勢與弱勢 灰姑娘童話中所讚揚的女性價值著重於女性的美貌、美德與被動。過去的女 性主義者對此頗多批判，將傳統的陰柔特質視為父權文化對女性的束縛。後女性 主義重新詮釋陰柔特質的女性主義意涵，因此女性的外表魅力、隸屬於居家 (domestic)領域的特質與技能、乃至於情感上的被動都成為女性賦權、柔性力量 與個人選擇自由的象徵。後女性主義脈絡下的傳統陰柔氣質使得現代灰姑娘擺盪 於掌權與失勢、脆弱與堅毅、主動與被動之間。其中的矛盾一如 Stéphanie Genz 所言乃是因為一方面與女性解放的論述連結，另一方面卻未完全切斷與異性戀霸 權和父權文化的關係(96)。 在後女性主義框架下，女性賦權與能動性的概念成為 行銷利器，也讓讀者／觀眾能接受文本中所建構的女性特質。 (一) 美貌與氣質 會父權中的美社 貌符碼強調女性外表的重要性，也讓女性陷於「美貌迷思」 (beauty myth)中 ，消解了女性主義的成果(Wolf 11)。 灰姑娘類型的言情作品以姿 色普通的女子為主角，端賴內在美吸引男主角的設定就性別觀點而言是種進步。 但改造女主角的「變身」(make over)橋段總會安插其中，突顯矛盾。現代場景中 的變身仰賴造型打扮，而變身後的效果總是以男性角色的評斷為主，不免又強調 了父權定義的美貌標準。後女性主義論述卻主張女性努力讓自己變美，是在現有 限制下所做的最有利選擇，算是一種自我增權的手段(Black 157)。 如《命中注定 我愛你》中女主角陳欣怡打扮土氣而被男友古馳嫌棄，為了給花心男友一個教 訓，男主角協助女主角變身，當她光鮮亮麗地出現在古馳面前，男性凝視所隱含 的權力關係已有轉換。陳欣怡外表的改變讓她占了上風，她的變身目標並非得到 男友的讚賞，而是準備懲罰男友。男友的目光意味著他的膚淺，也預告了她的勝 利。當然勝利並非全然無代價，變身過程中硬穿上馬甲、拔腿毛與戴隱形眼鏡的 不適依然提醒著美麗背後須付出的忍耐、時間與心力。這也暗示了美容工作雖是 個增權的手段，也是自我侷限的陷阱。 190 在 Efrat Tseëlon 的釋闡 下，凝視與權力之間的存在著動能關係，凝視者未必 總是掌握權力。比如宮廷騎士文學(courtly love)中女主角的丈夫社會階層高，他 的凝視帶著監控的力量。而愛慕女主角的吟遊詩人，他的凝視反而因為戀情不遂 成為處於弱勢地位的遙望(70)。在現代愛情關係中，凝視與被凝視者的權力關係 會因為彼此的在乎程度而有變化。陳欣怡做為古馳凝視的對象並未因此屈居弱 勢，但因為對男主角的情意，讓她在男主角的凝視下處於弱勢。而男主角做為凝 視者，因為渴求女主角有所回應，他也無法掌握全然的控制權。 外表可以經過修飾，氣質亦然。《迷路》中的女配角徐薇蓮雖坦率單純，自 然不做作，但並未如一般言情小說的設定，成為理想的結婚對象。作者刻意突顯 貧窮女與貴公子之間生活型態與金錢觀的迥異，暗示了理想的婚配條件也包含相 配的氣質，而相配的氣質意味著合宜的行為舉止與門當戶對的生活方式。女主角 何曼儂和男主角同屬上流階級，但為討男友歡心，隱藏真實的個性，表現出百依 百順的樣子，讓男主角認為太過無趣而提出分手。女主角反倒因為分手後顯露了 真性情而再度吸引男主角的注意。作者透過女主角與女配角之間的對比，思考理 想的女性氣質在天生自然與文化養成之間的緊張關係，也突顯了女性自我在社會 期待與個人自由之間的矛盾。 (二)女性美德、女性技藝與柔性力量 言情作品中的女主角往往具有傳統女性的美德：顧家、包容與為他人著想， 《下一站幸福》中的女主角梁慕橙也不例外。不過，本劇對於梁慕橙的性格刻樺 又呈現了柔順以外的另一面。梁慕橙年幼時父親車禍身亡，一夕之間從富家千金 淪為落魄平民。但她並未因此而受挫，反而選擇勇敢地面對現實。她的勇氣與正 直更感化了玩世不恭的男主角。即使在男主角母親的強勢下，也選擇不卑不亢地 退回分手費，單純地為了拯救男主角的性命而離開。後來得知自己懷孕，也默默 地扛起單親母親的責任，縱然所愛的男人將另娶他人，也選擇成全祝福。這一切 都表現出女性的堅韌與意志力。其沉穩冷靜固然符合後女性主義推崇的情緒管 理，但幾近完人似地無私卻又過度美化梁慕橙，完全不見其憎恨、嫉妒或忿怒的 一面。 過去 的女性主義者認為父權社會馴化女性，將女性囿限在私領域中。因此家 庭主婦與事業有成的女性二種身份往往相互對立而不相容。