THE FUNCTION OF ADOLESCENT ROMANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF SWEET VALLEYHIGH
SONIA E. MALFITANO
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES
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MASTER'S OF EDUCATION
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATION
YORK UNIVERSITY,
TORONTO, ONTARIO
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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 (1984) study focuses on the psychological aspect of the female reader and relies heavily on reader response theory.
The Smithton women in her study found that popular romance series provide them with experiences different from every day routines. They concede that the popular romance invites them to be drawn into the story and escape into the world of fantasy. Radway's findings demonstrate vividly the connections between the reader's needs and desires.
In Private Practices: Girls Reading Fiction and Constructing Identity, Cherland's
(1994) yearlong ethnographic study found that most pre-teen girls read fiction to leave behind the pressures of the world. Like Radway, Cherland maintains that romance reading for these girls made up for their own "emotional deprivations in their daily lives"
(173). Cherland's study indicates that romance novels allowed the girls to temporarily escape the "constant demands of being good" and engage in subversive behaviour (173).
Her findings reveal that adolescent girls used romance reading as a form of resistance.
3 Relying on Radway's and CherlancTs works, this study looks at how series like the Sweet
Valley High books fiinction. This topic is a key issue for literary scholars as it sets out to explore how reading might be a place where emotional needs are met and how reading experiences are integrated into the reader's life. Borrowing from Radway's (1984) understanding of the romance novel, this study evaluates the Sweet Valley High series as a romance text. Radway argues that the theme of love characterizes romance series. She claims that the ideal romance ends with the heroine and hero declaring their love for each other after overcoming many challenges. The emotional struggle between the heroine and hero is a critical element of the romance. Radway asserts that the romance novel affirms a woman's values of love. This investigation looks at how the romantic appeal of the Sweet Valley High series might play a significant role in fulfilling the emotional needs of young female readers.
In Why Girls Flock to Sweet Valley High, Huntwork (1990) makes reference to
Mary Anne Moffitt (1997) who conducted a study in Illinois with fourteen high school girls from a white-collar, middle class community in order to understand their fascination with the romance novel. Interestingly, her study echoes the work of Radway (1984) as she found that most girls enjoyed the dialogue that took place between the boys and girls in the romances. Moffitfs findings indicate that many girls, like the Smithton women, were attracted to the female characters who expressed their own thoughts and ideas. Both
Moffitt and Radway stress that romance reading provides satisfaction and pleasure. For example, Moffitt emphasizes that the novels helped adolescent girls vicariously experience the feeling of love and being loved by the opposite sex. Through romance
4 reading, the girls experimented with the adventures of life in their futures such as love
relationships, constructing their own identity, and challenging their parents. Moffitt and
Radway conclude that both adolescent girls and women read the romance as a fantasy in
order to temporarily escape the demands of a patriarchal society.
As stated above, this study will include a feminist perspective of romance reading
by drawing on the findings of Radway's (1984), Wilson's (1999), and Parameswaran's
(2000) investigations. For example, Radway found that romance reading is not only a
source of emotional pleasure but functions as a"combative activity" (211). She concedes
that the popular romance novel allows the Smithton women to temporarily "thwart
cultural expectations" (211). She asserts that romance reading "teaches women how to re-
view their own imperfect relationships [...]" (221). Like Radway, Wilson concedes that
romance reading provides adolescent girls emotional nourishment and autonomy by
identifying with the adventurous heroine. Likewise, Parameswaran's ethnography looks
at how young adolescent females in South India construct their identity through romance
reading. Her study indicates that women readers were attracted to romance texts in order
to escape traditional conceptualizations of femininity.
Chapter one examines the history of the romance genre and some of its significant
features. Dubino (1993) asserts that the romance novel can be traced back as far as to
Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1740). She claims that the romance narrative focuses on heterosexual love, particularly the fairy-tale union of the hero and heroine. Neylon
(2003) attempts to trace the history of the popular romance and as a result found that historically the romance novel evolved from two literary traditions, the romance and the
5 novel. Interestingly, Rabine (1985) looks at the increasing popularity of the romance industry in the last ten to fifteen years by examining the Harlequin series. This study also explores the key characteristics and success of the Sweet Volley High series by drawing on Pattee's (2004) dissertation. She emphasizes that the most important feature of the series is the portrayal of the Wakefield twins, that is, the detailed description of Jessica and Elizabeth's captivating beauty which remains consistent in each novel. Pattee observes the marketing techniques of the Sweet Volley High books to support her claim that the series are indeed targeted at the young adolescent female reader. Chapter two looks further at studies that analyze the act of reading and compare the romance narrative to the fantasy narrative, hi Sweet Dreams: Gender and Desire in Teen Romance Novels,
Smith's study (1985-86) focuses on teen romance fiction readers in three middle schools in a large American Midwestern city. SmiuVs conclusions about popular romance novels are consistent with Radway's (1984) findings. Like Radway, Smith found that romance reading included elements of both fantasy and pleasure. Smith suggests that the girFs
"desires to identify with a smart heroine coincided with the young women's desire to have teachers and other adults recognize them as nice and capable, despite their academic placement" (53). Through romance reading, adolescent girls identified with the heroine of the story and fantasized about romantic relationships. Smith's argument contributes to the idea that teen romance books respond to the needs and desires of adolescent girls.
Furthermore, chapter three details the principle characteristics of the Sweet Volley
High series and explores the claim that the textual features of the Sweet Volley High books encourage readers to be drawn into the series. This chapter includes a framework
6 that analyzes the recurring ihemes prevalent in the Sweet Valley High series such as heterosexual love, female sexuality and the pre-oedipal mother/daughter bond. The connections between emotions, reading and responding to literature is also of significance in this investigation. In "Seeking the Affective and Imaginative in the Act of Reading:
Embodied Consciousness and the Evolution of the Moral Seif, Krasny (2007) observes the psychological process of how readers construct meaning from literary texts. This study is interested in Krasny's discussion of the term "dramatic rehearsal" as defined by
Dewey. Krasny contends that for Dewey the main function of the literary imagination is that "it allows us to internalize a situation according to past experiences and act in anticipation of project future possibilities" (8). According to Dewey, through dramatic rehearsal, readers achieve empathetic identification with one or more characters.
Literestingly, this idea appears to support why adolescent girls project themselves within the popular romance.
Chapter four examines the cultural ideologies of femininity embedded in the selected Sweet Valley High books. Trites (1997) contends that the feminist novel is one in which the main character is "empowered regardless of gender" (4). Empowerment, for
Trites represents "self-expression and self-awareness" (8). Relying on Trites' definition of the feminist adolescent novel, this chapter evaluates how the Sweet Valley High heroines subvert traditional conceptualizations of girlhood or womanhood. Challenging
Trites' notion of female agency, this chapter questions if female power actually liberates female characters from conventional gender roles. By extending the observations made by Radway (1984) and Trites, this investigation concludes that the Sweet Valley High
7 books reflect a traditional male script. Chapter four looks at how Trites work does not
begin to consider the extent to which female readers abide by dominant gender ideologies
imbued in adolescent literature.
Chapter five demonstrates that from a feminist vantage point that the Sweet Valley
High female protagonists are given personality traits according to assigned gender
expectations of male behaviour. The female characters are actually conforming to
traditional gender practices in order to recognize and understand temporary female power.
Nevertheless, there is a justification for reading popular adolescent romances as they offer
teens the opportunity to explore the themes of sexuality, heterosexual love, and female
friendships.
Description ofMethodologyandLimitations of the Study
This study performs a close reading of the Sweet Valley High books and adopts
Chodorow's (1978) psychological framework to investigate how the Sweet Valley High
series address the needs and desires of adolescent girls. Chodorow clearly states that she
sets out to explore how the reproduction of mothering occurs across generations through a
psychological process. She draws on the "psychoanalytic account of female and male
personality development" (7) to show how the reproduction of mothering is indeed a
cycle. Chodorow relies on psychoanalytic theory to further demonstrate "how men come to gro w away from their families and to parti cipate in the public sphere" (38). Women,
on the other hand, are conditioned to remain in the domestic sphere, that is, in the sphere of reproduction. Interestingly, Chodorow con tends that women are psychologically
8 prepared for mothering through "the developmental situation in which they grow up, and in which women have mothered them" (39).
This study is limited to looking at the Sweet Valley High series through textual analysis. Although my investigation is theoretically based, it depends on the findings from a number of ethnographic studies in order to investigate the significance of romance reading and the pleasurable experiences they seem to offer adolescent girls. The findings of the many studies cited present enough evidence to argue that romance reading pro vides young readers with a source of emotional stability. This investigation is limited to focusing on reading and responding to popular teen series. Relying on the psychological process of reading to describe whathappens during the act of romance reading contributes to the various arguments made in this study.
The History of the Romance Novel
Many researchers and literary scholars have studied the history and function of the romance novel. In the article The Cinderella Complex: Romance Fiction, Patriarchy and
Capitalism, Dubino (1993) looks at the history of the romance narrative and analyzes some of its key characteristics. She contends that the romantic genre can be traced back to Samuel Richardson's Pantela, Jane Austen's Pride andPrejudice and Charlotte
Bronte's Jane Eyre. Dubino states that contemporary romances like these novels are often told from the heroine's perspective. She argues that desire for the hero dominates the narrative. As a result, the plot is mostly based on courtship. Dubino emphasizes that romances "recreate the magical stage of courtship" (108). She further states that the hero is always older, taller, and richer than the heroine. After overcoming a series of
9 obstacles, the two characters proclaim their love for one another and the novel generally
ends with their marriage. A critical feature of the romance fiction is how the heroine
learns to read love through the hero's behaviour. Dubino draws upon Janice Radway's
(1984) Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature. Radway
claims that the romantic genre reveals that a woman must learn to trust her partner and
believe that he genuinely loves her in order to feel emotionally and sexually satisfied like
the heroine in the story. According to Dubino, the narrative connection between
marriage, love, and women's economic status was extremely popular when it made its
first appearance in Richardson's Pamela in 1740. Pamela was a bestseller of its day
because the story line was about a servant marrying her master. Rags to riches, the story
was appealing to many working women. Since middle-class women were denied a place
in the economic sphere, their forms of advancement were limited to one: the institution of
marriage (103-107). Dubino argues that "the marriage plot was a narrative many women
had to enter in order to have a place in society at all" (104).
In addition, Dubino contends that romance series have pushed the world of
publishing towards a capitalist industry. She states that it is only within the last three
decades that the Harlequin series and other romances have become very successful. In
1965, six million Harlequin books sold compared with two hundred and eighteen million in 1982. Publishers began to pay considerable attention to the money that could be made from romances after the phenomenal success of Kathleen Woodiwiss's The Flatne and the Flower in 1972. Dubino claims that popular culture was out to get this "so-called liberated woman" (107). She emphasizes that the back covers of these romance series
10 assured women readers that their dreams, wants, and needs could be met through reading.
Throughout the article, Dubino questions why romances are now more popular than ever.
She postulates that romances respond to a need in women that patriarchal society fails to address. Women want to be nurtured by men but few men can provide the kind of care women desire, and as a result, women turn to romances to compensate for the attention they need (107).
In the paper Reading and Writing the Romance Novel: an Analysis ofRomance
Fiction andlts Place in the Community College Classroom, Neylon (2003) looks at the characteristics that distinguish the romance novel from other genres. Neylon asserts that popular romance novels originate from two critical literary traditions, the romance and the novel. She analyzes the differences between a story with romantic elements and a romance. She refers to Peter Daniel Huet, the Bishop of Avranches, who was discussed in William's (1970) book Novel and Romance 1700-1800. Huet attempted to define romance in the early 1700's. He believed that love was the most critical feature of the romantic genre. Neylon makes further reference to Kay Mussell (1988) who In A
Handbook of American Popular Fiction states that:
Romance fiction actually represents agroup of literary formulas, not just one. Romances intersect with several other kinds of popular fiction: the gothic, the historical, the juvenile, the sentimental, the domestic, and the seduction.
But romances cannot entirely be identified with any of these other formulas. (qtd. in Neylon 4)
Mussell points out that, although the popular romance novel overlaps with other genres, the central story is about the romance between the hero and the heroine (qtd. in Neylon 3-
11 4). Moreover, Neylon (2003) like Dubino (1993) claims that the heroine and hero need to overcome challenges and obstacles in order to work towards their happy union. Neylon contends that the "struggle in the emotional relationship between the heroine and the hero must reign supreme" in the romance novel (4). Interestingly, she makes reference to the organization Romance Writers of America (2003) whose definition of the romance novel is consistent with both Radway's (1984) and Dubino's (1993). The Romance Writers of
America assert that in order for a novel to be defined as popular romance it must have an emotionally satisfying ending. The popular romance novel ends in a way that makes the reader feel content. The Romance Writers of America stress that in a romance, the lovers risk everything for each other, and in the end their relationship is justly rewarded with love. Neylon asserts that Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, unlike Emily Bronte's Wuthering
Heights, can be considered a popular romance novel. She states that the main character in
Jane Eyre "succeeds in her goals without compromising her values as a person" (5). In
Wuthering Heights, the heroine dies and the hero suffers tremendously from this loss.
Neylon argues that some researchers believe that the popular romance fiction stems from the eighteenm-century gothic novel. For example, Hoppenstand (cited in Neylon 5) states that in Ann Radcliffe's tale, The Mysteries o/Udolpho (1764), the heroine fin ds true love after many challenges. Hoppenstand emphasizes that Ann Radcliffe's novels pay tribute to the romantic genre as she re-creates a new type of gothic when she replaces the male protagonist with a woman (5).
With the gothic novel in mind, Neylon posits we are coming closer to a definition of the romance novel. In a popular romance, parrnership and equality are essential
12 elements in order to create a happy union between the heroine and the hero. Neylon draws upon Peter Mann's (1995) ideas in Poetics which agree with Dubino's (1993) statement that "the archetypal romance story concerns the man and woman who meet, who do not come together at once, but who eventually do declare their love" (qtd. in
Neylon 6). She brings forth the example of Jane Eyre again. In Jane Eyre, Jane is only reunited with her lover once he is free from his first marriage and has suffered for his sins. He has no w become a better man and is worthy of the heroine. At the end, Jane attains fulfillment and is emotionally satisfied with her union to the hero. Her status changes from govemess to lady of the manor (6).
Throughout her paper, Neylon attempts to trace the history of the romance novel.
She states that historically first there were romances, then novels, and later came the romance novel. In the 1700's, both romances and novels were considered the same genre, as they were lengthy narratives typically read by women. Neylon refers to Clara
Reeve (1785) who in The Progress of Romance describes the differences between the romances and novels. Reeve (cited in Neylon 7) states that the romances were heroic fables, included elevated language, and events or situations that were unlikely to happen.
On the other hand, the novels painted real life situations in every day language. As a result, the dominant form of the novel was realism by the eighteenth century in England.
In novels, characters, settings, and events are described in great detail which allows the reader to identify with the situations. Characters in novels live in a world with similar rules to that of their readers. Neylon refers to Freedman's (1968) theory in The
Disciplines ofCriticism regarding ihe inner and outer projection in order to describe the
13 principal characteristic of the no vel. According to Freedman (cited in Neylon 7-9), novels describe characters, places, and events (outer projection). At the same time, he concedes that novels give readers the opportunity to get into the characters' minds to understand their thoughts and feelings (inner projection).
Neylon concludes that the popular romance novel is defined by the theme of marriage. The hero's and heroine's emotional struggle remains the central element of the romantic genre. Readers are able to identify with the hero and heroine through the
"realistic depictions" of scenes (2003, 9). She also states that in the popular romance novel, women's thoughts, values, and feelings are expressed. The romance novel provides images of women struggling in apatriarchal society and overcoming emotional obstacles in order to be re-united with the hero. Women and men work together in order to form lasting relationships. Women are also fully aware of their sexual urges and desires without feeling ashamed. Neylon asserts that the heroine in the romance novel is a positive model for women readers in the real world (14-15).
Furthermore, Rabine (1985) examines in Romance in the Age of Electronics:
Harlequin Enterprises the popularity of the romance industry in the last ten to fifteen years by looking at the Harlequin series. She claims that the Harlequin series respond to the needs of working women. Rabine states that the "Harlequin series increased its net earnings from $110, 000 in 1970 to over $21 million by 1980" (39). However, Rabine contends that the Harlequin formula has changed because of recent advancements in women's domestic and labour situations. The Harlequin heroine, like Bronte's Jane
Eyre, is a working woman and wants the hero to recognize her as a unique individual who
14 has values and beliefs. The Harlequin heroine desires to end the division of the domestic
and public world. In this way, Rabine points out the Harlequin romances provide certain
insights into women's lives (39-41).
Rabine looks further at how the Harlequin heroine has changed historically.
Tania Modleski (1982) in Loving with a Vengeance: Mass Produced Fantasies (cited in
Rabine 41) states that in the early seventies the Harlequin heroine was either a secretary
or nurse who quit her job because of marriage. However, in the late seventies, the
heroine is active, intelligent, and financially independent. For example, in Kerry Allyne's
Across the Great Divide, the heroine Nicole is a committed and passionate swimming
coach and in Battle with Desire, Anna is a well- known violinist at the age of twenty two
(Rabine, 1985, 41). In the early eighties, the heroine is even more successful and goal
oriented. For example, Rabine makes reference to the heroine Danni in Lynsey Steven's
Race for Revenge who succeeds in the male world of motor racing (Rabine, 1985, 41).
According to Rabine, the Harlequin series remains appealing to women readers because the heroines are occupied by similarly full-time careers and professions. Such
occupations require a particular skill or talent that affects the welfare of others, and is recognized for its level of intensity. Another critical feature of the Harlequin romance is the theme of power. The heroine fights against the power the hero has over her. Rabine
argues that the books in the Harlequin series "seek to combine the struggle for the
recognition of feminine selftiood and the struggle to make the work world a home for that
seif (1985, 52). Both Rabine and Neylon (2003) agree that the romance narrative is a
15 representation of the many challenges women encounter in apatriarchal society in order
to achieve any type of fulfillment.
