Proquest Dissertations
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THE FUNCTION OF ADOLESCENT ROMANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF SWEET VALLEYHIGH SONIA E. MALFITANO A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER'S OF EDUCATION GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATION YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO, ONTARIO APRIL, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothéque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de Pédition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Yourfile Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-62290-2 Ourfile Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-62290-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- Uauteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant å la Bibliothéque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plnternet, préter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des théses partout dans le loan, distribute and seil theses monde, å des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright Lauteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege ætte thése. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thése ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent étre imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author"s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément å la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, queiques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. ætte thése. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT This investigation analyzes the act of romance reading by examining a growing body of research exploring the relationship between popular romance novels and the reading experiences they offer adolescent girls. Radway's (1984), Smith's (1985-86) and Puri's (1997) studies found that through romance reading, adolescent girls imagined themselves as the heroine of the story and fantasized about romantic relationships. Borrowing from Radway's (1984) understanding of the romance no vel, this study conducts a textual analysis of selected works in the Sweet Valley High series. This investigation reveals how the romantic appeal of the Sweet Valley High series might play a significant role in fulfilling the emotional needs of female readers. This study examines the cultural ideologies of femininity embedded in the selected Sweet Valley High books. Nevertheless, there is a justification for reading popular adolescent romance as they offer teens the opportunity to explore the themes of sexuality, heterosexual love, and female friendships. IV In memory of Sandra Scorsolini in Bernardo whose love inspired me throughout thisjourney. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my parents, Luigi and Franca Malfitano for their constant encouragement and emotional support during this endeavour. Special thanks to my brother, Francesco Malfitano for his guidance and understanding. I am grateful for Dr.Karen Krasny, my thesis supervisor for her inspiration, patience, intellectual support and expertise through the stages of my thesis. Her ability to instill a passion for intellectual pursuits, her dedication and constant encouragement is greatly appreciated. Dr. Karen Krasny challenged me to think critically about the act of romance reading and its implications for adolescent girls. Dr. Chloe Brushwood- Rose, who served on my supervisory committee, is acknowledged for her careful reading of this draft and thoughtful suggestions for revisions. Without them, this thesis would not have been completed. Also, they spent many hours editing, providing critical suggestions, and analyzing how romance reading is an emotionally fulfilling experience for young adolescent females which helped contribute to this psychological understanding of the reading process. Dr. Karen Krasny's dedication in seeing me through the completion of my Master's degree at York University played a critical role in this journey. Dr. Didi Khyatt and Dr. Carole Carpenter, my examining committee members are acknowledged for their careful reading of this thesis and feedback. Reading popular vi romances provides teens with an imaginary landscape (Krasny, 2007) to explore themes of love, female power, and sexuality. Table of Contents Abstract iv Dedication v Acknowledgements vi 1. Introduction 1 Scope of the Investigation 2 Description of Methodology and Limitations of the Study 8 The History of the Romance Novel 9 The Success and Appeal of the Sweet Valley High Series 19 2. A Review of Literature 28 The Romance Genre 29 Empirical and Theoretical Studies of Reading and Responding to Romance Series...53 A Feminist Analysis of Romance Reading 63 3. Textual Analysis of the Sweet Valley High Series and the Romance Novel 78 The Heroine's Achieving Emotional 83 The Heroine' s Desire for the Unattainable 88 The Recovery of the Mother/Daughter Bond 95 VIII 4. A Feminist Analysis of the Sweet Valley High series 101 The Feminist No vel 102 The Reversal of Traditional Gender Norms 104 5. Conclusion 116 Works Cited 122 IX Chapter 1 Introduction This interest in the romance novel is particularly grounded in my personal reading experiences with Francine Pascal's series, Sweet Volley High books. The books seemed to offer what adolescent years should look like although my life was different from the Wakefield twins, Elizabeth and Jessica Elizabeth was passive and portrayed as the perfect twin. Jessica challenged traditional norms, and was very adventurous. The Sweet Volley High series painted romantic fantasies and temporarily suspended readers from their own world. Many discussions with colleagues and professors about different adolescent reading series and why they were popular led to the exploration of reader response theories and how popular fiction texts were gendered. The Sweet Volley High books and how popular they were during adolescent years was a topic of interest. The series left many questions. What visions of masculinity and femininity are offered by the series? Can the Sweet Volley High books be considered feminist texts? Why are female readers so interested in the series? This thesis will address four key purposes, the first of which is to analyze the act of romance reading. A growing body of research explores the relationship between popular romance novels and the reading experiences they offer adolescent girls. Second, this study analyzes the characteristics of the romance novel in the Sweet Volley High series and includes a feminist reading of the series. Finally, this investigation extends the 1 analysis of romance reading in order to look at how literary texts construct gender notions. The purpose of this study is to respond to the following questions: 1. How does the Sweet Valley High series portray the characteristics of the romance novel? 2. How does romance in the series provide adolescent girls an emotionally fulfilling reading experience? 3. Is there a justification for reading popular adolescent literature? Scope of the Investigation This study intends to explore questions inspired by Dutro's (2000) dissertation Reading Gender/Gendered Readers: Girls, Boys, and Popular Fiction. In her ethnographic study, Dutro analyzes gender issues in children's popular fiction documenting how African American children in a fifth grade classroom reflected on their gendered reading practices. Dutro focused on four popular series; Goosebumps, The Baby-sitters Club, The American Girls, and Christopher 's sport series. Dutro found that reading these books played an important role in the lives of these children, especially when performing their own gender identities. She contends that most girls chose books to read that were known as "girFs books" and boys chose to read books that were identified as "boy's books" (131-132). Dutro asserts that the reading choices the children made represent how they performed their masculinity or femininity. She argues that the children simultaneously perform gender while reading. For example, the girls began to reflect on their own personal experiences about romantic relationships, fashion, and 2 beauty. The boys desired texts that focused on adventure, action, and sports. Dutro posits that while children positioned themselves within particular contexts, they play with fixed notions of what it means to be a girl or boy. For example, the boys discussed their experiences with sports while the girls talked about the qualities they look for in future romantic partners. I build on Dutro's investigation and examine how the Sweet Valley High series provide adolescents girls an emotionally fulfilling reading experience in which they may temporarily negotiate traditional discourses of femininity to challenge prescribed gender roles through revene. Many studies indicate that through romance reading women escape from phenomenal reality. For example, Radway's