本劇中的女配角何以 茜是個小兒科醫生，聰明又具同理心。劇情安排她之所以介入男女主角的戀情係 因造化弄人而非蓄意破壞，因此她的角色並不全然對立於女主角。家庭主婦／職 業婦女與好女人／壞女人的二元化在本劇中不再涇渭分明，這種安排算是一種進 步。本劇並未刻意醜化職業婦女的角色，也安排女配角在男主角取消二人婚禮後 191 出國留學，後來在醫學界有所成就，讓單身女子也有另一種幸福快樂的結局。但 矛盾的是，這個結局畢竟是女配角退而求其次的選擇，事業成功在後女性主義論 述中仍不如愛情圓滿來得重要。 《富貴饕家》中也有擁護女性主義理念與反女性主義的論述並存的情況。小 說中虛構的奉氏家族將廚藝傳女不傳子的作法推翻了父權社會的繼承制度，也把 過去被認為瑣碎又沒有價值的家務工作提昇為一種專業技能。但是這個設定卻也 強化了本質論的論點，女性適合從事家務工作，而男性卻負責品味與評分。雖然 小說中安排男主角支持女主角的事業，解決了女主角家庭／事業的兩難處境。女 主角卻也承諾十年後將回歸家庭。換言之，她自願退出公領域來成就自己的家庭 美滿。小說中塑造了一個願意支持女性發展事業的男性正面形象，卻又隱約傳遞 了女人願意為愛妥協的訊息，並將其浪漫化。 (三)女性的被動與權力 無論多麼堅強、能幹有抱負的女性仍會為其所愛而退讓，這就是 Crosby 所 觀察到的橡皮筋效應(154) 。這個效應同樣會出現在言情文本中，主動強悍的女 主角如同撐大的橡皮筋般，在關鍵時刻彈回原狀，變成被動、脆弱的女性。《王 子變青蛙》中的女主角葉天瑜聰明、直率、勇往直前，表面上看似逾越男性氣質 ／女性氣質的彊界，但面對感情問題時又會表現傳統女性的脆弱與委屈求全。英 雄救美的橋段把男性的保護與女性的依賴浪漫化，也讓男強女弱自然化。《迷路》 中的女主角單夜茴也融合了傳統的陽剛與陰柔特質。她能冷靜地面對流氓威脅， 也能自己應付追求者的騷擾，更有打理自己居家生活的能力。本書中的男主角雖 有柔性特質，但也同時扮演著救贖者的角色，引領女主角找回自信。性別角色在 本書中略有調整，因此發生女主角時而主動，時而被動的矛盾表現。主角二人的 感情發展過程多半仍依循男追女的模式，但男女主角的初吻則由女方主動。女方 雖然沒有明顯的追求動作，但她掌握了接受或拒絕對方追求的權力。也就是說即 使在男追女的情況下，女方就算是處於被動，但她有選擇對象的自由，因此也握 有一種間接形式的權力。 當代言情文本中所建構的女性特質同時具有顛覆及鞏固原有權力關係的可 能性。對於大部份的讀者／觀眾來說，言情文本可以滿足愛情與女性賦權兩者之 間可能相互矛盾的需求，對於當代女性的兩難困境提供一個個人化的解決方案， 因此能夠引發讀者／觀眾的廣大迴響。 五五五、五、、、結論結論結論結論 言情文本援用童話的結構，使敘事通俗易懂，讀者／觀眾可以藉由臆測情節 發展而享受第一重樂趣。改寫童話的創新部份則帶給讀者／觀眾另一層面的樂 192 趣。創作者藉由翻新刻板印象或整合其他通俗文類的特色給予文本新意，描繪愛 情的輕鬆喜悅以便貼近青春的氣息。除此之外，文本隨著社會趨勢加入女性主義 的概念，性別角色的調整既反映也形塑當代文化的性別感知(sensibilities about gender)。 言情小說塑造的男性角色強調外表魅力和事業表現，以專業、品味與生活風 格為名，掩飾理想男性特質與消費文化的關聯，以免愛情和經濟利益有所牽連。 男性的柔性情感是後女性主義論述中的一大重點，但過度倚賴男性的呵護卻有將 男性宰制浪漫化的危險。後女性主義論述在父權價值與女權理念之間的游疑不定 也反映在文本中所塑造的女性形象。美貌、女性美德與情感上的被動在後女性主 義脈絡中重新表意，女性賦權與親善型父權的正向概念讓文本廣受歡迎。 後女性主義以「女力」(girl power)論強述化年 輕女性的獨立、自由與權力， 重新詮釋以往頗受批判的傳統女性特質，與第二波女性主義者的主張有所區別。 世代之爭的概念常被用來比喻兩者對女性主義實踐的不同認知與衝突，後女性主 義被比擬為第二波女性主義的「女兒」，拒絕接受母親訂下來的所有規矩。第二 波女性主義者對於後女性主義去政治化的傾向不以為然，諸多批判背後所預設的 立場是將年輕等同於幼稚、沒經驗與不夠成熟。這樣的立場與國內研究青少年閱 讀言情作品的觀點吻合。