Radway (1984) claims ho w very little research examines the growing popul arity
of the romantic genre as it evolved from the gothic novel. She states that there are
significant correlations between women 's changing beliefs and needs and an increase in
popularity of the romance. However, Radway contends that other factors such as book production, distribution, advertising, and marketing techniques have led to the romance's
success. Radway asserts that throughout the 1960's the popularity of the gothic novel increased. She states that while many feminists challenged female oppression, more
women began to purchase books that focused on love relationships between "wealthy, handsome men and spunky and vulnerable women" (33). By the early 1970's, gothic
authors outsold other genres such as mysteries, science fiction, and Westerns. Gothic no vels "were issued at the rate of thirty-five titl es a month, over four hundred per year"
(33) between the yearsl969 to 1972. Radway emphasizes that "in the peak year of 1971, gothics constituted 24 percent of DelFs paperback sales. At that time, Dell was publishing four to five ti ties every month" (33) and, as a result, the gothic novel was seen as a cultural phenomenon (32-33).
Radway (1984) found that the sales of the gothic novel gradually declined between 1972 and 1974. Some publishers claimed that the feminist movement, and an openness about female sexuality led to a greater desire for stories about detailed sexual encounters. Like Dubino (1993 ), Radway postulates that the romance publishing industry changed drastically in April 1972, when Avon Books published Kathleen
16 Woodwiss's The Flame and the Flower. Woodwiss's novel, like the gothic and romantic genre, traced the adventures of the feminine heroine, included descriptive sexual encounters, and in the end the safe return of the heroine. Radway posits that when Avon published The Flame and the Flower, the publishing industry was convinced that a new type of genre emerged. According to Radway, the genre was termed as the "sweet savage romance" (34).
Radway (1984) further states that other factors pay tribute to the popularity of the romance. She claims that female readers are responsible for more than half of the "book reading public" (44). She emphasizes that "more money is to be made, it seems, by capturing a sizable portion of that large audience than by trying to reach nearly all of a smaller one" (44). Many middle-class women have the time and money to indulge in a romance novel. They have the time, because until recently, their primary duties involved the care of the family. Interestingly, Radway asserts that both Harlequin and Silhouette have claimed that the majority of their female readers are between the ages of twenry-five and forty-five. The romance reading experience addresses a woman's needs, fears, and desire to escape motherly duties (Radway, 1984, 44).
Radway also examines the ideal romance novel based on her ethnographic study with the Smithton women who represent a community of regular romance readers in New
York City willing to be interviewed extensively. According to the Smithton women, the romantic heroine is marked by her alluring appearance and extraordinary intelligence.
Like the Harlequin's heroine, the ideal heroine in the romance is given certain talents that are necessary for her unusual occupation. Early in the romance, the heroine rebels against
17 familiai duties. She refuses to be silenced by the male who desires control over her female voice. The female protagonist, like Bronte's Jane Eyre, recognizes her individuality through her desire to express her independence. Radway asserts the heroine is characterized by her "child-like innocence and inexperience" (1984, 126). She claims that the female protagonist has not yet had any sexual relations with a man before encountering the hero. It is critical to note that Radway argues that the heroine is still capable of indulging in her sexual urges despite her innocence. Like Neylon (2003),
Radway contends that the heroine is fully aware of her sexual desires. The romance novel also includes the reversal of gender expectations. The heroine's traits are usually identified with preconceived notions of masculinity. The heroine is portrayed as being
"independent, spunky, and "tempered" (Radway, 1984,125). Radway states that the romantic hero embraces feminine qualities such as compassion, kindness, and tenderness.
Although Ihe heroine possesses traditional notions of masculinity, Radway emphasizes that she is still nurturing and compassionate. A critical feature of the romance novel is how the heroine comes to understand her social identity. At the beginning of the novel, the romantic heroine's identity is questioned and destroyed but restored at the end. The female protagonist in the romance novel is aware of her female agency at the end of the novel. Radway like Neylon concedes that the romance novel depicts lasting relationships in which men and women care for each other equally (Radway, 1984, 123-130).
18 The Success and Appeal of the Sweet Valley High Series
In A Second Look: Sweet Valley High, Pattee (2008) examines the principal characteristics of the Sweet Valley High series. The first volume was published in 1983 and was a huge success for a number of decades. The series was based on romance themes and featured the beautiful popular sixteen year old twins Elizabeth and Jessica
Wakefield. Although the twins were almost indistinguishable in their appearance, readers quickly learned that Elizabeth was the conscientious and responsible twin, while Jessica was the flirtatious and cunning twin. The series was situated in a fictional town, Sweet
Valley, California. The Sweet Valley High series became extremely attractive to young readers "whose purchasing power pushed one volume of the series- a "super edition" called Perfect Summer - to a position on the New York Times list of best-seIling paperback fiction, marking the first time a young adult novel appeared on the list" (Pattee,
2008, 413). Pattee vehemently argues that the series entry, Double Love, established the noveFs ideal and perfect setting, the WakefiekTs perfection, and the structure of the plot that would dominate the series. She states that by the beginning of the book, readers were fully aware of Jessica and Elizabeth's "shoulder length blond hair, blue-green eyes, perfect California tans [... ] and tiny dimples in their left cheeks when they smiled" (2).
According to Pattee, the second chapter described the romanticized town Sweet Valley
"Liz loved [...] the gently rolling hills, the palm trees swaying in the breeze, and the soft white-sand beach only fifteen minutes away" (15). Pattee also contends that the first novel introduces the "narrative conflict" (414) that dictates the series. That is, both
Jessica and Elizabeth are interested in the same football star, Todd Wilkins.
19 Pattee claims that Scholastic's Wildfire (1979) and Bantam' s Sweet Dreams
(1981) influenced the Sweet Valley High series and the young adult market. She cites
Michael Cart (1996) who stresses that the series coincide with the "romance renaissance"
novel (qtd. in Pattee 415). Cart claims that the "romance renaissance" novel features
simple plots and a "romanticized" but "flawed" heroine (qtd. in Pattee 415). The series
emerged from such novels but include more characters and a continuing story line in
order to distinguish itself from its many competitors. The characters Jessica and
Elizabeth are two very different fantasy figures who appeal to readers because of the good
and bad girl contrast between them.
Furthermore, Pattee (2008) asserts that "the original Sweet Valley High expanded
on literary production conventions perfected by Edward Stratemeyer: credited as the
series "creator", Francine Pascal outlined each novel while book packager Cloverdale
Press hired ghostwriters to fill in the blanks" (415). Thus, a new Sweet Valley high book
readily appeared each month. This production process gave Pascal the opportunity to
introduce a number of "series spinoffs" (415-416) like the Sweet Valley Twin series for
pre-teen readers and the Sweet Valley University series for teen readers.
Pattee (2008) postulates that the series can be seen as a reflection of the Reagan
era and that it reflected some of the common themes in both popular television shows and
movies during the 1980's such as Square Pegs, The Facts of Life, and Sixteen Candles.
For example, Elizabeth helped promiscuous girls and drug addicts leam to say "no" to sex or drugs (417). Interestingly, the Sweet Valley High series has retumed as of April 2008
and both Jessica and Elizabeth are once again experiencing the adventures begun in 1983
20 with Double Love. The twins are still stunning and are described as wearing a size four no w instead of a size six. However, their activities have changed in order to reflect the twenty- first century. According to Pattee, the new Double Love series "reads like a time- traveled transliteration of the original novel" (415). For example, the twins Jessica and
Elizabeth drive in a Jeep Wrangler rather than the red convertible Fiat they had in 1983,
Jessica's boyfriend takes her to drag race bars as opposed to "speedy bars" (415); and the series includes more profane vocabulary.
Huntwork (1990) also questions why the Sweet Valley High series and other romances are appealing to many young readers. According to Publishers Weekly, quoted by Huntwork, two hundred to three hundred Sweet Valley High books sold per week in
1984. As noted above, Sweet Valley High 's Perfect Stranger was the first young adult novel to ever reach the New York Times paperback bestseller list in 1985 and the books continued to reach the charts over four consecutive years. Huntwork further states that" the September 29,1989 Publishers Weekly children's bestseller list showed
Brokenhearted (Sweet Valley High #58) in third place in ihe young adult division" (138).
In the United States, there were thirty four million copies of the series books in print by the end of 1989. The books had also been translated into fifteen different languages.
Huntwork suggests that the publishing industry paved the way for the phenomenal success of the series. She claims that Bantam had a particular audience in mind, discovered what that audience desired, and made it widely available. Quoted by
Huntwork, Bantam's Judy Gitenstein states that "By the time 'Sweet Valley High' was ready in [1983], the marketing department was more than ready to deal with it
21 aggressively. As each book came out, it claimed the number one spot on [B. Dalton's]
'Hooked on Books' YA list" (qtd. in Huntwork 138). Huntwork posits that the re-
emergence of the traditional romance novel and the accomplishments of the publisher
contribute to the series success. She contends that books written by Beverly Clearly and
Betty Cavanna in the 1950's and Judy Blume in the 1970's showed that there was a
market waiting for teen romance books to evolve.
Huntwork (1990) also notes that adolescent girls could purchase Sweet Volley
High books at any near by supermarket or drugstore. She emphasizes that the front cover
of the books included different pastel colors, a circle crowned with the series title, and a
portrait of the twins. Readers were able to get an idea of the story line simply from the
detailed portraits, and the questions that appeared underneath: Can Jessica face life
without Elizabeth? Will Elizabeth lose her best friend? (138). Each novel includes a small
pennant on the cover listing the number of the book, with the lists and order forms for
other titles, and the paragraphs leading into the next story at the end. Huntwork contends
that "the series approach appeals to the 'collect all twelve mentality' most children have
grown up with" (138). She also refers to Roger Sutton's (1984) claim thatBarbie and the
Sweet Volley High twins are a part of the "same fantasy consumer world" (qtd. in
Huntwork 138). He asserts that girls usually grow out of Barbie by the age of ten or
eleven, and then the Wakefield twins replace her. Huntwork, like many other literary
scholars, builds on Radway's (1984) work to examine young readers' enthusiasm for
Sweet Volley High and other romances. As Radway's study showed, in reading romance
22 novels the Smithton women were able to see their husbands as sensitive, nurturing partners.
In her dissertation, Pattee (2004) examines the emergence of the Sweet Valley
High series and its popularity as well as the publisher's production of the series. Both
Pattee and Huntwork (1990) agree that the Sweet Valley High series evolved from the appeal of the romantic young adult novel which began with Scholastic's Wildfire series in
1979. According to Cart (1996), "readers- finally exhausted by shrill sensationalism [that characterized the 1960's and 1970's 'problem novel'] turned for relief to a resurgence of the romance novel in the 1980's" (qtd. in Pattee 87). Cart claims that following the success of Scholastic, Dell began its own Young Love series in February 1981; Bantam launched its Sweet Dreams series in September 1981; and Simon and Schuster introduced its First Love series in February 1982 (103). Pattee believes that these series created a new idea of advertising and seiling that would influence Sweet Valley High. She also states that these romance novels were published as original paperbacks and the marketing of these series was responsible for the attention that was shifted away from librarians and schools to adolescents. Cart writes that "[tjhese series and their runaway commercial success signalled the rise of a new retail market for young adult books" (qtd. in Pattee
88). Drawing on Cart's ideas, Pattee emphasizes that young female adults created the market that would give the Sweet Valley High series the opportunity to bloom. Pattee posits that Bantam, who launched the Sweet Valley High series, could already predict its success based on the marketing techniques with Sweet Dreams (2004, 86-89)
23 Throughout her discussion, Pattee (2004) analyzes the marketing strategies and design of the Sweet Volley High books to identify one key component of the series' popularity. She states that many cultural theorists claim ihat adolescents "use consumption as a form of identity display" (89). Pattee notes that clothes, music, and the colour and style of hair are a display of personali ty. She postulates that the "recognition of the consumption-display-identity link is whatfuels advertising campaigns [...]" (89).
As a result, Pattee asserts that the Sweet Volley High books are directly aimed at the young female consumer. She claims that many advertisers argue that the success of a new product depends on difference. In other words, difference is based on what distinguishes the new product from others of its kind. Interestingly, Pattee refers to Acuff and Reiher
(1997) in What Kids Buy and Why: The Psychology of Marketing to Kids to evaluate the phenomenal marketing of the series. Using Acuff and Reiher's analysis of marketing,
Pattee concedes that Pascal added a new element to the romance formula; i.e; a hook into the following book included in the final chapter lured readers into the series. For example, in PascaFs Power Play, the "end of book hook" (Pattee, 2004, 112) encourages readers to read the next quest of the Wakefield twins: "Jessica in love with an experienced college man meant storm clouds would be gathering soon. And all Elizabeth could do was hope that the inevitable winds would not shipwreck those close to her sister- including herself' (Pascal, 1983,150). Pattee like Huntwork maintains that this innovative aspect distinguished the Sweet Volley High series from other romance novels.
According to Acuff and Reiher (1997), product developers need to keep in mind the interests and activities of the different age groups they seek to target. They term this
24 formula for successfiil marketing as "the product Ieverage matrix" (qtd. in Pattee 90).
Acuff and Reiher state this matrix "is a thorough and integrated approach to product and program development that has knowing the targeted consumer at the core-knowing his/her brain development, needs, motivation, and wants, and the way he/she perceives the world" (qtd. in Pattee 90). Based on this "product Ieverage matrix" Pattee (2004) asserts that the Sweet Volley High series are designed for eight to twelve year- olds and thirteen to fifteen year -olds. She states that the series focus on the interests and activities of both high school juniors and seniors. The images of the characters on the front covers of the novels are "realistic paintings of glamorous and mature late teens" (91). Pattee like
Huntwork emphasizes mat these images are romantic looking. The front covers portray attractive older teens that speak directly to young readers who are already thinking about adulthood.
Furthermore, Acuff and Reiher (1997) believe that the appeal of the series is significantly evident during adolescence. They state Ihat during adolescence (ages thirteen through fifteen) "the typical early adolescent [... ] begins to seek out support from and affiliation with a social subgroup" and "the 13-through-15-year-old's entertainment choices may, therefore, directly reflect his need to 'fit-in' with his newly chosen social group" (qtd. in Pattee 93). The Sweet Volley High series depict a romantic fantasy world that many early adolescents desire to be apart of. Pattee (2004) notes that in the series,
Jessica and Elizabeth are both popular and successful in different ways. For example,
Jessica is the captain of the cheerleading team, and is known to be the most stunning girl in school. Elizabeth, on the other hand is a writer for the school newspaper. She is also
25 liked by her peers but is recognized for her academic achievements. Pattee believes that
Jessica and Elizabeth provide readers with two models of "fitting-in" (94). It is important to note that Pattee concludes that the romance focus of the series targets a female audience, and the front cover encourages this "single sex attachment" (95). She posits that the pastel colours of the series and the alluring appearance of the twins resemble the
Barbie image. Similarly, Acuff and Reiher (cited in Pattee 89-95) believe that the Barbie ideal is associated with images of success that have been readily accepted within our culture.
Pattee asserts that another critical feature of the Sweet Volley High series is the fact that the descriptions of the twins Elizabeth and Jessica do not vary from book to book. She makes reference to Paul Deanne (1991) in Mirrors of American Culture:
Children 's Fiction Series in the Twentieth Century who terms this device the "summary beginning" (qtd. in Pattee 110) and its function is to "arouse a sense of the familiar, even in readers who pick only one volume of a series" (qtd. in Pattee 110). The "summary beginning" in each novel describes the identical appearance of the Wakefield twins and their opposite personalities. Pattee further claims that the physical description of the twins is a metaphor for the California setting in most novels. She states "the twins' eyes are often compared to the Pacific Ocean, while their hair is touted as sun-streaked or sun blond or sun kissed" (Pattee, 2004,110). The "summary beginning" in each novel not only portrays the glamorous twins but evokes an image of the California setting.
26 Conclusion
Dubino (1993), Neylon (2003), and Rabine (1985) all agree that historically the romance narrative focuses on the themes of heterosexual love and marriage. The romance novel includes critical plot elements such as the romantic relationship between the hero and hero ine, the heroine's awareness of her own erotic desires, and how she leams to decipher the hero's behaviour as a symbol of love. By examining Ihe traditional romance plot, one is mindful of how the Sweet Valley High series might share similar characteristics. For example, the back covers of the Sweet Valley High books like Kathleen Woodwiss's romance series in the 1970's promises adolescent females that their desires and needs could be fulfilled through reading. Like the traditional romance, the Sweet Valley High books portray a temporary fantasy world which females yearn to participate in.
27 Chapter Two
A Review ofLiterature
Introduction
A growing body of scholarly research suggests that there are different kinds of romance genres. This chapter begins with a definition of the term genre, the nature of the romance narrative, and the various subgenres of the romance novel. It also compares the romance novel to the traditional fairy tale. In Dangerous Men andAdventurous Women,
Krentz (1992) posits that the romance novel emerged from ancient myths and legends.
According to Krentz, romance novels are tales about brave women who want to tame dangerous men who are a potential threat. Lee (2008) in Guilty Pleasures: Reading
Romance Novels as Reworked Fairy Tales claims that like the prototypical fairy tale, the romance narrative focuses on the happy reunion of the romantic couple, challenges patriarchal structures, evokes romance fantasies for readers, and ends with a heterosexual marriage. Instead, Regis (2003) concedes that the romance novel entails eight imperative narrative elements and three incidental elements that occur at different times. This section provides a revised understanding of the romance novel and its function.
This chapter also examines many empirical and theoretical studies that demonstrate how romance reading provides emotional fulfillment and satisfaction in the lives of young adolescent females. Studies conducted by Radway (1984), Puri (1997),
Willinsky and Hunniford (1993) suggest that through romance reading young females create a temporary fantasy world in which they envision the perfect heterosexual
28 relationship. The results from Cherland's (1994) ethnography indicate that adolescent girls identify with the valiant heroine in order to exercise female power and agency through revene. This chapter further investigates the implications of romance reading from a feminist perspective. Radway (1984) found that the Smithton women in her study momentarily escaped the demands prescribed to motherhood and marriage by dominant patriarchal structures through reading romances. Modleski (1982) concedes that
Harlequin romance series are hetero-normative in structure as they usually begin with a naive young woman who becomes romantically involved with a handsome and wealthy man. The books in series end with the happy marriage of the hero and heroine. This chapter concludes with a summary of the selected studies and articles in order to provoke an understanding of the reading experiences of female readers.
The Romance Genre
rn the book Genre, Frow (2005) states that genre classifies the different types of literature and culture. Genres create and shape our understanding of the world.
According to Frow, genre is an active process that does not rely on a set of established rules. Genre is comprised of many distinct features such as font size, its form or structure, particular vocabulary, and draws upon predictable topics and issues. Frow postulates that genres give readers the opportunity to participate in the text by invoking and assuming general background knowledge. He asserts that the genre of the text is organized in a specific way to produce realistic effects such as mental imagery and
29 emotions. The genre of the text distinguishes itself from other genres through its physical framework in order to provide insight into how it works.
In A Natural History of the Romance Novel, Regis (2003) defines the romance novel, looks at its history, and examines the best written romances. According to Regis,
"a romance novel- a work of prose fiction that tells the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more heroines- requires certain narrative events" (27). She emphasizes that the romance novel includes eight essential narrative elements and three incidental elements that occur at times. She highlights each element through Austen's
(1813) work Pride and Prejudice. Regis concedes that the romance novel overlaps with comedy and romance. She critically analyzes the structure of Greek New Comedy and how it established the narrative pattern of comedy. Regis makes reference to Frye (1957) who asserts in Anatomy ofCriticism that in comedy ayoung man desires ayoung woman and his desire is usually challenged by some "paternal opposition" (qtd. in Regis 28).
Frye claims that, near the end of the play, a twist in the storyline gives the hero the opportunity to be reunited with the heroine. Unlike in the romance novel, Frye points that the heroine is not the focus of comedy. She is the object of the hero's wants and needs.
However, Frye argues that the goal for most romance novels and comedy is the reunion of the hero and heroine who live happily ever after.
Regis further concedes that the eight narrative elements take the heroine in a romance novel from imprisonment to freedom. Romance novels always entail certain events such as the state of society in which the heroine and hero court each other, the first encounter between the heroine and hero, the obstacle that impacts the union of the
30 heroine and hero, and the feelings between the heroine and hero. The romance novel also includes the "point of ritual death" (30) and "the recognition by heroine and hero of the means to overcome the barrier, and the betrothal" (30). Interestingly, Regis states that the essential and incidental events can happen in any order. According to Regis, the society that the heroine and hero will confront as they develop a romantic relationship is clearly defined for the reader at the beginning of the novel. This society is portrayed as
" incomplete, superannuated, or corrupt" (31). For example, in Pride and Prejudice,
Austen paints this society in the very first chapter in which Mrs. Bennet explains to her husband that Darcy and Bingley, the noveFs heroes, have tåken up residence the neighbouring estate. Mrs. Bennet's discussion of Bingley's yearly income and the other predominant families in the neighbourhood defines for the reader the condition of society in this particular novel. She reveals a wealth of information in her conversation with her husband about country life in the late eighteenth century. Mrs. Bennet's description establishes the status quo of society which the heroine and hero must encounter in their attempt to marry each other.
Regis points out that near the beginning of the novel, the heroine and hero meet for the first time and some foreshadowing of the conflict of the story also takes place. In
Pride and Prejudice, Jane and Bingley, as well as Elizabeth and Darcy encounter each other at the ball at Meryton. It is important to note that Bingley dances to every dance which represents his openness to a new neighbourhood. Regis posits that dancing symbolizes "[...] harmony and friendliness" (31). On the other hand, Darcy does not want to dance with anyone except with the women from his own party. Regis argues that
31 Darcy's actions are a symbol of "disharmony" (32). The conflict between Darcy and
Elizabeth begins when Elizabelh overhears him speaking of her in a crude way. Darcy says "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me" (9). Regis further emphasizes that many scenes are spread throughout the romance novel in order for the reader to understand the reasons why the heroine and hero cannot many. The conflict of the romance novel usually comprises this barrier between the heroine and hero. The barrier can be external, a situation that occurs outside of a heroine's or hero's psyche, or internal, a situation that stems from within. For example, external barriers consist of different aspects of the setting such as the condition of society at the beginning of the novel, the rules of society, and the economic circumstances of both the heroine's and hero's family, and coincidence events. Economics focuses on the income that the heroine and hero bring to their relationship and future prospects. Regis contends that "coincidence includes events, such as a natural disaster, over which the heroine and hero have no control that impede their union" (33). On the other hand, internal barriers include the values, morals, feelings and thoughts held by the heroine and hero which thwart their relationship. Regis states that many romance novels include internal barriers that emerge from the psychological state of the heroine and hero (31-32).
Regis vehemently argues that the barrier is what makes the romance a powerful novel. The barrier includes various issues and thus a writer can critically assess any given situation within the heroine's or hero's mind and in the world. Regis postulates that
"literally any psychological vice, virtue, or problem, any circumstance of life, whether economic, geographical, or familial can be made a part of the barrier and investigated at
32 whatever length the writer sees fit" (32). As a result, there is more at risk in the romance novel than just the marriage itself. The elimination of the barrier frequently involves the heroine's freedom from the rules of society and even religious constrictions. Overcoming the barrier is an important aspect of the romance novel's happy ending. It also symbolizes freedom for the heroine. At this point, the reader celebrates with the heroine whose response to her liberation is glee.
The narrative element of attraction helps the reader gain insight into the many reasons why the heroine and hero must marry. The attraction keeps the heroine and hero together long enough in order to overpower the barrier. Attraction can be based on sexual intimacy, friendship, shared beliefs or values, and economic circumstances. Regis contends that these different forms of attraction fall under the category of "love" (33).
Interestingly, she claims that some romance no vels question the concept of love, while others just assume its function.
Regis further postulates that the scene or scenes in which the hero and heroine proclaim their love for each other can transpire at anytime in the novel. This creates the possibility of various plots that are open to romance novels. Regis posits that if the declaration scene is moved up and coincides with the meeting scene, then the novel paints a love-at-first-sight situation. In a comedy where the hero is the focal point, the idea of love at first sight is common. However, the heroine needs to be freed from the restrictions of society which impede the hero from marrying her. If the declaration scene is moved to the end of the novel, the heroine and hero express their love for each other after the barrier has been resolved. The barrier usually represents the heroine's and
33 hero's reluctance to declare their love for each other. It is important to note that the declaration scene ends the barrier. However, if the heroine is the focus of the romance, the narrative is usually about courting, choosing a spouse, and the declaration scene is placed later in the story. Regis points that there is often a separate declaration scene for both the heroine and hero. She makes reference to Pride and Prejudice and how the no vel separates the declaration scene. For example, Darcy expresses his love for Elizabeth in the middle of the novel, and Elizabeth proclaims her love for Darcy at the end of the no vel. Pride and Prejudice does not accept the love at first sight notion and instead depicts the slow progression of love between the heroine and hero (34).
The point of ritual death in the romance novel is the moment at which the reunion between the heroine and hero seems utterly impossible. At this particular point, the happy ending of the novel is threatened. The romance heroine is often described as the target of ritual death, and surprisingly the narrative "[...] echoes the myth ofPersephone"
(35). Regis asserts that "Just as Persephone must escape the kingdom of death to restore fruitfulness, increase, and fecundity to the entire earth, the romance novel heroine must escape her "death" to live to see her betro thai and the promise of children that it brings"
(3 50. She claims that death, or a situation associated with death, is a ritual. However, the heroine in a romance does not die. She is freed from death, and again the reader rejoices in happiness.
In modem romance novels, interior barriers exist and portray scenes that show how the heroine comes to terms with her own intellect or psyche. Throughout the novel, she has grown to learn about herself, and reflects on her love for the hero. Regis
34 emphasizes that the heroine's recognition of love can vary drastically from novel to novel. In a fast paced book, the recognition may be revealed in the few remaining pages which lead to the ending. In a slow paced book, the recognition scene may appear very early and the barrier will not be resolved quickly (36-37).
In the betrothal scene, the hero asks the heroine to marry him and she readily accepts; or the heroine asks the hero and he accepts the proposal. Marriage is not essential in romance novels from the last quarter of the twentieth century as long as it is made evident that the heroine and hero will be together. If the betrothal is divided into a proposal scene and an acceptance scene, the novel then shifts its focus to confronting the internal barrier that prevents the proposal scene from also being depicted as the acceptance scene. Regis states that this situation occurs in Pride andPrejudice. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth twice. Halfway through the novel, after Darcy declares his love for
Elizabeth, he asks for her hand in marriage in a way such that she fiiriously refuses his proposal. Darcy decides to ask again at the end of the novel. Elizabeth accepts mis time because she has assessed her own life and truly understands Darcy. The proposal and acceptance scenes both represent a betrothal. Elizabeth's liberation to accept Darcy's marriage proposal has been approved by her escape from a mythical death, and by defeating the barrier (37-38).
According to Regis, without the eight essential narrative elements a work of fiction cannot be considered a romance novel. Three other narrative events take place such as "[... ] the wedding, dance, or fete; the exile of a scapegoat character, and the con version of a bad or evil character" (38). However, these narrative events are not
35 necessary in romances. In certain scenes, the promised wedding is portrayed or some other kind of celebration of the community is dramatized. The focus of this scene is inclusion and always appears in every romance novel. The community comes together to celebrate with the newlywed couple. For the heroine, this community represents a place
"to exercise her newly acquired freedom from ritual death and from the barrier [...]"
(Regis 38). It is important to note that in a romance novel, the character who prevents the heroine and hero from marrying is exiled from the new society created by their reunion.
At the end of the novel, the opponents of the marriage itself are converted to accepting it and are a part of the community formed by the coming together of the hero and heroine.
For example, in Pride and Prejudice, the resentful, censorious Lady Catherine tums into a loving aunt who finally approves her nephew Darcy's wedding. In a romance novel, the bad characters can eventually become good (38-39).
Furthermore, Krentz (1992) argues that the romance novel does not focus on women's present-day social issues, female bonding, and adventure. Instead, she concedes that the relationship between the heroine and hero is the storyline of the romance novel.
It is the main focus of the story just as solving the crime is the focus of a mystery. Krentz concedes that conflict must transpire between the heroine and hero in a good romance novel. The hero is the most crucial challenge the heroine must conquer. In a romance, the hero is portrayed as being a source of emotional and physical threat to the heroine. As a result, at the core of every romance is a dangerous hero. According to Krentz, a dangerous hero is "[... ] a worthy opponent, a mythic beast [... ] He has been variously described as a devil, a demon, a tiger, a hawk, a pirate [... ] He is definitely not the boy
36 next door" (19). On the other hand, the heroine is adventurous. Krentz like Radway
(1984) states that with valour, bravery, cleverness, and kindness the heroine brings the most dangerous hero "to his knees" (Krentz, 1992, 5). In Trying to Tame the Romance:
Critics and Correctness, Krentz(1992) suggests that any woman during her childhood who read books about little girls "tårning wild stallions" (109) knows exactly what makes a romance novel function. The adult romance novel stems from childhood tales that deal with courageous young women "tårning dangerous beasts" (109) that are considered unruly. Interestingly, Krentz states that the pleasure and excitement of teaching that potent beast to respond only to one's needs, forming a bond that exceeds the physical world and conversing with him in a way that goes beyond words is extremely fulfilling for the reader. Like romance readers, mystery readers feel the same satisfaction when the hero solves the crime and restores justice in society. However, Krentz notes that just like the detective heroine must travel through gloomy alleys, the romance heroine must confront the hero, who is a challenge, in order for readers to experience the thrill of the romance (109).
Krentz claims that the "aggressive seduction of the heroine by the hero" (109) is very common in romances. Often, this seduction is depicted so forceful, sexual, and powerful that it has been misinterpreted as rape by literary critics. However, Radway
(1984) argues that the rape plot is a part of the complicated romance fantasy. She states that"[...] authors of ideal romances always make a clear distinction between men who rape as an act of aggression against women and those who, like their heroes, do so because they misinterpret a woman's actions or find her irresistible" (1984,141).
37 Radway posits that the romance narrative includes the brutal rape of the heroine because it allows the author to inform its readers of the real consequences of such violence. She found that some romances actually ignore the fact that a violent rape has occurred "by stressing the hero's remorse and by demonstrating his potential to make adequate reparation in the future" (Radway, 1984,143). For instance, Radway makes reference to
Woodwiss's (1972) The Flame and the Flower in order to demonstrate how the hero treats the heroine tenderly after the vicious rape "[...] He touched her cheek tenderly and murmured something low and inaudible, but she had her eyes closed [...] He moved against her gently, kissing her hair and brow and caressing her body with his hands" (qtd. in Radway 143).
Krentz further concedes that the "aggressive seduction" (109) of the protagonist is popular in many other genres. For example, in mystery novels the "private-eye heroes"
(110) often get sexually manipulated by potential female suspects. The manipulating suspect, like the romance hero, is aggressive and sexually threatening. Krentz also concedes that many female and male readers fantasize about being sexually manipulated within popular fiction novels. She contends that in a romance novel this fantasy becomes an enticing and convoluted twist. The reader is given the opportunity to experience the seduction from both the heroine's and hero's perspective. She enjoys the fantasy of being able to seduce or the one who becomes seduced. In a good romance, the female reader can simultaneously be in both the heroine's and hero's mind. The reader is aware of what they are feeling, minking, and how experiences affect them differently. Krentz claims that this is a unique feature the romance novel possesses. She postulates that the
38 intensity of the "seduction fantasy" (111) poses a great threat to many of the genre critics.
According to Krentz, readers never feel threatened by the fantasy of being seduced just like men who read about detective heroes never seem to feel threatened by the sexually powerful female client.
Krentz goes even as far as to analyze how the heroine in popular romances is always portrayed as being a virgin. The heroine's virginity creates a metaphor for the qualities she is given, such as female strength, bravery, kindness, and honour. Virginity has been associated with the female protagonist in many legends, stories of kings and queens, and wars. In most romances, the heroine is intelligent enough about choosing the right partner. She gives the right man her gift of love and virginity. The romance hero truly appreciates the heroine's virginity. Surprisingly, the heroine allows herself to be seduced by a hero who is "larger- than- life" (112). She is a risk taker and chooses the right man whom she woos with her virginity. Krentz states that the hero is forced to recognize the heroine's power as a woman and how her female honour allows her to use that power. As a result, the heroine has "tamed the magnificent wild stallion" (112). Her victory is the greatest satisfaction for romance readers.
In Beneath the Surface: The Hidden Codes of Romance, Barlow and Krentz
(1992) explore the familiar codes that romance writers use that are critical to the genre and transport the reader into the world of fantasy. They argue that romance writers are writing in a code that is clearly familiar to female readers but unclear to others. The reader trusts the author to create a fictional world where beliefs about loyalty, honour, bravery, and love are challenged. The romance writer gives life to this fictional world
39 through rich and eloquent language that provides the reader "[... ] with a certain intensity
of experience" (16). The metaphorical language the writer chooses to employ can be
traced to the symbols, images, and paradoxes from Ancient Greece to Celtic Britain.
Barlow and Krentz contend that romance writers are often criticized for their lack of
originality in plot elements as their love stories are very traditional. However, they assert
that the best seiling romance books are those with plots that focus on an innocent young
woman who has to challenge the powerful male. Both their happiness depends on the
heroine's ability to teach the hero how to love (17).
According to Barlow and Krentz, romances are appealing to readers because they
celebrate feminine strength and intelligence. They also include the celebration of female
ability to sympathize and communicate on an emotional level. Romances value the
power of love which heals, revitalizes, and creates new life. Barlow and Krentz
emphasize that romances focus on the "[...] celebration of the feminine ability to do battle on the most mythical planes of existence where emotions rise to epic levels, and to temper and transform all this energy in such a way that it is brought down to human
levels by the marriage at the end of the book" (17). Romance plot elements force the heroine and hero into intense emotional circumstances which are important to women.
Such circumstances promise apossible victory that readers find deeply fulfilling, a victory that renews life and brings the heroine and hero together.
In romance novels, the plot devices are based on opposites, the potential threat of danger, and irony. The heroine represents light, and hope. The hero symbolizes darkness and despair. Barlow and Krentz note that the more the heroine and hero are depicted as
40 opposites, the more the confrontations between them are valiant and heroic. In some situations, the heroine must overpower the hero who mythically represents the devil himself. The love that transpires between them is the "mediating, reconciling force" (17).
Most of the emotional responses created by romance plot devices are considered complex because they contain contradictory elements such as the marriage that is real and false, heroes who are also Machiavellian, and victories that are portrayed as acts of succumbing in certain situations. They also include seductions in which one is both the seducer and seduced and revengeful acts that overlap with acts of love. The paradoxical elements need to be incorporated into the romance novel in order for it to be considered successful
(17-18).
Interestingly, Barlow and Krentz discuss the importance of the happy ending in a romance novel. The union between the hero and heroine needs to encompass contrasting factors. For example, the loving heroes must never lose their warrior like qualities, and heroines must defeat the devil without compromising their own femininity. The happy ending requires that the hero recognizes the heroine's valiant qualities, and admires her strength, honour, and bravery. The hero must also appreciate the heroine's female qualities such as gentleness, compassion, and kindness. The happy ending requires a sexual bond between the hero and heroine that exceeds the physical, a bond that both the reader and writer know can never be destroyed. At the end of the romance novel, the contrasting factors are resolved. The heroine has completed her quest, and taught the devil how to love. Metaphorically, she was able to shine light into the hero's world of darkness (19-20).
41 Barlow and Krentz further examine the language of romance, particularly looking at romantic dialogue and romantic description. The conversations that take place between the heroine and hero are usually the "primary battlefield" (22) for the conflicts they encounter. Surprisingly, the insulting and offensive dialogues between the main characters are the hallmarks of their relationship. For example, in Pride and Prejudice
(1813) Mr. Darcy is not only attracted to Elizabeth Bennet's beauty but admires her wit.
Also, in Jane Eyre (1850), Jane grasps Mr.Rochester's attention through her assertive conversations. Although Jane does not have the same riches as Mr.Rochester, she is equal to him in verbal aggressiveness. It is the heroine's words instead of her beauty that wins her the love for which she yearns. In romances, heroes avoid alluring women who would rather praise them than engage in witty conversations. Romance heroes enjoy the challenge of female intelligence. They take the heroine's words seriously and change in response to her negative criticisms. The heroine's words are her most dangerous weapon.
For example, in Pride and Prejudice, it is Elizabeth's refusal of Darcy 's marriage proposal that encourages him to reflect on his own behaviour and let go of his pride. In
Wuthering Heights (1846), Cathy's comments about Heathcliff s inaptness as a husband forces him to leave Wuthering Heights and educate himself. In modem romances, heroines mesmerize and defy their lovers with their conversations. The greatest victory that the heroine achieves near the end of the romance novel is that the hero is able to express his feelings for her not only physically but verbally (23).