學術界的看法普遍擔心言情作品中的情色內容與愛情觀 將對於青少年造不良影響，因此多半建議成人介入，由成人負起引薦文本與教導 正確價值觀的責任。然而流行文化論述則鼓吹性自由與追求樂趣，形塑年輕人為 主動的消費主體。姑且不論成人介入的適切性，研究者旨在點出兒童文學作品的 評價一直以來就在娛樂與教育之間相互拉扯，因此成人認為青少年應該閱讀的作 品不見得是他們喜歡閱讀的作品，流行文化文本雖不是圖書館員、書評者與教師 心中的經典作品，卻往往成為青少年主動翻閱與口耳相傳的有名作品。本研究嘗 試將後女性主義論爭與言情作品批評連結，強調流行文化文本與青少年文學文化 研究的關聯。流行言情作品廣受青少年喜愛，不太符合學界對青少年作品的界 定，屬於非正統的青少年文學。言情作品內容主要描述主角在感情上邁入成熟期 的過渡階段，正一如青少年小說中啟蒙與成長的主題。因此文本雖不以青少年為 主角，但仍可從青少年文學的角度來看其中的啟蒙經驗。 Beverly Lyon Clark 仙曾教母以神與邪惡後母來比喻女性主義在兒童文學批 評中所佔的地位。Clark 認 為女性主義常常像後母一樣，太過忽略兒童觀點；她 主張女性主義應扮演神仙教母的角色，讓兒童文學研究從女性主義理論取徑 (244)。研究者認為後女性主義之於青少年文學與我們的下一代是助力也是阻 力。後女性主義批評可以是神仙教母，因為後女性主義對流行文化的關注，使得 青少年文學研究範圍能擴展到流行文化文本。後女性主義未採用非此即彼 (either/or)判的觀點來 讀文本的保守或進步，而是承認文本的矛盾、衝突與複雜 193 性，從中探討女性主義的轉型。然而，如果後女性主義論述只是挪用少女(girl) 一吹詞成年，鼓女性擁抱青春 ，而非真正地在意少女主體性議題的話，後女性主 義還是有可能繼續扮演後母的角色。如果後女性主義取代第二波女性主義母親的 地位，不再只是力倡獨以成年女性為主的姐妹情誼，就這層意義上，後女性主義 對於年輕世代可以是個「好」後母。另一方面，後女性主義鼓勵年輕的一代嘗試 新的事物並對自己的選擇負責，肯定他們做為主動的慾望主體之可能性。但是如 果只把他們的主動性與自我賦權誘導在消費領域上，讓他們處於時時匱乏的狀 態，那麼後女性主義對於我們的下一代而言，便從一個和善的教母變成邪惡教母。 後 女性主義其實可以結合神仙教母與後母的正面部份，化身為「大姐姐」(big sister) ，和妹妹們共同面對挑戰、追求樂趣、以及創造一個不受男性宰制，不再 是男性至上的「後父權」(post-patriarchal)世界(Stacey 70)。對於後女性主義版本 的灰姑娘，研究者以為這是另一種幸福快樂的結局安排。 194 引用書目引用書目引用書目 中文部份 《下一站幸福》。三立電視台。2009 年 10 月 10 日-2010 年 5 月 6 日。 《王子變青蛙》。三立電視台。2005 年 6 月 11 日-10 月 22 日。 《命中注定我愛你》。三立電視台。2008 年 3 月 22 日-8 月 30 日。 《席絹城堡裡沒有公主。 》。新店：萬盛，2001。 ╴╴。《迷路》。新店：萬盛，2004。 ╴╴。《富貴饕家》。台北：飛田，2008。 普洛普（Vladimir Propp） 。《故事形態學》。賈放譯。北京：中華書局，2006。 西文部份 Black, Paula. “Discipline and Pleasure: The Uneasy Relationship Between Feminism and the Beauty Industry.” Feminism in Popular Culture. Ed. Joanne Hollows and Rachel Moseley. Oxford: Berg, 2006. 143-159. Cawelti, John G. Adventure, Mystery and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1976. Chapman, Rowena. “The Greatest Pretender: Variations on the New Man Theme.” Male Order: Unwrapping Masculinity. Ed. Rowena Chapman and Jonathan Rutherford. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1988. 225-248. Clark, Beverly Lyon. “Fairy Godmothers or Wicked Stepmothers? The Uneasy Relationship of Feminist Theory and Children’s Criticism.” Children’s Literature: Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies. Ed. Peter Hunt. Vol. III. New York: Routledge, 2006. 236-247. Crosby, Sara. “The Cruelest Season: Female Heroes Snapped into Sacrificial Heroines.” Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture. Ed. Sherrie A. Inness. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 200. 153-178. Dow, Bonnie J. “The Traffic in Men and the Fatal Attraction of Postfeminist Masculinity.” Women’s Studies in Communications. 29.1 (2006): 113-131. Genz, Stéphanie. Postfemininities in Popular Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Gill, Rosalind. “Postfeminist Media culture: Elements of a sensibility.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 10.2 (2007):147-166. Marshment, Margaret. “ Substantial Women.” The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Ed. Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment. Seattle: The Real Comet P, 1989. 27-43. 195 Mukherjea, Ananya. “My Vampire Boyfriend: Postfeminism, Perfect Masculinity, and the Contemporary Appeal of Paranormal Romance.” Studies in Popular Culture 33.2 (2011): 1-20. Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Screen 16.3 (1975): 6-18. Propp, Vladimis. Morphology of the Folktale. Trans. Laurence Scott. Rev. ed. Austin: U of Texas P, 1968. Stacey, Judith. “What Comes After Patriarchy? Comparative Reflections on Gender and Power in a ‘Post-Patriarchal’ Age.” Radical History Review 71 (1998): 63-70. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used against Women. New York: Harper Perennial, 2002. 196