Through romantic description, romance writers give mythological dimensions to the characters and ambience in the fictional world they create in their stories. The use of
42 symbols, metaphors, and allusions in romances are extremely potent. They are equivalent to "[... ] putting a person or an action under a microscope" (24). Barlow and Krentz make reference to horror novelists such as Stephen King who uses this technique to describe a murdered body. As a result, readers respond to the horrific descriptions of death.
Romance writers in sexual love scenes also use the same technique to lure the reader into the no vel and identify with the lover by provoking within her the same feelings the heroine is experiencing. The codes allow the female reader to enter momentarily the world of romance and feel like an active participant in the story (24).
Another key feature of the romance novel is the physical description of the hero and heroine. Certain phrases are commonly used to describe romance heroes such as "his lean, hard thighs and his penetrating glance". Romance writers make reference to the heroine's "sparkling, emerald eyes" and include phrases like "her prim features were softened by a generous lower lip" (24). Barlow and Krentz emphasize that such codes resonate mythical archetype figures. A thorough analysis of the detailed description in most romances show that writers consciously or unconsciously choose descriptive codes that represent the archetypes with which they are working. For instance, heroes who are physically associated with demons, or devils are usually "[...] dark-haired with eyes mat are luminous, piercing, penetrating, fierce, fiery, and so forth" (24).
According to Barlow and Krentz, romantic description also includes paradoxical devices. Although the hero is always connected with darkness, strength, and maliciousness, and the heroine with light, kindness, and goodness, the heroine is courageous and the hero is passive at times. The purpose of this description is to distract
43 readers from the fantasy narrative in order to heighten their awareness of the hero's and heroine's characters. In other words, the hero is not really Machiavellian and the heroine is more self-confident than she first appears. The use of paradox also foreshadows the reconciliation of the hero and heroine at the end of the romance. The reunion is possible because they come together with their own strengths and weaknesses. The heroine and hero form a union that is both mythical and real and celebrates the female power to heal and imp ro ve the male (24-25).
In her article, Lee (2008) critically examines the romance genre and its relationship to the traditional fairytale. She looks at how fairytale motifs are embedded in the romance narrative. Lee considers various categories of the romance genre, paying particular attention to the paranormal novels that often include more fantasy elements which are parallel to the prototypical fairytales such as Beauty and the Beast. For example, the paranormal subgenre focuses on many topics including innovative settings, travelling, magic, and such mystical creatures as vampires and werewolves. Lee argues that the romance novel includes other subgenres such as historical, Regency, Western, inspirational, romantic suspense, and paranormal. She notes that although these categories overlap, each subgenre is comprised of certain formulae, themes, topics, and expectations (53).
In erotic romances, sexual acts are portrayed explicitly. They simultaneously depict non-traditional gender roles, sex values, and power relations. The erotic images in popular romance novels reflect the values of the culture from which they evolve, and at the same time alter societal norms through their fictional constructions. In the 1970's and
44 early 1980's erotic historical romances included provocative covers that illustrated half- dressed women with lavish bosoms being incited by topless powerful men. According to
Lee, "such bodice rippers came to stand for the entire genre and were used to justify dismissing this "trivial" form of women's fiction as naturalizing sexual violence against passive, naive women through rape fantasies and other sexual brutalities" (55). She states that the distance created by the historical setting allowed women to enjoy the fantasy rape without ever confusing it with a violent, terrorizing real-life rape. Since the 1990's, the rape fantasy has been substituted with those that give the heroine the opportunity to experiment and enjoy her sexuality during committed relationships and outside of them too. Today, the paranormal romance is the only subgenre in which violent sexual acts are apparent. Like the erotic historical romance, the paranormal romance novel is set in an isolated unrealistic setting with rules and expectations that are different from these of
Western culture. Lee also concedes that sexual acts in erotic romances are usually described in a coded language. In "Leading Us into Temptation: The Language of Sex and Power of Love", Johnson-Kurek and Kaler (1999) provide a thorough analysis of this coded language. Johnson- Kurek and Kaler concede that phrases like "velvet knobs and fiery sheaths" (qtd in Lee 55) allude to male and female sexual organs. Erotic romance novels are categorized as a fairly new genre known as "romantica" (qtd. in Lee 56) which tends to portray graphic sexual scenes with vivid language.
Lee contends that the relationship between fairy tales and romance novels has not been thoroughly examined by scholars, writers, and publishers. She emphasizes that although many scholars connect fairy tales with children's literature, fairy tales do not
45 only target children readers. Traditionally fairy tales were told to and intended for a general audience of adults and children. Fairy tales like romance novels evoke an imagined fantasy world and communicate a shared fantasy for their audience. Many authors adapt fairy tale elements within the popular romance narrative. Lee states that publishers such as Love Spell and Harlequin have purposely established series as
"retellings of traditional fairy tales" (56). For example, since 1996, Love Spell has published titles like Jones's Cinderfella (1998), and Jackie and the Giant (1999), and
Alexander's The Emperor's New Clothes (2004). Novels in these series clearly resemble modified themes and ideas in traditional fairy tales. Lee asserts that romance novels do not deliberately evoke certain fairy tales; however, many continue to draw on their traditional conventions, quarrels, and adventurous journeys. She quotes Bacchilega
(1997) who in Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Structures posits that romance novels that intentionally draw on prototypical fairy tales "may be a type of postmodern fairy tale" (qtd. in Lee 57). Interestingly, Lee further refers to Jorgensen
(2007) in "A Wave of the Magic Wand: Fairy Godmothers in Contemporary American
Media''' who argues that romance novels that are comprised of various fairy tale elements but do not resemble a specific fairy tale may be regarded as a "fairy tale pastiche"(qtd. in
Lee 57).
Lee relies heavily on Holbek's (1987) five-move scheme in The Interpretation of
Fairy Tales in order to understand the relationship between complete and incomplete fairy tales. Holbek argues that fairy tale characters resolve binary oppositions:
"young/adult, male/female, and low-status/ high-status" (qtd. in Lee 57). In "complete"
46 (57) fairy tales, all these binary oppositions are solved, and "incomplete" (57) fairy tales may only solve a set of oppositions. According to Holbek, in the first two mo ves, the initial conflict is solved and the hero or heroine gains adult status. In the third move, the male-female conflict with a romance or marriage is resolved. The main theme in fairy tales is usually the very first encounter of the hero and heroine and ho w they passionately fall in love. The last two moves include an obstacle that hinders the relationship, and the heroine moves from low to high status once the obstacle is solved (57). Holbek posits that "complete fairy tales may have a male and a female protagonist that constitute the married pair, while incomplete fairy tales may include only a subset of these five moves"
(qtd. in Lee 57-58).
Lee postulates that Holbek's five-move scheme can be applied to the structure of the romance novel. As in romance novels, in complete fairytales the heroine's and hero's relationship is constantly challenged. Both the heroine and hero enter adulthood and achieve a greater status. However, the heroine must complete a test in order to gain the hero's love. By the end of the novel, bo A the heroine and hero become suitable lovers for each other. Lee notes that the most important reworked structure of the fairy tale takes place in Holbek's third move, the romantic creation of the hero and heroine. She posits that sometimes this stage includes sexual engagements. For example, Rapunzel gives birth to twins, and Sleeping Beauty gives birth during her spellbound sleep.
Romance novels reverse the fairy tale narrative by making Holbek's third move, the resolution of the male/female opposition the most critical feature (57-58).
47 Lee further discusses how Beauty and the Beast is the most common fairy tale that
is adapted in popular romance novels. Many interpretations oi Beauty and the Beast
focus on the female protagonist's change in attitude towards sex from disgust to
enjoyment. Other interpretations of the fairytale depend on female power to "achieve the male protagonists transformation from animal or monster to human" (59). In popular
romances, the change from Beast to prince is usually symbolic. The hero in historical romances with European ambiences may be physically or mentally wounded and stays in his castle. During the course of the novel, the hero is rescued from his "physical flaws"
(59). However, in modem American romances the Beast is understood differently. Lee makes reference to Hains (1989) in Beauty and the Beast: 20' Century Romance? who
states that the contemporary Beast is aproduct of the commercial world. He is serious, potent, and immoral but often not physically revolting. According to Hains, "love and trust humanize this Beast as a wealthy man of conscience" (qtd. in Lee 59). Lee notes that paranormal romance novels are closer to fairy tales as they frequently portray heroes who are actually beasts or monsters.
Lee thoroughly analyzes Freehan's (2002) paranormal romance novel Lair of the
Lion which is a typical retelling of Beauty and the Beast. In the novel, the protagonist
Isabella Vernaducci offers herself to Don Nicolai DeMarco in order to rescue herbrother.
Nicolai persists that they marry, although the men in his family are literally cursed to appear as beasts "and tear out the hearts of those they love" (Lee, 2008, 59). Like Beauty and the Beast, the novel begins with many usual trappings. For example, a young, innocent woman arrives at a castle in which a beastlike man resides who no one ever sees.
48 The young Isabella courageously surrenders herself for her brother who is being punished for his imprudent actions. Servants provide Isabella with food and necessary clothing.
The novel is told from the heroine's perspective, and unlike traditional fairy tales the heroine cannot see the hero's beastly physical appearance. Lee states that the heroine only sees 1he hero's "long, obscene scars that mar the perfection of his face" (60). As a result, this Beauty and the Beast fairy tale seems to be figurative rather than literal for the reader.
Lee points out that each physical contact between the heroine and hero in Lair of the Lion involves a combination of danger and sexual feelings. Throughout the novel,
Nicolai constantly states that he is the only danger for Isabella, a fact clearly emphasized when he accidentally scratches her, drawing blood in two instances. The hero's and heroine's first physical encounter is marked by eroticism: "Gratefully closing her hands around the hot cup, she accidentally brushed his skin with her fingertips. At the slight contact a whip of lightning leapt into her bloodstream, arcing and crackling, sizzling hot"
(39). As in all romances, the female protagonist's response to Nicolai marks him as different. The first sexual contact allows the heroine to be aware of her sexuality, and realize that the hero is the only man with whom she can unleash her sexual urges. In the novel, the reader is made aware that "his thumb was stroking her sensitive inner wrist as he towered over her. The sensation was shocking, little tongues of fire licking up her arm, spreading over her skin until she was burning with some unnamed need she had never experienced [...]" (60). The physical contact between Isabella and Nicolai heightens both sexual pleasure and physical violence. The more sexual contacts occur
49 between Isabella and Nicolai, the more the violence increases. Lee notes that during the first interrupted sexual encounter between them, just at the "moment of penetration" (60)
Isabella sees Nicolai temporarily appear as a Hon. When they finally engage in sexual intercourse, Nicolai seems to change into the Beast when he achieves orgasm. For example, he draws blood when he grabs Isabella' s hip too hard, which represents the transformation of his fingers into claws. Interestingly, the blood drawn from the heroine's vagina and skin represents her loss of virginity. This particular scene alters the typical transformation by love of Beauty and the Beast. It is important to note that sex instead of emotional love represents the change from "[... ] a controlled man to an uncontrolled beast" (60).
Throughout the novel, another reversal of the fairy tale takes place when
NicolaPs family curse urges him to murder his bride after a beneficiary is in place.
However, this fate is unbearable as the love between Nicolai and Isabella further develops and becomes more passionate. Nicolai promises to kill himself after they have children and the Beast within him grows even stranger now. In the last scene, the Beast threatens to overpower Nicolai and Isabella for the very first time sees him fully as a Beast. In this particular instance, Isabella proclaims her love for, and faith in Nicolai and refuses to see him as the Beast. She insists upon sympathy for a killer rather than cruelty and revenge.
After Nicolai purges his love for Isabella, they share a passionate kiss and the curse is magically removed. The proclamation of love and the kiss are important elements in the resolution and reflect many versions oi Beauty and the Beast (60-61).
50 Lee like Modleski (1982) argues that romance novels frequently include
contradictory cultural messages. She notes that the strong male hero who can potentially
harm the heroine appears to control all the power in romance novels. Within paranormal
novels, the hero usually comes from a culture where men dominate women. Lee
concedes thatboth fairy tales and romance novels end in a marriage or reunion which
supports societal expectations about heterosexual relationships. Lee refers to Cohn
(1988) in Romance and the Erotics ofProperty who argues vehemently that popular
romances are narratives about power that are "deeply encoded" (qtd. in Lee 61) within
narratives about love, and these stories are both about "secret sentimental and sensual
delights of love"(61) and the "forbidden pleasures of revenge and appropriation" (61).
She claims that in romance novels, the heroine's success depends largely on gaining
wealth and power within patriarchal society. Cohn posits that the heroine's desires are
hidden, and that she not only longs for the hero but instead "what is desired is authority
itself, the power and autonomy the social system denies women" (qtd. in Lee 62).
Cohn emphasizes that male power is important to the overall success of the
fantasy provided by romance novels. Lee believes that love becomes the channel for
accomplishing this goal. The heroine's sexual desires are interpreted as her love for the hero, while his sexual desires are interpreted as separate from his feelings. Like Barlow
and Krentz (1982), Lee asserts that it is not enough just for the hero to love the heroine,
he must admit his feelings for her. Once the hero declares his love, the male/female opposition is resolved and the heroine has gained access to his financial resources and
strength. According to Lee, "knowledge of the inner world of the male other becomes the
51 unstated goal" (62). In Lair of the Lion, the fact that Isabella sees Nicolai as a man and not abeast frees him from his family's curse and helps to evoke his affection.
"Knowledge of the male other" (Lee, 2008, 62) leads to female power which is exemplified through eroticism. For example, just like the hero gains the hero ine through sex, the heroine gains knowledge of the hero's feelings and power. This knowledge ends when the hero proclaims his love for the heroine, and is actually brought to his knees to propose. The marriage provides the heroine with indefinite access to the male's power.
It does not domesticate the heroine, but rather the heroine "tames her arrogant, domineering, ruthless mate" (62).
The articles cited above emphasize that in every popular romance the heroine must defeat the hero who is a potential threat. The hero is metaphorically portrayed as a beast or monster. The conflict between the heroine and hero at the beginning of the novel, and their union at the end make the romance powerful. The heroine's goal is to teach the hero how to love. Once Ihe hero declares his love for the heroine, she gains knowledge of his emotions and economic status. In popular romances, the heroine is always depicted as a virgin. Virginity has been associated with myths, legends, and stories about kings and queens. Although the romance novel overlaps with other categories, each subgenre has certain formulas and motifs. Popular romances can also be seen as reworked fairy tales, particularly Beauty and the Beast. Like fairy tales, romances give women readers the opportunity to resist cultural norms. Both evoke a shared fantasy which is told from the heroine's point of view. Through sexual intimacy, the heroine comes to terms with her own sexuality. Her sexual desires represent her love for the hero.
52 Instead, the hero gains sexual control over the heroine. However, the way the romantic heroine exerts her female power is different in many subgenres.
Empirical and Theoretical Studies o/Reading and Responding to Romance Series
A growing number of studies show that romance reading pro vides pleasure, emotional nurturance, and plays a significant role in the private lives of adolescent girls.
In Women Read the Romance: The Interaction of Text and Context, Rad way (1983) pro vides a detailed analysis of why the Smith tonwome n she studied read romances.
Through her study, she found that many women view romance reading as a way of denying their own reality which may seem arduous and overwhelming. Radway quotes one interviewee who såtes that through popular romances 'Tm able to escape the harsh world a few hours a day" (59). According to Radway, the Smithton women found romance series more appealing than novels because they painted unrealistic events and characters. The Smithton women claim that this unrealistic shape of the romance story makes their temporary escape from reality more fulfilling and satisfying. Radway's findings indicate that the women participate in a "fantasy relationship" (60) where in the heroine is treated as they themselves would like to be. Radway postulates that the idea of romance reading as an escape symbolizes a "metaphoric transfer" (60). That is, the
Smithton women situate themselves in a desirable world where all events are resolved.
Many women concede that romance reading represents a temporary affirmation of independence from ascribed roles of both wife and mother. As a result, the Smithton women abandon the welfare of the family for only a short period of time. These women put aside some space and time for themselves. Radway posits that romance reading
53 fiilfills the psychological needs of women. She contends that her findings suggest that the
Smithton women are not fully satisfied wilh the care and nurturance they receive from others. In this case, they turn to romance reading to create a "fantasy-world" (62) where the hero reassures the heroine of her social status and special identity. The Smithton women explained how they imagined themselves being treated by a hero who proves to be masculine but extremely nurturing at the same time. They identify with the heroine, and become the object of someone else's attention. The Smithton women's identification with the heroine represents how they yearn for emotional attention and care. Radway posits that patriarchal marriages fail to address women's needs.
Radway concedes that the theme of pleasure continuously reoccurred in her interviews with the Smithton women. They repeatedly stated that romance reading was a happy and gratifying experience. Radway notes that it is important to look at what features of the romantic narrative could contribute to such feelings of happiness. The
Smithton women desire a romance that focuses on the gradually developing love between a man and a woman. These women want to participate in a romance where the hero and heroine become acquainted wilh each other, explore their feelings, and then eventually discover their love for one another. A good romance ultimately relies on how the hero treats the heroine (62).
Similarly, in "Busting Textual Bodices: Gender, Reading, and the Popular
Romance," Wilson (1999) conducted a study in which adolescent girls independently read
Danielle Steele novels and reported on how they interpreted popular romance books.
Like Radway (1984) and Cherland (1994), Wilson found that through romance reading
54 adolescent girls escape from "sexuality vicissitudes" (58). For example, one sixteen year- old interviewee states "There was some kissing and hugging in the book but no rough stuff, no pushing her into it. It showed love as something really nice. It was dreamy and beautiful [...] I liked this" (58). Wilson's study draws on Bogdan's (1990) ideas in
Censorship, Identification, and the Poetics ofNeed about how the romance novel is a
"literature of need" and provides "psychic nourishment to its readers" (qtd. in Wilson 58).
Interestingly, Wilson notes that the popular romance might offer adolescent girls a pleasurable escape from less attractive portrayals of women in other genres. The results from Wilson's study demonstrate that adolescent gjrls found Steele's novels appealing because they illustrated the American myth in which the heroine can achieve some form of economic and personal independence through determination and freedom. Wilson asserts that the greatest satisfaction these texts offer romance readers is a depiction of
"female autonomy" (61). One female interviewee described the female protagonist this way "[... ] Crystal achieved her goal to be an actress. She is determined to make it after the scandal in Hollywood, for the sake of her son, Zeb. None of the two women depended on Spencer" (61). The findings from this study appear to support Radway's idea that through romance reading women experience a declaration of independence.
These findings are corroborated by Puri (1997) who examines the role popular romance series such as the Harlequin, Mills, and Boon play in the lives of single middle class women in India. Puri collected her data through questionnaires primarily and some open-ended interviews. Her investigation included one hundred and one women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. It is important to note that the women have been
55 reading romances for about four years. As a result, the women are able to reflect on how
romance novels function as a source of pleasure and analyze the cultural context of
reading romances. Puri investigates how popular romance novels influence readers'
views about romantic relationships, sexuality, gender roles, and marriage. Drawing on
Modleski (1982) and Radway's (1984) work, Puri contends that "Harlequin novels are
seen both as an expression of pain and protest against women's suffering in a patriarchal
culture [... ]" (436). Bolh Modleski and Radway agree Ihat the act of romance reading is a
psychological process that masks women's unhappiness with their assigned social roles.
Radway further concedes that romance series allow readers to make their present
circumstances bearable.
Puri notes that marriage and motherhood give women in postcolonial India a
purpose and an identity in their culture. Through romance reading, Puri posits that these
women can explore and escape gender and sexual expectations within marriages.
Romances offer women the fantasy of more control over their femininity, and
heterosexual relationships. They are attractive to young readers because of their
forbidden pleasures. As a result, family members forbid young readers to read popular
romances. According to Puri, the romance series previously cited include countercultural
conceptions about marriage and sexuality. Thus, Puri suggests that the act of romance
reading serves as a pleasure of resistance. The arguments put forth by Radway are
consistent with Puri's study. Like Radway, Puri claims that romance novels can be seen as a form of "cultural resistance" (441). The results from Puri's investigation reveal that through romance reading young women negotiate specific gender ideologies constructed
56 by their culture. However, romance novels not only represent a challenge to culturally structured gender roles but also the disapproval readers receive from family members
(439-441).
Through her discussions with these middle-class readers, Puri (1997) like Wilson
(1999) found that women were attracted to heroines in romances who were independent and out-spoken. These women associated independence with assertiveness. For example, they expressed the desire to have a career, choose their own romantic partner, and have control over their thoughts and feelings. The young readers claim that romance series offer more than just pleasure, an escape from reality, and a temporary fantasy world. Puri notes that romance novels function as educational sources. Through romances, these women contend that they leam about love, and romantic relationships. One reader explains "[... ] I think they show the many different facets of love and romance, which is quite educating especially for teenagers and quite informative on the general knowledge front. Loving is certainly not easy" (Puri, 1997, 443). In urban India, young women are confused about expectations of love, romance, and sexuality. Through romance novels, readers learn how to deal with challenging relationships and the kind of partner they desire in the future. Puri's study echoes the findings from Smith's (1985-86) investigation. These middle-class readers place themselves within the character of the heroine. The reader's identification with the heroine is a critical process which allows her to recreate her own romantic stories. Puri claims that this escape into a fantasy narrative and imagining the seif in the story represents how the reader is aware of her sexual identity (1997, 442-444).
57 Willinsky and Hunniford's (1993) study ratifies Puri's (1997) claim that through romance reading adolescent girls temporarily defy culturally defined feminine roles.
Willinsky and Hunniford's investigation looks at student reading habits in six different classes of grade seven students in a junior high school. The school is located in a lower middle-class neighbourhood. Willinsky and Hunniford's investigation shows that young readers not only read romance series for individual pleasure but for the significant role they play in their public lives. The adolescent girls contend that they yearned to have a romance like the heroine. They believed that they would experience the same romance as the heroine once they completed junior high. Willinsky and Hunniford concede that for the adolescent girl the popular romance has become "her own life" (93) and her future in romance. The romance functions as a guide for the anxious adolescent girl who is looking for a preview of the near future. During the interviews, one student states "[... ] they could help you, like to know what to expect when you get to grade eight" (94).
Willinsky and Hunniford found that young girls read romances because they felt that they
"needed the preparation to face what the heroine faced" (95). They posit that romance series can be seen as instruction manuals that include both suspense and sensation. The popular romance offers young readers useful hints on how to act, what to wear, and what to say. Romances teach adolescent girls what they "desire to live" (96). As a result, readers strongly identify with the heroine in hope of becoming her. However, unlike the
Smithton women, the adolescent girls were more concerned about the heroine's beauty as opposed to her intelligence.
58 In addition, the young readers claimed that the Sweet Valley High books were their favourite popular romance series. Willinsky and Hunniford postulate that the adolescent girls found the series appealing because of the "adolescent growth pangs"
(100) of the Wakefield twins. They argue that the series include all the features of the
"classic romance plot" (100) as described by Radway (1984). In the first book Double
Love, the heroine questions her social identity, the heroine and hero are physically separated; they eventually re-unite; the heroine responds to the hero sexually; and in the end the heroine regains her identity. Willinsky and Hunniford assert that the popular romance is a "beginner's manual for ensuring adolescence" (102). In other words, romances reassure readers that the world in front of them is full of disappointments but also provide a "looking glass into which the reader can safely peer" (102) for possible solutions.
Furthermore, Cherland's (1994) ethnography shows that through romance reading the Oak Town girls leam about gender relations. She found that romance series offered girls "textual constructions" (96) of gender and how to gro w up in certain ways as women. For example, the Sweet Valley High series pro vides visions of young womanhood which are linked to representations of control and power. Cherland asserts that the Sweet Valley High books position the Oak Town girls to think of gender in binary oppositions. Jessica Wakefield is portrayed as the "strong" twin and Elizabeth as the
"weak" twin (96). The Oak Town girls contend that the characters in the series were unlike the girls they knew in their lives. The books helped readers to reflect on the
"unjust gender-divided social order" (97). The girls admired that the character Jessica
59 was very flamboyant and attended parties with people she rarely knew. Cherland argues that Ihe gjrls appeared to accept the Sweet Volley world as a temporary world where they formed negotiated traditional gender discourses. Cherland's results from her investigation indicate that romance reading was a way of "doing girl" (99). According to
Cherland, "doing girl" means sustaining and mirturing human relationships and friendships. It is important to note that friendship is extremely critical for the emotional lives of Oak Town girls. In Oak Town, being a fri end was a girl's social obligation.
Friendship is one of the essential aspects of what it means to be a girl. The lending and borrowing of books formed "[... ] part of the gjrFs social organization for [establishing] friendships" (101).
In Oak Town, it is culturally accepted that girls express their emotions and thoughts. The girls stated that they enjoyed experiencing deep emotions while reading romances. They found that through romance reading, they enjoyed the feeling of wanting to help others, and the feeling of being a teenager, hiterestingly, many cl ai med that they were attracted to books that evoked strong emotions of sadness. The Oak Town girls found such books appealing because they did not express feelings of sadness so openly.
In her dialogue journal, one girl writes "'Bridge to Terabithia was an excellent book. The characters seemed really real. I co uld feel what they were feeling. It was sad" (102).
Ethnographic evidence reveals that through romance reading the Oak Town girls take pleasure in enjoying friendship and feeling freely.
Furthermore, Cherland found that the Oak Town girls desired to live their lives more independently. The open-ended interviews indicate that the gjrls longed to be
60 "grown-up" (164). Cherland's findings show that readers saw romance reading as a way into adulthood. The girls claimed that being "grown-up" was attractive because grown- ups had "agency" (164). The word "agency" was attributed to håving the ability to exercise power, to act, and change their lives. Cherland contends that through romance series the girls explored agency, a yearning for which was strong for the girls of Oak
Town in their daily lives. Through romance reading, the girls "[... ] imagined themselves in conflict with the roles that their families suggested for them" (166). For example, one sixth grade girl claimed she resisted her parents' vision of her as a good grown-up girl who pleased others and succumbed to her husband's demands. Cherland posits that young readers "renegotiate" (167) the cultural messages embedded in certain romances.
Although the girls that belonged to the Babysitters Club followed their parents' rules diligently, completed their household chores, and served the community respectfully, the
Oak Town girls interpreted these texts in other ways. For example, in Martin's
Babysitters Club books, the girls viewed the Babysitters as earning money that they then used for their own purposes. The romance readers saw the Babysitters as håving power over their choices, and they saw the girls as standing up for their own rights. According to Cherland, this "renegotiation" process allowed the girls to form their own "interpretive community" (167) where they developed their own "oppositional readings" (167) of romances. Cherland claims that certain things were imposed upon the girls such as
Sunday school and church and music lessons. Her anecdotes suggest that although the girls resented particular aspects of their lives, they were fully aware that they could not
61 change such situations. The girls described themselves as dependent people who were looking forward to when they would have control over their lives.
Interestingly, the girls of Oak Town recommended romance series to each other that involved "female agency" (Cherland, 1994, 169) and considered them to be "good books" (169). They suggested books like Pfeffer's Kid Power because the plot focuses on the female protagonist who needs to eam some money. The girls also recommended
George's Julie of the Wolves because Julie was intelligent, confident, and very independent. Cherland like Puri (1997) and Radway (1984) believes that young readers treat the world of the romance series as a real world similar to their own. The Oak Town girls like the Smithton women see the characters in the series as real girls with the same problems and obstacles. Cherland posits that the young readers desire agency for the female characters in romance series books. The girls admired such characters for exercising agency whenever possible, and envisioned themselves employing agency in a similar way. By identifying with the heroine in romances, Cherland claims that the girls could feel more powerful than they were allowed to feel in their own lives. The results from Cherland's study show that the Oak Town girls used romance series to explore different ideas about agency and gender (170-171).
Similarly, Smith (1985-86) further found that while the twenty-nine adolescent girls in her study read romance series, they then re-created a story that focused on their own hopes, desires, and fears of romance. The girls constructed the individual they yearned to become keeping in mind the dominant cultural expectations. Smith notes that during the act of reading the romance, the young women's past and present situations
62 within their schools influenced how they negotiated gender relations. The schools viewed young adolescent girls as "reluctant readers" (58) and teachers strongly believed that they would never finish school. Thus, the girls desired to be seen as capable learners.
According to the young readers, reading and understanding romance texts became a
"symbol of 'competent' femininity" (58). As a result, the young adolescent girls found it important to identify with the hero ine, and become the object of a boy's affection. Smith believes that romance series allowed the girls to bring "gender pleasures" (58) into the classroom. Through romance reading, the adolescent girls temporarily refuted the judgments made by educators. The act of reading also gave young women Ihe opportunity to momentarily deny their "identities as reluctant readers" (58).
Similar to Radway's (1984) Smithton readers, the young women in Smith's
(1985-86) study continuously used romance texts to escape life obstacles. Smith states that "many experienced the strain and uncertainty of the downward economic trend in
Lakeview" (1985-86, 59). However, through romance reading, the young women envisioned a secure future, a good marriage, and employment opportunities. Although the young readers were able to distinguish between a fantasy world and their own, the popular romance gave them the space to dream and construct reality as they desired.
SmitiVs investigation reveals that romance novels fuelled the longings of young women's desire for a different present and future (58-59).
A Feminist Analysis of Romance Reading
Many recent romance studies analyze the complex relationship between popular romance texts and romance readers. Radway (1984) in particular explores the act of
63 romance reading as a cultural activity. She contends that romance reading gives Ihe
Smithton women the opportunity to "[... ] focus on themselves and to carve out a solitary space within an arena where their self-interest is usually identified with the interests of others and vaiere they are defined as a public resource to be mined at will by the family"
(211). In other words, Radway argues that romance reading for the Smithton women meets psychological and emotional needs that are created intemally but not addressed by patriarchal society. Like other feminist critics, Radway goes as far as to suggest that the romance narrative could be potentially harmful for women readers. For example, she states that the romance novel encourages women to interpret their spouses' assertiveness or superiority as a sign of affection and love. Radway further suggests that the reading process allows women to make their current situations more comfortable without actually changing their lives in a way that all their desires are fulfilled.
In Loving with a Vengeance: Mass Produced Fantasies for Women, Modleski
(1982) examines Ihe growing popularity of the Harlequin novels amongst women. She looks at the formula of the Harlequin narrative and analyses women's responses to romances from an explicitly feminist perspective. According to Modleski, Harlequin series are popular romances which are told from the heroine's point of view. They also contain elements of mystery and adventure. Modleski states that the Harlequin romances include happy endings and embody feminine fantasy. She claims that the series begin with a young and innocent woman who becomes involved with an attractive and wealthy man who is much older than her. According to Modelski, the heroine is confused by the hero's behaviour although he is interested in her because he is "[... ] contemptuous, often
64 hostile, and even somewhat brutal" (36). However, the Harlequin novel ends with the hero and hero ine revealing their love for each other and Modleski suggests that the hero ine experiences aprocess of "self-subversion" (37) during which she sacrifices her pride and true seif to achieve happiness. She argues that an analysis of the complexity of the reading process shows that the female reader is encouraged to "[... ] participate in and actively desire feminine self-betrayal" (37).
Modleski claims that the element of fantasy in romances lies in how female readers understand the behaviour of the hero. She states that the reader is already familiar with the romance plot and always interprets the hero's hostile behaviour as a sign of his passionate love for her. As a result, the reader attributes the hero's aggression to his inability to proclaim his feelings for the heroine. Modleski asserts that although the reader emotionally identifies with the heroine, she is "intellectually distanced from her and does not have to suffer the heroine's confusion" (41). She challenges the relationship between the reader and protagonist and the notion that the reader is passively drawn to the heroine.
Interestingly, Modleski contends that romances help women accept the overwhelming demands of patriarchy. She states that the Harlequin series remain attractive to women readers because of its element of a revenge fantasy. As Modleski argues the Harlequin heroine finally brings the scornful hero to his knees not only challenges the assumption ihat the romantic heroine is submissive and possesses childlike qualities, but also reveals the ways in which romance novels "[... ] conceal a deep seated desire for vengeance" (45). For example, she looks at Richardson's Pantela and how
65 Pamela's thoughts of suicide and sudden departure bring Mr. B to his knees as he recognizes how much she really means to him. Modleski postulates that readers can forgive Pamela for her malicious actions but at the same time have the satisfaction of seeing her seek revenge. She claims that the Harlequin heroine's anger and frustration is often turned into a way of keeping men.
Modleski emphasizes that it is critical to understand the "double-edged nature of women's revenge fantasies" (47). She contends that the Harlequin romance narratives are always about a poor girl who longs to marry a wealthy man; however, they must not let it appear that the heroine consciously pursues the hero for his riches. As a result,
Modleski states that this reflects the "double bind imposed on women in real life" (48).
In other words, a woman's ultimate goal in life is to find a husband but at the same time she is blamed for attempting to do so. Modleski also notes that Harlequin heroines are frequently "determined to hate" (49) the hero for his aloofiiess, a trait he possesses because of his economic status. According to Modleski, the heroine's desire to hate the hero "absolves her of mercenary motives" (49) and becomes the way in which she gains the hero's love and fortune. Because the Harlequin romances paint a society in which wealth and altruism are closely linked, the female protagonist can obtain wealth without being seen as a "scheming little adventuress" (50). Here, Modleski postulates that romance narratives communicate contradictory messages and to some readers the whole process of reading feels like deception and she believes that women readers cannot help but feel manipulated as they are continuously shown that although it is economically
66 critical for women to get a husband and his goods, they actually obtain these goals by not wanting them.
Furthermore, Modleski argues vehemently that Harlequin heroes are constantly surveying the heroine. She asserts that as women watch themselves being surveyed, they are inflieting their own guilt, and creating themselves to be the "narcissists" (53) they are usually accused of being. Modleski contends that "Women can be artless and demonstrate this artlessness only in the absence of men. Unfortunately, men are the ones they have to convince" (53). In popular literature, this problem can be solved by turning men into eavesdroppers. For example, in Bronte's Jane Eyre, Rochester disguises himself as a woman fortune-teller in order to discover Jane's secrets. In Harlequin novels, heroes are often listening, looking, and loving in doorways, rooms, and behind bushes. In
Modleski's view, "the man-in-the-closet plot device" (53) has served to provoke
"women's split consciousness" (53). For example, as readers experience Pamela's isolation they are also simultaneously watching and judging as does Mr. B.
Modleski points that the Harlequin romance narrative is written in third person and thus readers look at the fantasy as their own fantasy. Like Radway (1984), Modleski believes that the romance no vel expresses the hopes, fears, and desires of women. Since romances lure readers into the fantasy, the reader herself then becomes the
"schizophrenic" (Modleski, 1982, 56) as discussed by Berger. Modleski draws upon
Berger's argument to explain how readers' identification with the heroine turns feminine morals into opposites. For example, virtue becomes slyness, and self-sacrifice becomes selfishness. She contends that Harlequin heroines are portrayed as escaping their inner-
67 conflicts but actually increase the reader's own psychic tensions. Thus, the romance formula further increases women's dependency on literature. Modleski concludes that romance readers experience an intense psychological process vaiere they explore different ways to "affirm and assert the seif (57).
In Texts to Grom on: Reading Women 's Romance Fiction, Juhasz (1988) examines from a psychological perspective why adult readers read romances. She relies on psychoanalytic, narrative, and reader-response theory to explain the pleasures of romance reading. Juhasz concedes that from the eighteenth century to the present, women 's romance fiction is mostly concemed with the theme of self-identity. She argues that daughters who have been mothered by their mothers in a culture that denies agency to women will eventually experience difficulty in forming their own identity. As a result, self-identity for these women becomes their deepest desire. Juhasz asserts that women yearn for other desires like love, security, and intimacy "but finds its source in the pre- oedipal bond between mother and child [... ]" (240). She further states that Jane Austen's no vels help to re-create this type of environment and the mother-infant bond. Building on
Chodorow's (1978) work, Juhasz theorizes that many female readers long for an emotionally nurturing environment similar to what they experienced in the early years of their lives. Juhasz posits that certain popular romances appear to fulfill this void for romance readers. Chodorow suggests that because girls are raised in a family in which the mother is the primary caregiver, they desire the need to feel nurtured and protected.
Juhasz postulates that adult readers are attracted to popular romances because the heroine finds a partner that will offer her physical and emotional stability.
68 Juhasz believes that women's fantasies about love are based on the "desired mother-daughter bond" (241). She suggests that the satisfying ending of the popular romance no vel is an extension of the pre-oedipal experience. Juhasz states ihat Radway's
(1984) work supports her argument. The findings from Radway's study show that the romance fantasy is not about tinding the perfect life partner but instead achieves the need to be cared for and loved. To my surprise, Radway asserts that in the romance fantasy, the hero's gentleness allows the heroine to return to the period of infancy where all her needs and hopes are met by her mother. She notes that the heroine's recovery of emotional nourishment contributes to her identity as a new wornan. Radway like Juhasz claims that the romance no vel informs its reader that she will receive the kind of care she wants only if she can find a man who is already tender and gentle. Similar to Juhasz's conclusions, Radway argues that the romance narrative suggests that a wornan must trust her man and once she responds to his intense feelings, she will feel sexually satisfied like the heroine. She states that the romance fantasy's conclusion demonstrates that if a wornan can learn to read male behaviour properly, her desires for motherly care and protection, and true love will be satisfied (Radway, 1984,250-251). Radway writes "By showing that the heroine finds someone who is intensely and exclusively interested in her and in her needs, [... ] the romance legitimizes her pre-oedipal wish to recover the primary love of her initial caretaker" (149). Juhasz believes that romance novels fulfill readers' longing for the lost mother. Like Radway, she concedes that the romance narrative promises that a women's need for nurturing and adult love can be achieved by a man.
69 In Reading Fictions of Romance: Gender, Sexuality, and Nationalism in
Postcolonial India, Parameswaran's (2002) five month ethnographic study looks at the implications of reading Mills & Boon romance series for young women's gender, class, and national identities in South India. The participants in her study were young, single, middle and upper class women between the ages of seventeen and twenty- one. Romance novels are usually read in India by women from urban, English-speaking communities with university education, private school instruction, or professional employment. From a feminist standpoint, Parameswaran's investigation reveals that female readers construct romance texts as manuals on sexuality in order to escape the constraints of preserving the honour of both the family and community. Parameswaran like Modleski (1982) argues that women who participated in romance reading encountered "contradictory cultural expectations" (2002, 834). Female readers are pressured to engage in consumerism and at the same time conform to traditional notions of femininity in order to honour their nation or family. For example, these young women were encouraged to seek professional careers and on the other hand they were forced to lead secluded lives in which they were denied any form of "emotional independence" (834). Parameswaran's study seeks to explore how these women found pleasure in reading romances despite the fact that they succumbed to the cultural ideals of femininity that disregard sexual agency.
Parameswaran also investigates why urban Indian women desire romance novels that represent the idealized heterosexual relationship in Western culture.
Interestingly, the results from Parameswaran's study indicate that female readers found the material life described in the Mills & Boons series "real" (839) because the
70 books helped confirm their own ideas about the luxurious lifestyles the White Americans and Europeans lead. Many interviewees stated that they read these series not just for romance or sex but because they enlightened them about modernity and how to enjoy life unlike their traditional parents. Like the Smithton women from Radway's (1984) ethnography, the urban Indian readers claimed that popular romance texts satisfied their vision of what a fantasy world should embody. One interviewee argued that without ihe
Mills & Boon series, "It just won't be fun. We would not be able to think of Chinese or
African men dating, giving a woman flowers, or driving Ferraris and drinking champagne" (839). Here, Parameswaran's investigation suggests that the Western setting of the series is imperative to Ihe romantic fantasy. In other words, urban Indian readers like to envision a white man as paramour rather than a Chinese or Indian man. A thorough analysis of the study demonstrates that class, race, sexuality, and consumerism are all intertwined "[... ] in a seamless semiotic chain of pleasure" (840). As a result, the ideal Mills & Boon novels lure female readers into a "realistic fantasy world of love"
(840) situated within particular notions of both race and class. Parameswaran further found that many women readers were attracted to the heroine who made her own decisions, traveled alone, and fulfilled her material pleasures. She postulates that since traveling in India is associated with masculinity, readers' desire for travel as a cultural experience is linked with their longing to escape the emotional and physical tensions of the "home" (841).
Like Radway, Parameswaran notes that in the Mills & Boon novels, the heroine's first sexual encounter with the hero is pleasurable and only he can help the heroine come
71 to terms with her sexual identity. She posits that the representation of female sexuality within the Mills & Boon series forces women to think about how sexual intimacy in India is only morally approved by the institution of marriage that promises "social status and class mobility" (843). However, it is important to note that Indian women who violate their prescribed roles as wives and mothers could experience emotional suffering, lack of family support, and even exile from their community. These romantic narratives encourage women to fulfill their sexual desires and thus function as temporary fantasies that veil gender differences. Although Indian women conform to patriarchal structures,
Parameswaran asserts that they found romance series appealing because they challenged their assigned roles as women. Here, Parameswaran argues that romance reading represents readers' resistance in accepting the cultural construction of women as obedient, and passive sexual subjects. According to these female readers, the Mills & Boon series functioned as manuals on sexuality that prepared them for womanhood as their parents discouraged them from gaining any sexual knowledge through schools or colleges. They believed that by reading these popular romance novels they would experience the happy marriage their parents wanted for them. The findings from the study suggest that many women read Mills & Boon because they desired an "egalitarian romantic relationship"
(844) more than their mothers ever experienced. One participant argues "In Mills &
Boon, women express their thoughts to men and feel close to their husbands. That's what
I want [... ] It's not the old days. We don't have 10 children. We have a right to read what we like [... ] my husband should support that (844).
72 Parameswaran contends that romance readers simultaneously producing Mills &
Boon stories as "transparent fictional representations that reflected the homogenous, unbounded quality of courtship practices in Western culture" (847). Women's determination to link the representations of courtship in Western romance novels with their own reality revealed how they were attracted to men from different castes and communities. However, they explained that "interethnic" (847) romances were prohibited in India. Parameswaran posits that readers found romantic fiction stories fascinating because of the absence of community members, and family members exercising control over their relationships. She argues that through the act of reading
Mills & Boon novels, these young women created a perfect world where they conquered
"social hierarchies" (847).
Greatly influenced by Radway's (1984) study, Ludin (2003) in Everygirl 's Good
Deeds: The Heroics of Nancy Drew, explores the implications of reading female detective stories. Ludin looks at how young women read mystery stories and the role such stories play in their lives. She concedes that female detective fiction contains the same elements of romance novels. Reading mysteries is like romance reading in that it can be seen as a female activity through which women temporarily engage in a fantasy in which they can resolve the problems of a dysfunctional world. According to Ludin, female mystery series originate from the gothic novels and "sensational fiction" (121) of the eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centimes. She states that many sensationalist female writers such as
Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliff, and Mrs. Henry Wood constructed mystery narratives of secrets, crimes, and investigation. She quotes Tompkins (1985) in Sensational Designs:
73 The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860 who contends that these female authors presented a different vie w of womanhood, one that romanticized women's domestic sphere and revealed "subversive" (qtd. in Ludin 121) forms of female agency.
Ludin makes further reference to Showalter (1977), who mA Literature ofTheir Own who argues that sensationalist writers portrayed the fantasies of their middle class female readers. Showalter states "The sensationalists made crime and violence domestic, modern, and suburban: but their secrets were not simply solutions to mysteries and crimes; they were the secrets of women's dislikes of their roles as daughters, wives, and mothers" (qtd. in Ludin 122). Mystery reading like the act of romance reading is oppositional because it allows women to momentarily refuse their assigned social roles.
Ludin refers to Gilligan (1982) who in In A Different Voice posits that women read the world differently than men. Gilligan (cited in Ludin 122) looks at human development, specifically focusing on perceptions of the seif and female morality. Her study indicates that the need to care for others is seen as a moral responsibility for women. They define themselves on the basis of the ability to nurture and protect others.
Women understand themselves in terms of their relationships with others. Men, on the other hand, are valued for their independence and can maintain an identity that stresses autonomy. Gilligan proposes that selfhood and morality are closely connected. She vehemently argues that the seif formed through relationship and care is different from the seif that is separate and independent. According to Ludin, Gilligan suggests that women make sense of their lives by creating stories about themselves that "reveal a moral voice"
(qtd. in Ludin 122). As a result, Ludin postulates that the seif that evolves from
74 Gilligan's vision is a storyteller and thus stories represent interpretation rather than facts.
She draws upon Gilligan's investigation to explain why young female readers are attracted to mystery series.
Like the romance heroine, Nancy Drew as detective heroine possesses preconceived notions of masculinity such as confidence, physical strength, and valour.
Ludin asserts that these characteristics come into play not through her own desire to solve the mystery but through her continuous efforts to help others. Interestingly, mystery cases are solved largely because Nancy becomes directly involved with individuals who have been affected by the injustice she longs to restore. Ludin notes that unlike Sherlock
Holmes, Nancy Drew solves crimes as a form of peacemaking. The crime that has been committed has disturbed the social order of the world. Nancy Drew's compassion towards the victims leads her to elucidate the crime through the act of good deeds.
Nancy's ethical obligation to her community is consistent with Gilligan's findings in terms of how women feel morally responsible to care for those around them.
Ludin postulates that Nancy Drew's detective work is seen as community service which coincides with the developmental reading roles of the particular age group of mystery readers. She quotes Appleyard (1991), in Becoming a Reader: The Experience of Fiction from Childhood to Adulthood, who describes the child reader as "the Reader as
Hero and Heroine" (qtd. in Ludinl24). He argues that the child reader is the main character of a romance that is continuously being rewritten. Appleyard believes that the child's representation of the world expands in the ideal romance which symbolizes the reader's unconscious ideas of the inner seif. Ludin asserts that the child's growing sense
75 of seif also entails being aware of håving feelings, and a secret Hfe. During the reading
process, the hero or heroine as an archetype fulfills the need for the child reader to be, in
Appleyard's view, "the central figure who by competence and initiative can solve the
problems of a disordered world" (qtd. in Ludin 124). The Smithton women, like the child
reader, re-create a fictional world where they can transcend traditional female limitations.
Just like the mystery novel guarantees its readers that the crime will be solved, the
romance novel promises female readers that the heroine has the ability to sway the hero's
attention away from the world of money and position and to persuade him of her
immediate desires and needs. Ludin contends that reading mystery stories allows the
child to experiment with whether or not the world is a place to be trusted. Like romances,
the Nancy Drew's series pro vides the female reader with the idea of possible individual
changes. For example, the romance narrative suggests that a woman must learn to trust her man and believe that he loves her deeply in order for him to make any commitments.
The formula of detective fiction promises the child facing different experiences that a
pattern already exists for surviving in the adult world.
Conclusion
The studies cited above show that romances fulfill women sexually, idealize romantic relationships, and give readers the opportunity to identify with the heroine in order to feel loved and nurtured. However, romantic fiction communicates counter cultural messages which re-emphasize women's oppression. For example, the heroine in a romance is defined through her relationship with the hero. According to Modelski
76 (1982), the heroine's sense of seif depends on whether or not the hero feels that she is worthy enough to be loved. She asserts that romantic love forces women to rely on men emotionally and economically. Although the romance narrative promises that true love guarantees happiness, it also promises that women lose their identity through their dependency on men.
77 Chapter 3
Textual Analysis of the Sweet Volley High Series and The Romance Novel
Introduction
The formula for the romance novel includes essential plot elements such as the fairy-tale union of the hero and heroine, the heroine and hero experiencing an emotional transformation and the heroine recovering her social identity through human interrelationships. Radway (1984), Regis (2003), Krentz (1992), and Barlow (1992) agree that the developing relationship between the heroine and hero is the main focus of the popular romance novel. Radway, like Regis claims that the ultimate goal of the romance is the happy union of the heroine and hero at the end of the novel. Krentz and
Barlow assert that in every good romance novel the hero is a potential threat to the adventurous heroine. The heroine must emotionally overpower the hero in order to achieve any form of female agency. Krentz views romance novels "as psychological maps which provide intriguing insights into the emotional landscape of woraen" (46).
Insofar as representing a type of coming-of- age story, the romance narrative teaches women readers how to "reconcile" (46) the different aspects of their own consciousness in order to feel emotionally fulfilled. According to Krentz and Barlow, another key feature of the romance is that the heroine shows the hero how to articulate verbally his feelings for her as a demonstration of love, as opposed to being ab le to demonstrate love only on a physical level.
78 This chapter will in volve evaluation of four no vels of the Sweet Valley High
series: Double Novel, In Love Again, Secrets, and Power Play using Radway's (1984)
notion of the traditional romance novel. In Double Love, the Wakefield twins Jessica and
Elizabeth are in competition for Sweet Valley High's football captain Todd Wilkins.
However, once Jessica discovers that Todd is romantically interested in Elizabeth, she
succeeds in keeping them apart through trickery and lying. Todd and Elizabeth confront
many challenging barriers before they uncover Jessica's cunning deeds. In the novel In
Love Again, Todd and Elizabeth are finally re-united. Todd decides to return to Sweet
Valley High after living in Vermont for a short period of time. Todd's new way of living
threatens his relationship with Elizabeth. That is, Todd now lives in a mansion, atten ds a
private school, socializes with only upper class society and drives an expensive car.
Instead, in the book Secrets, Jessica is determined to be nominated queen of the fall dance
at Sweet Valley High. She believes that if she can win the contest, she can surely win
Bruce Parman, the most popular boy in school. The only obstacle standing in Jessica's
way is Enid Rollins who is also participating in the contest. When Jessica discovers
Enid's past, she is quite aware that winning the crown is within her control. Jessica
destroys Enid's reputation and her relationship with Ronnie by revealing her secret.
Likewise, in Power Play Jessica creates the Sweet Valley High Beautification Committee
in order to become the most elite group of girls at school. Through this exclusive club,
Jessica yeams to portray a certain image about the Beauties. Although Jessica is always used to getting what she desires, the committee begins a battle with her twin sister.
Jessica tries to eliminate from the committee Elizabeth's best friend Robin who
79 desperately wants to join this exclusive club in order to feel popular. This chapter explores the themes of heterosexual love, fiiendship, isolation, and female sexuality.
In the narrative structure of the ideal romance, Radway contends that after many ambiguous encounters, the hero and heroine are separated and then reunited to resolve their previous conflicts (134). She argues that the romance narrative is "as much about recovering motherly nurturance and affection as it is about the need to be found desirable by men [...]" (151). My investigation is intended to demonstrate how such works construct visions of masculinity and femininity and to uncover what adolescent readers might potentially find enjoyable. Like the romance novel, the Sweet Valley High books focus on the developing relationship between the hero and heroine which may provide adolescent girls an emotionally fulfilling reading experience. For example, Radway quotes Chodorow's (1978) who states that the female is a complex relational being who needs to avoid any type of isolation "by integrating important intimates in to their psychic structures who will reciprocate their interest" (qtd. in Radway 135). Building on
Chodorow's observation that men rarely fulfill women's needs because they do not define themselves in relation with others, this study looks at how the Sweet Valley High books vicariously address female readers' sexual and emotional desires. This chapter also looks at how the main characters, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield long to be the object of men's desire. The chapter concludes by demonstrating how the Sweet Valley High novels are deemed successful as romance novels if the heroine is re-united with the tender hero.
Interestingly enough, Radway draws on Wright's (1975) work in Sixguns and
Society: A Structural Study of the Western in order to identify the most common opening
80 and closing for contemporary girls romance novels. Wright claims that all romance narratives entall three distinctive features; "an initial situation, a final transformation of that situation, and an intermediary intervention that causes and explains the change [...]"
(qtd. in Radway 133-134). Like Wright, Radway argues that the romantic genre is defined by the interactions that take place between characters and how they develop as individuals (Radway, 1984,120). Her study looks at the most common behaviours associated with both the romantic heroine and hero in order to understand what those personalities actually represent for the Smithton readers. Her ethnography also includes what characteristics readers attribute to their favourite heroine to comprehend why the
"process of identification" (123) is so pleasurable for them. Radway postulates that the romance includes "thirteen logically related functions" which explain the heroine's change from an innocent, insecure adolescent to a mature, confident married woman who fully realizes her identity as a wife and mother (134). According to Radway, the narrative logic of the romance includes the following:
1. The heroine's social identity is destroyed 2. The heroine reacts antagonistically to an aristocratic male. 3. The aristocratic male responds ambiguously to the heroine. 4. The heroine interprets the hero's behaviour as evidence of a purely sexual interest in her. 5. The heroine responds to the hero's behaviour with anger or coldness. 6. The hero retaliates by punishing the heroine. 7. The heroine and hero are physically and/or emotionally separated. 8. The hero treats the heroine tenderly. 9. The heroine responds warmly to the hero's act of tendemess. 10. The heroine reinterprets the hero's ambiguous behaviour as the product of previous hurt. 11. The hero proposes/openly declares his love for/demonstrates his unwavering commitment to the heroine with a supreme act of
81 I
tendemess. 12. The heroine responds sexually and emotionally. 13. The heroine's identity is restored. (134)
Radway's analysis of the romantic narrative focuses upon the character actions which directly advance the plot. This study looks at how the genre functions through a close reading of the selected Sweet Valley High books. Using Radway's "thirteen logically related functions" (134), this investigation includes a framework that analyzes the heroine's motivations in psychological terms and examines how the series expresses the romance fantasy. For example, the Sweet Valley High books begin with the heroine's longing for emotional satisfaction through popularity and by trying to develop a romantic relationship with the hero. Consistent with Radway's understanding of the romantic heroine's emotional isolation, the series also subtly presents a heroine yeaming to recover the pre-oedipal mother/daughter bond in order to retum to the infantile state where all of her emotional needs are met. Through her relationship with the hero, the heroine feels sexually desired. Romance fantasy allows women to participate in a vicarious experience in which they can figuratively explore the perfect male-female relationship. This study includes three broad categories:
1. The heroine's achieving emotional fulfillment 2. The heroine's desire for the unattainable 3. The recovery of the mother/daughter bond
82 The Heroine 's Achieving Emotional Fulfillment
Radway asserts that the initial function of the romance begins with the heroine's separation from a comfortable environment often associated with her childhood or family.
Radway states that the opening pages of the romance consistently depict the heroine's emotional isolation (135). The novel Double Love begins with Jessica Wakefield experiencing some type of emotional loss. That is, she is disappointed with her physical appearance which she claims has changed drastically over a short period of time. Jessica states,
"Seriously, Liz, it's like somebody snuck into my room last night and whacked me with the ugly stick [...] First of all, I gained, like, five pounds since last week- all in my hips and butt, she said, turning around and craning her neck to see her rear view in the mirror [...] And I hate my hair. I mean, that new shampoo I bought did none of the things it was supposed to do. I'm all split ends and frizz [...]Fine. Just leave me here to rot. I'm not fit for normal society" (1 -2).
The first pages of the novel portray Jessica's yearning desire for the hero's attention. For example, when the handsome Todd Wilkins calls the Wakefield residence looking for
Elizabeth, Jessica fantasizes about his attractiveness and tries to capture his attention by talking about football. Jessica states,
"Todd Wilkins? Even berter. Todd was one of the coveted guys in school. Tall, dark, and yum. He was calling for Liz? The star wide receiver of the football team, a shoo-in for best-looking and most popular, was calling for the brainiac sister? What was this, some kindofreality-showprank? So, how's the team? I saw the insane catch you made at practice the other day. ESPN highlight reel all the way. Get him talking about himself, Jessica thought. Guys love that" (4-5).
She desperately tries to lure Todd Wilkins into her life despite the fact that he is keenly interested in her twin sister Elizabeth. She even goes as far as romantically manipulating
83 Todd into believing that Elizabeth has no interest in him. Readers are quickly made aware of how Jessica uses her extraordinary appearance to achieve her quest for love. For example, she tries to become sexually alluring to Todd through her voluptuous clothing:
"Elizabeth paused in the doorway of her sister's bedroom. Jessica stood in front of her full-length mirror in a black miniskirt and a low-cut halter top, a different shoe on each foot"( 62). Jessica believes that Todd can satisfy her sexually and emotionally.
Internally, she contends "Todd Wilkins. Huh, Jessica thought. We would lookpretty hot together [...] There was nothing that put her in a good mood faster than the thought of a brand-new conquest (7-8). Jessica's emotional isolation like that of Radway's romance heroine terrifies her as she is stripped away from her familiar setting (76). For instance, she is used to being wooed by all the boys at Sweet Valley High, in particular Rick
Andover. Jessica asserts,
"Now, this was more like it. Unlike Todd, who seemed to look right through her, Rick looked her up and down as if she were the only girl he'd ever seen. Have you tåken it all in yet? Jessica asked coyly. Rick smirked. Not even close. Jessica's heart skipped a beat. Flirting with Rick was dangerous, she knew. And she liked it" (57).
However, this time, she is compelled to pursue Todd Wilkins who is reluctant at first to ask her to the Sweet Valley High school dance. Jessica contends, "What the heck was going on around here? Any other guy would have been drooling at her feet by now. But
Todd... it was like he didn't even know she existed. Which, much to her irritation, only made her want him more" (55). Here, Jessica fits the profile of Radway's romantic heroine who finds affirmation through the approbation of others.
84 Similarly, the opening pages of the book In Love Again indicate how Jessica feels
"emotionally isolated" (Radway 135) as everyone at Sweet Valley High finds Todd's and
Elizabeth's reunion enticing. Consistent with the romance novel, the initial situation confirms Jessica's "loss of connections" (138) from the world of Sweet Valley High "As far as she was concerned, [... ] It would only be a matter of time before she would be hanging out at the exclusive private school, meeting fabulous people and starting a new life" (21). This example reinforces Radway's assertion how the establishment of the initial situation demonstrates what it feels like for a woman longing for emotional gratification. The beginning pages of the novel In Love Again reflect Radway's claim that the romance usually begins with the heroine's search for a lost identity and her need for a romantic partner (139). For example, Jessica states, "Lovert has so many advantages [... ] Just think about all the new people I could meet there [... ] I admit it.
When Todd took Liz and me on a tour of Lovett, I saw more cute guys in a day than you'd see around this place in a year" (6). She desires to move from one world to another where there is a larger pool of romantic choices. Like the romantic heroine, Jessica's goal is to achieve emotional fulfillment by developing a strong connection with a man who can satisfy her needs. The narrative places considerable emphasis on the heroine's loneliness which further engages readers with the book as adolescent readers may be indeed experiencing a similar sense of emptiness.
The initial situation in the novel Secrets, like Double Love and In Love Again, reveals Jessica's thirst for emotional satisfaction as she wants to be crowned the homecoming queen in order to be reunited with the hero. Early in the narrative, Jessica
85 feels threatened by Elizabeth's best frien d Enid Rollins who is also being nominated for queen "Winning that crown meant everything to her. And when Jessica Wakefield set out to get something, she let nothing and no one stand in her way" (4). Jessica insists that the attractive Bruce Patman should be crowned the king in order to feel fulfilled. Although
Bruce responds coldly to Jessica, her deepest desire is to be found sexually appealing by him "She ran the rip of her tongue over her lips, wondering what it would be like when
Bruce got around to kissing her" (27). Jessica can achieve emotional fulfillment by developing a relationship with Bruce. At one point in the novel "Jessica felt his gaze travel over her as if sizing her up to see if she was his type. Apparently, she met his approval, for his mouth curled up in a slow smile that sent Jessica's pulse pounding out of control" (27). Jessica's actions reflect Radway's claim that the romance heroine is capable of understanding her own female identity by establishing a romantic relationship with the ideal hero. She attempts to explore the possible motives behind Bruce's confusing behaviour in order to understand the role he plays in her life. Jessica's interpretation of Bruce's actions validates Radway's notion that when the heroine deciphers the hero's perplexing behaviour as a sign of love, the reader is also invited to participate in the same reading process in order to understand what she is provided with in her own heterosexual relationship (151).
The same category can be applied when analyzing lesser characters. For example, in Power Play, Jessica does not suffer from any type of "pro found sense of loss"
(Radway, 1984, 135). Instead, she triggers the emotional isolation through the character
Robin Wilson who is unattractive but wants to join the Sweet Valley High Beautification
86 committee. Jessica asserts, "The big deal is you're cracked if you think someone like Lila
Fowler is going to hang out with someone like Robin Wilson! [... ] They'll be calling us the Butterballs by the end of the week!" (18). Keeping in mind Radway's understanding of the romance narrative, the story indicates that there is a strong correlation between beauty and sexuality. As a result, Jessica tries to eliminate Robin from the committee. For example, Jessica insists that only Robin complete a lengthy application in order to gain membership "Elizabeth gaped, as if she couldn't believe that Robin was thanking Jessica for giving her what amounted to hours of extra homework" (24). The narrative further expresses Robin's desire to achieve emotional satisfaction by establishing female friendships, "But Jessica wasn't surprised. She knew how much Robin wanted her approval and friendship. She also knew, however, that Robin would never survive what she had planned for her. Not by a long shot" (24). Robin desperately tries to gain admiration from Jessica by succumbing to her every demand. For example, Jessica proposes that Robin, who is overweight, jog every day during lunch under the hot, scorching sun with her peers as a laughing audience. Robin complies with this task as she longs to be considered a beauty "Liz, you don't understand. Being in this club is more important than anything" (38). By becoming a beauty, Robin believes that she will form a friendship with Jessica, leading her to resolve her emotional isolation. Robin's friendship ratifies Chodorow's assertion that female bonds may potentially help fulfill women's needs for human relations and ultimately provide validation.
87 The Heroine 's Desirefor the Unattainable
The heroine's desire for the unattainable is exemplified by Elizabeth's longing for
Todd throughout the Sweet Valley High series. Radway's ethnography found that the fictional heroine's identity as a woman is always validated by the "romantic and sexual attentions of an ideal man" (113). She concedes that once romance readers imagine themselves in the heroine's situation, they become the focus of the powerful hero's attention. Radway argues that this attention not only provides the heroine with emotional and physical satisfaction, but confirms her sense of seif as the hero offers her care and appreciation. Thus, the hero regards the heroine, and essentially the romance reader, worthy of his attention (113). In Double Love, Elizabeth is portrayed as a helpless child longing for Todd's embrace: "I wish that were me, Elizabeth thought, wondering if Todd could read her expression. I wish you were hugging me" (145). Elizabeth fantasizes about Todd and his affection "She imagined herself and Todd dancing together in the center of the gym, the lights down low, a slow, romantic song filling the room. His arms around her. Her heart pounding. He'd look deeply into her eyes and ever so slowly lean in for a-" (127). This passage enables readers to identify with Elizabeth's unattainable desires while becoming "the object of someone else's attention" at the same time
(Radway, 1984, 97). Krasny (2007) draws on Dewey's concept of "dramatic rehearsal"
(432) to argue that literature provides a landscape of moral imagination. To this end, readers project themselves into the fictional lives of characters through "empathetic identification" (432). At this point, adolescent readers can achieve "empathetic identification" with Elizabeth by sharing the same fantasies about Todd who is the ideal
88 partner that can fundamentally fulfill them in a maternal way. Consistent with the romance fantasy described in Radway's study, the narrative promises adolescents that by forming a strong emotional bond with the opposite sex, they will feel nurtured and protected.
ElizabetiVs interior monologues reveal the anguish caused by Jessica and Todd's uncontrollable passion "[...] she was going to have to get used to seeing them talk and hold hands and-oh God, kiss [...] It was time to swallow her feelings and just deal" (119).
Elizabeth reacts to Todd in a hostile manner because of his baffling behaviour. For example, Jessica manipulates Todd into taking her to the school dance instead of
Elizabeth. As a result, Elizabeth quickly assumes Todd has no romantic interest in her.
Over the course of the novel, Elizabeth like the Radway's romance hero ine tries to interpret Todd's confusing actions. Modleski suggests that the main function of the popular romance is to illustrate how the heroine "deciphers" the reasons behind the hero's behaviour (34). Here, Elizabeth wants to understand Todd's motives for courting her twin sister Jessica. Elizabeth says, "Todd and Jessica. It makes perfect sense [...] The star of the football team would go for the captain of the cheerleading squad" (11). She is nying to offer a reasonable explanation for his isolating behaviour. Elizabeth fails to realize that
Jessica is responsible for Todd's aloofhess. By deciphering Todd's behaviour, Elizabeth's emotional void is fulfilled through reverie or fantasy. Elizabeth's actions validate
Radway's argument about Ihe romance narrative informing its readers that in learning how to read a man correctly, he will respond to her as she desires. Like the heroine, romance readers will have successfully established a connection with a man they know
89 how to read properly (Radway, 1984, 149). In essence, the readers are doing what the characters in the books are doing.
Furthermore, In Love Again continues to focus on the heroine's desire for the hero's nurturing. For example, Todd's new way of living is the main obstacle that perpetrates Elizabeth's hostile behaviour: "Thinking about it now, Elizabeth had to admit that Todd sometimes seemed like someone other than the boy she used to date. He had a new house, a new car, and more money to spend" (13). Elizabeth feels that Todd's values have changed drastically since he transferred to Lovett Academy School. She contends that he is more concerned about expensive cars and celebrities. As a result, Elizabeth refuses to support Todd's commendable progress at Lovett Academy. Todd says, 'Td appreciate a little more support from you, instead of all this grief you keep giving me about Lovett" (89). Elizabeth is impervious towards Todd because she feels emotionally isolated as he spends most of his time socializing with his peers from his school.
Elizabeth constantly yearns for Todd's compassion and gentleness. She states, "Actually, it's really difficult for us, being at different schools. We don't spend nearly as much time together as we did when he was at Sweet Valley Ffigh" (77). Bearing in mind Krentz's understanding of the romantic heroine, Elizabeth's goal is to transform Todd into a compassionate hero who can express his love openly while at the same time maintaining his masculine assertiveness (6). Elizabeth wants Todd to reassure her of his blissful love for her in order to feel complete as a woman. This example supports Radway's assertion that the romance heroine wants to fmd the ideal partner who is deeply interested in her needs, the romance verifies the "validity" (149) of the reader's desire for tender love.
90 Radway's study found that the romance novel is appealing to women readers as they are searching for "a man who is capable of the same attentive observation and intuitive
"understanding" that they believe women regularly accord to men" (83). Reflecting on
Radway's discussion of howthe Smithton women readers identified with the romance hero ine, I believe that adolescent readers can identify with Elizabeth once she fmally
"achieves the kind of oceanic merging with a [nurturing], heterosexual lover [...]" (153).
hi the novel Secrets, rumours are floating around Sweet Valley High that Enid has been disloyal to Ronnie. Despite the challenges that thwart their relationship, Enid continues to crave Ronnie's affection: "She longed for the warmth of Ronnie's arm around her, even if he was acting strangely. She tried once again to make believe it was only her imagination" (p.41). Although Ronnie rejects Enid emotionally, she desires to remove the barrier which caused their physical separation: "She wanted to put everything back the way it was..." (p.41). As in the romance novel, Ronnie punishes Enid and becomes vicious towards her: "In her desperation Enid felt herself begin to weaken as
Ronnie's arms tightened around her again, his lips moving against hers with a hard, unrelenting pressure [... ] She stiffened and pulled back" (41). This passage supports
Radway's claim that romance reading could be potenrially threatening for readers as they are encouraged to construe their partner's aggressive behaviour as a form of love. Just like the physical contact between the hero and heroine in Lair of the Lion, the seduction fantasy between Enid and Ronnie includes bom danger and eroticism. It is surprising that
Enid still feels that Ronnie is indeed a suitable partner who can fulfill her emotional void.
Ronnie's hostile behaviour can in fact reflects Krentz's notion of the "seduction fantasy
91 with a complex twist" (110). Readers are given the opportunity to identify with Enid who is being violently seduced while at the same time understanding the seducer's motives.
For example, the narrative reveals how Ronnie "[... ] pulled her against him. Even his face felt rough against her skin as he kissed her. When she tried to pull away, he only held on tighter [... ] 'You're not going to give me any of the same stuff you're giving him?'" (43). By relating with Enid, Radway's argument that romance readers are erotically charged and satisfied is further ratified as the portrayal of male violence "[...] is clearly traceable to the passion or jealously of the hero" (76). Radway makes reference to
Haskell's(1976) essay in Ms. magazine who asserts that a woman may fantasize about male violence or rape because "by imagining it occurring to her, she makes projections about how she would react or whether she would survive" (qtd. in Radway 141). Thus, the author of the series informs her readers of the consequences of male violence.
HaskelFs essay sheds light on the fact that the transition from childhood to adolescence and sexual maturity can be fraught for many adolescent female readers.
Throughout the story, Ronnie believes that Enid is sexually promiscuous although readers are informed otherwise. He continuously ignores Enid's romantic efforts. She then desperately turns to George, a lover from the past, for emotional comfort. She wants to be provided with the love and care she deserves. Enid quickly feels connected to
George who is portrayed as independent and ambitious: "George was now a responsible young man, a good student, and- he informed Enid to her delight-he had been accepted to
Sweet Valley College for the next semester" (p.95). Like the romantic heroine, Enid's female identity is validated by providing her with an extravagant male partner which
92 ratifies Radway's observation that the romance fantasy metaphorically represents the psychological structure that promises women's commitment to heterosexual love. The
Sweet Volley High books confirm for the adolescent reader that the heroine yearns for the powerful hero in order to feel emotionally gratified.
Furthermore, in the novel Power Play Robin Wilson longs for popularity and a heterosexual lover "She had been so excited, had spent so much time finding the perfect dress, doing her hair and makeup. This was supposed to be her night, [... ] with one of the most popular guys on her arm" (72). Robin's desire is to feel socially accepted by her peers and to feel fulfilled as a woman by becoming romantically involved with the hero.
For example, consistent with the romantic heroine, Robin believes that by becoming sexually alluring she will achieve the object of her mission, Bruce Parman: "The girl had completely redone herself from head to toe. Pedicure, manicure, delicate jewellery, new clothes. Even her posture was berter" (165). However, Bruce brutally rejects Robin as she does not conform to his sexual expectations: "The Wilsonater[... ] There's no way I'd be caught dead at the dance with that cow and you know it" (55). Although Bruce's behaviour towards Robin ends in his separation from her, like the romance novel the separation just simply takes place and he spontaneously demonstrates mat he can be nurturing with Robin. For instance, Bruce tries to apologize for his previous mistreatment: "Listen, I wanted to apologize for the dance [...] I don't know what I was thinking [...] Let me make it up to you, Bruce said. Can I escort you onto the field?"
(187). This passage clearly reflects Radway's claim that at times romance authors avoid håving the hero openly express his dependency on the heroine. Bruce continues to be
93 portrayed as an example of masculine power and autonomy which essentially reflects traditional gender stereotypes. In support of Radway's observations, the romance fantasy indirectly suggests that female readers will receive the care they want only if they can find a suitor who is already compassionate (147-148).
Robin's lack of emotional nurturing and her constant yeaming for the attention of her peers motivates her to join the competitive Beauty committee initiated by Jessica.
Here, she is forced to play in a volleyball tournament to remain on the committee. During the tournament, Bruce humiliates Robin verbally "Way to go, Wilson", Bruce jeered.
You'd think with a body that size you'd be able to cover more of the court, not less" (42).
As a result, Elizabeth is concerned about Robin 's status as a beauty and convinces Bruce to take Robin to the Sweet Valley High dance in order to pass Jessica's final test. In other words, Elizabeth informs Bruce beforehand that he needs to accept Robin's invitation to the school dance in order for her to remain on the beauty committee. Bruce agrees to this, and in exchange Elizabeth writes an article about his many accomplishments in the school newspaper, the Oracle. The school dance ends in catastrophe as ElizabetiVs and Bruce's secret pledge is revealed: '"Well, that's it. I did my part'! he announced. ' Anybody else wanna steer the pink Titanic around the dance floor tonight? Cuz Fm out!"' (71). Robin finds Bruce's rejection difficult to bear: "Look at me. Why would someone who looks like Bruce Patman want to go out with someone who looks like me?" (75). Like the hero ine herself, adolescent female readers are infuriated by the hero's behaviour as they may be encountering similar experiences. By identifying with Robin, female readers like
94 the Smithton women in Radway's study can relate to the heroine's isolation as they too yearn to fiilfill their unsatisfied desires by trying to find a man who can fblfill them.
The Recovery of the Mother/Daughter Bond
The Sweet Valley High heroine's search for the ideal romantic hero might be explained in Chodorow's (1978) understanding of the pre-oedipal mother-daughter bond.
From a psychoanalytical perspective, Chodorow (cited in Radway 135-139) focuses on what is termed object-relations theory. The daughter remains in what is known as the oedipal triangle, a continuous relationship between mother and father. Unlike Freud,
Chodorow claims that even during the oedipal period, the pre-oedipal mother-daughter bond remains powerful. She argues that when the daughter discovers that her mother desires people like her father who have penises, she wants one for herself in order to maintain her mother's love. Because the daughter wants to remain emotionally involved with her mother during the oedipal stage, as an adult she also longs to return to infancy to recover the mother-daughter emotions. She can only regress into the state of infancy by fin ding a nurturing partner who can satisfy her.
In the novel Double Love, Chodorow's theories are helpful in explaining
Elizabeth's attachment to the hero who is loving and protective in a maternal way. For example, Todd rescues Elizabeth from being violently raped by the character Rick
Andover who is a dangerous threat to women: "Rick slumped to the ground near the wheel of Todd's car, out cold [... ] Elizabeth stepped out, trembling from head to toe. All she wanted to do was hug him. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and cry. She
95 wanted to thank him" (200). This quotation reflects Krentz's (1992) idea that romance stories "make it clear that women value the warrior qualities in men as their protective, nurturing qualities" (6). In other words, Elizabeth appreciates Todd's gentle but aggressive behaviour as he finally takes control over their relationship. It is important to note that once Todd discovers Jessica's cunning actions, readers experience a sense of catharsis. Like Ihe romantic hero, Todd declares his love for Elizabeth who then wallows in her erotic desires: "She tipped her face to his and Todd kissed her lips gently [... ] kissing her more deeply than she'd ever been kissed before. By the time she broke away again, Elizabeth was out of breath and fioating overhead" (207). Todd replaces the pre- oedipal mother-daughter bond by fulfilling Elizabeth emotionally and sexually. From
Chodorow's perspective, she defines and experiences herself through the ideal romantic partner. By the end of the no vel, she comes to terms with her female identity. That is, she can only experience emotional nurturing through others. Elizabeth is physically attracted to Todd because he is viewed as an exemplary conquest in the eyes of others at
Sweet Valley high. Like the romance hero, value is placed on Todd's social position.
Furthermore, Todd and Elizabeth's union offers adolescent readers a pleasurable experience in Ihe manner of "happily ever after". Consistent with Radway's claim that once Elizabeth responds to Todd's passion, romance readers "will feel as the heroine does, both emotionally complete and sexually satisfied" as a woman (149). Double Novel fulfills Radway's notion of the "utopian-wish fulfillment fantasy" as female readers envision themselves different from their everyday circumstances, in other words satisfied
96 and pleased (149). The happy ending of the popular romance confirms how men can transform into the perfect male partners who meet the needs of women.
In the novel In Love Again, Elizabeth shifts the primary love from her mother to
Todd in order to fill the emotional void. Chodorow states that because the female is defined as a relational being, she constantly seeks male and female connections throughout her life. For example, this is accomplished through Elizabeth's heterosexual relationship with Todd "Elizabeth couldn't believe how good it felt sitting there with
Todd's arm around her. It was as if they had rolled back time, as if Todd had never moved and there were only the two of them" (24). This passage illustrates Chodorow's view on how subconsciously females repress their feelings for their mothers through a romantic lover. Todd makes Elizabeth feel like the most captivating girl in Sweet Valley
High which further pro vides a sense of affirmation for her: "Wh en Todd propped himself up on one elbow to look tenderly down at her, she thought her heart would burst from happiness [... ] he said softly, tracing her jaw with his finger, you make me feel so good
Elizabeth Wakefield'" (36). Thus, Elizabeth maintains a relational bond with Todd as a way "of resolving and recreating the mother-daughter bond[... ]and definition of seif in relationship" (Chodorow, 1978, 200). For example, the following passage highlights how
Todd comforts Elizabeth after she brutally falls during the Battle of Schools Competition:
"Without a second's pause he dropped to the ground, raced to Elizabeth, and took her in his arms [... ] Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears [... ] And the first thing she had seen when she opened her eyes was Todd's face, filled with worry and tenderness" (140-141).
Todd's love for Elizabeth here is portrayed in the image of a mother or a champion who
97 rescues her in her time of need. Todd nurtures Elizabeth just like a mother who protects
its child from any type of suffering. Elizabeth depends on Todd on a psychological level
as he willingly responds to her intemal struggles. This example supports Radway's views
that romance readers metaphorically escape into a fairy-tale that provides them with
emotional nourishment.
The theme of re-creating the emotional intensity of the mother-daughter bond is
also emphasized in the novel Secrets. For example, the novel focuses on Enid's
loneliness perpetrated by Ronnie which further engages readers into the narrative.
Ronnie's lack of emotional support provokes Enid to become enmeshed with George at
the end of the novel. Unlike Ronnie, George heals Enid's unfilled desires by embracing
her sexually and emotionally: "George wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a
gentle, tentative kiss. His lips were warm and sweet, sending waves of pleasure rippling
up her backbone" (97). By uniting with George, Enid is erotically charged as he addresses
her needs and resolves the oedipal triangle. Enid's regression into an intense relationship
resembles the emotional commitment of her mother. For example, George fulfills his
promise to take Enid to the most important Sweet Valley High school dance where her
best friend Elizabeth is enthralled by her appearance: "She was glowing with excitement,
her cheeks flushed, her eyes shining [... ] The shimmering whiteness of the flower George
had given her set off her radiant smile. Liz had never seen her look so beautiful" (105).
Through validation from others, Enid retums into the state of infancy where she can feel the love of her mother again "George is pretty special, she said, and not just on the
surface eiiher. I know I'd never have to pretend to be someone I'm not when Fm with
98 him" (107). EnicTs actions reflect Chodorow's view that women need to sustain relationships with both males and females in order to experience emotional satisfaction
"We're joined at the ear, remember? Enid laughed. She was referring to their marathon sessions over the phone" (106). Here, the romance novel focuses on Enid's desire to re- create the perfect union between mother and daughter.
Like Enid, Robin in Power Play is ill-treated by Bruce Patman and in turn becomes interested in Allen Walters who has been courting her for quite some time.
Robin's search for the hero and her determination to establish female friendships through the beauty committee supports Chodorow's argument that poignant relationships recreate mother-daughter connections: "I'm really impressed with you, Robin, Jessica said [... ]
We all are [... ] Robin couldn't find her voice. Praise from Jessica? Unbelievable [... ]
Was she finally going to get to be a Beauty?" (44).The beauty committee forms a female community providing Robin with the emotional support she desperately needs. Robin also wants a suitable partner who can reassure her of his commitment and love. Through
Allen, she temporarily indulges in her erotic needs "[...] she focused on his clear, beautiful brown eyes [... ] He was taller than she had realized. And those brown eyes had incredible green fiecks in them" (84). This examples reinforce Chodorow's observations that the "women's psyche" consists of an array of interrelationships (200-201).
Throughout the story, Robin's need to recover primary love also supports Radway's views that she can only re-establish the mother/daughter bond through a "literal recovery of the lost molher" (156).
99 Conclusion
In this chapter, it is clearly evident that adolescent female readers participate in a romance fantasy concerned with the emotional transcendence of a meagre partner into the ideal lover and the heroine's sexual and emotional conquest through the commitment of the hero. What should be becoming more and more apparent is that the popular romance narrative allows readers to interpret and reinterpret the hero's hostile behaviour which later in the story is actually represented as evolving from feelings of care and love.
Agreeing with Radway, the act of romance reading gives females the opportunity to oppose figuratively the hero's initial mistreatment of the heroine and his inability to understand her emotionally. However, through the hero's and heroine's happy union, adolescents indulge in the heroine's greatest triumph, which is her ability to shift the hero's attention towards her unfulfilled needs. Essentially, the fairy-tale reunion of the hero and heroine confirms for readers that women understand their identity in relation to others. The ideal romance promises adolescents that female development leads to emotional gratification. Consistent with the romantic heroine, the only way the Sweet
Valley High female protagonists can recover the mother/daughter bond is through their romantic relationship with the hero.
100 ChapterFour
A Feminist Anafysis of the Sweet Volley High Series
Introduction
Understanding the ideologies of femininity embedded in romance novels demands evaluating the Sweet Valley High series as a feminist text. In her work, Waking
Sleeping Beauty: Feminist Voices in Children 's Novels, Trites (1997) contends that feminist adolescent novels usually include female characters who challenge traditional gender norms while maintaining motherly nurturance at the same time. Trites postulates that the most effective way feminist narratives resist preconceived notions of gender roles is by relying on the protagonist's agency. As previously mentioned, the ending of such novels celebrate female power or agency which represents how women protagonists establish their own identity without conforming to societal expectations. In Trites terms, female power also symbolizes independence and confidence (5-8). She further postulates that "the feminist character's recognition of her agency and her voice invariably leads to some sort of transcendence; usually taking the form of a triumph over whatever system or stricture was repressing her" (7). Trites passionately argues that the adolescent feminist protagonist "unlike her literary antecedents in such novels as Little Women OT Anne of
Green Gables (1908), need not squelch her individuality in order to fit into society" (6).
Instead, her agency, her individuality, her choice, and her nonconformity are affirmed and even celebrated" (6). Trites concedes that feminist texts like the romance novel conclude
101 with the fairy-tale union of the hero and heroine in which the protagonist recognizes her agency.
This chapter examines Trites definition of the feminist adolescent novel. Next, a close reading is included of the Sweet Volley High female protagonists and secondary characters that reject stereotypical notions of gender norms while conforming to culturally defined feminine traits at the same time. The Sweet Volley High books embody some of the conventions associated with the typical feminist text such as the reversal of traditional gender roles, and how the female protagonist defeats the challenging hero.
Keeping in mind Trites' concept of voice, this chapter demonstrates how this notion relates to the female character's agency. FinaJly, the Sweet Volley High heroines are an agent in their own awakening to some extent as they come to understand the power they hold as females.
The Feminist Adolescent Novel
In A Literature of Their Own, Showalter (1977) states that the feminist novel focuses on "self-discovery, a turning inward freed from some of the dependency on opposition, [and] a search for identity" (qtd. in Trites 2). Female characters are searching for an identity because they are fully aware that they are rebelling against prescribed gender roles. Similarly, Trites emphasizes that in a feminist text, the protagonisfs sexual identity does not hinder her development. Although female characters will encounter gender-specific obstacles, they will eventually overcome them. For example, Trites refers to the novel The Blue Sword (1982) to demonstrate how Robin McKinley "appropriates
102 the maie hero-fantasy archetype for a female protagonist" (Trites, 1997, 12). The Blue
Sword focuses on Harry, the female protagonists quest in understanding her own agency.
Harry's quest involves discovering her royal legacy and acquiring the sword that gives her the power to lead others in war. Trites argues that The Blue Sword is attempting to revise gender stereotypes. She contends, "As [Harry] develops into a war leader, she engages in a variety of activities that no female at the Homeland outpost would participate in: she learns to ride a battlehorse without stirrup or bridle [...]" (13). Trites makes reference to Cixous' (1976) metaphor of the laughing Medusa which represents the victory of a woman or adolescent girl who can laugh at and object to the prevailing society. Through laughter, she is separated from her "prefeminist protagonists" (Trites,
1997, 7). The feminist protagonist flourishes through power and realizes the power of her own voice. Trites states, "her awakening is not bestowed on her by a male awakener; instead, she wakes herself to be a strong, independent, and articulate person" (8). She makes a clear distinction between feminist and prefeminist texts. In prefeminist novels, the protagonist usually becomes Sleeping Beauty from "vocal to silent" (8) while in feminist texts the protagonist accepts her female agency and voice. Trites asserts that feminism is most influential on children's literature because "it has enabled the awakening of the female protagonist to the positive power she holds" (8).
Furthermore, Trites argues that many feminist novelists tend to depict female characters supporting each other through relationships. She concedes instead the importance of heterosexual relationships that allow women to be emotionally strong and satisfied. For example, Trites makes reference to Barbara Wersba's Fat: A Love Story
103 (1987) which focuses on how the female protagonist Rita falls in love with Arnold, an
older man. According to Trites, the narrative is important in demonstrating how two
people in love accept each other despite their differences: Arnold understands Rita's
weight problem as he is overweight, too, and Rita understands Arnold's passion for
poetry because as a "budding writer, [she] also considers herself an artist" (90). Unlike
Chodorow (1978) and Gilligan (1982), Trites believes that gender roles are not
biologically established. She states, "Nowhere do I mean to imply that men are
biologically incapable of sustaining close, nurturing relationships or that male authors are
incapable of portraying such relationships in their literature [...] (81). She contends that in
order to be considered feminist, anovel needs to focus more on the female adolescenfs
growth as an individual rather than being forced into an assigned gender role.
The Rever sal ofTraditional Gender Norms
Trites argues that feminist adolescent novels are deemed successful if female
characters adopt the pre-eminent traits associated with both genders such as assertiveness
and compassion in order to strengthen themselves emotionally. hi the process of
sustaining their inner strength, they defy stereotyped gender roles by balancing such
qualities in their actions. However, Trites posits that the most powerful way feminist texts reverse traditional gender roles is by relying on the protagonists ability to claim her
own individuality and enact her choices more at the end of the novel than at the beginning
(11-12).
104 In the novel Double Love focuses on Jessica's female power as she re-creates
Todd in the manner she desires as intuitive of her sexual needs and trusting of her love:
"Jessica and Todd pulled apart and laughed [...] Still, he held on to her, slipping his hand down to the small of her back. Jessica was all tingles and butterflies" (118). This passage reinforces Krentz's (1992) claim that in every good romance the audacious heroine teaches the hero to respond only to her erotic hunger beyond the female psyche.
However, the heroine conforms to ascribed masculine codes of behaviour (109). For example, throughout the novel, Jessica aggressively persuades Todd into a romantic relationship. She convinces Todd that Elizabeth is promiscuous and thus has an array of choices for the Sweet Valley High dance: "Fm telling you, Todd. I just cannot keep up with all her men," Jessica said" (54). Likewise, the story reveals how Jessica manipulates
Elizabeth into believing that Todd wants to ask her to the school dance instead: "I think
Todd Wilkins is going to ask me to the dance [...] Instantly, Elizabeth felt tears prick the corners of her eyes[...] Can you just imagine how good we'd look together? Jessica gushed" (28-29). Here, what becomes increasingly clear is that we need to examine how
Jessica enacts gender expectations by living up to culturally defined masculine qualities.
For instance, Jessica here is depicted as a male hunter, hunting for its prey. As previously discussed, she yearns to achieve her conquest, that is, the glamorous football team captain, Todd. Jessica even goes as far as plotting to impede Todd's and Elizabeth's dinner dates through her malicious acts:
"Elizabeth still had one small hope to hold on to for the rest of the day: Todd was meeting her under the clock at five [...] There were a few people milling around [...] but she didn't see Todd. Todd was getting into her very own Jeep Wrangler, laughing and chatting happily, with Jessica" (29-31).
105 Jessica fits the profile of a manipulating shrew and is ultimately responsible for Todd's and Elizabe1h's emotional separation.
This study demonstrates that Jessica reflects Krentz's observation of the warrior- as-hero who is "a [...] suitably dangerous opponent [...] imbued with great power and a mysterious past" (19) which emphasizes how violence is attributed to masculine tendencies. For example, once Jessica maliciously seduces Todd in accepting her sexual invitations, he releases his erotic impulses "It was the most incredible kiss she'd ever experienced. Way berter than those sour kisses with Rick. Better than anything" (118).
Here, the narrative promotes gendered stereotypes as Jessica's warrior-like qualities illustrate that there is a relationship between masculinity and hostility. This passage suggests that adolescent females need to inscribe themselves to the whore dichotomy to exert female power. It also indicates that female agency is based on a woman's value as a sexually alluring object. Thus, culturally constructed notions of masculinity and femininity embedded within the series can have terrifying consequences for the female reader. Trites' claim is questionable, though, that the feminist protagonist, "in the process of maintaining her personal strength, [she] often subverts traditional gender roi es, playing on stereotypes and stretching their limits by incorporating characteristics that are typically associated with both genders into her actions" (11). There is evidence to suggest that the
Sweet Volley High novels do not actually liberate the heroine and female readers from conventional gender roles. Challenging Trites' argument, the only way the feminist character can maintain her inner-strength is by succumbing to the virgin-whore
106 dichotomy and masculine defined traits linked to antagonism and belligerence. Here,
Jessica's behaviour is not effective in demonstrating that she plays on stereotypes and stretches their limits. Instead, it seems important to acknowledge that Jessica's behaviour while reprehensible is a kind of rebellion against demands to be the "good giri". One must be cautious of the negative impact the Sweet Volley High series might have on female adolescent readers when trying to fonn their own identities.
Jessica's behaviour is traditional and non-traditional in many ways. The novel
Double Love constantly emphasizes Jessica's cruel tricks which confirm for readers how the deceitful woman is a classic gender stereotype. For example, Elizabeth's reputation becomes tainted because of Jessica's sexual adventures. As previously mentioned, Jessica becomes involved with Rick Andover who is a dangerous threat to women. The police headquarters rescue Jessica from being violently raped who instead claims she is
Elizabeth "Okay, Elizabeth, the officer said. Let's get you home. The sound of the word home brought such an overwhelming sense of relief, Jessica didn't even think to correct him" (73). Thus, Todd changes his perception about Elizabeth and sees Jessica as being the honest, innocent twin sister. However, female readers are made aware that Jessica is responsible for perpetrating Rick's sexual advances through her voluptuous appearance and tantalizing demeanour: "Flirting with Rick was dangerous, she knew. And she liked it...Poor Rick. He had no idea who he was dealing with...Her skirt rode up and she adjusted it slightly, then pressed her knees together and tilted them toward Rick. It had the desired effect. He couldn't tear his eyes off her" (57). Another example that seems to confirm all gender stereotypes about women "asking for it" occurs once Todd registers
107 Jessica's flirtatiousness and cannot control his own sexual urges "Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him and Jessica lost all ability to speak. Todd slipped his hand around the back of her neck under her hair and leaned in to kiss her. Jessica's sto mach swooped as his lips touched hers" (118). Unlike the romance fantasy, male aggression is provoked by sexual attraction "You're not going anywhere. Rick said menacingly.
Jessica opened her mouth [...] To beg [...] But before she could, Rick grabbed her arm.
Hard..." (71). This passage supports Radway's view that in order for women to receive the nurturance they deserve, they need to limit their erotic desires to marriage. Adolescent readers are informed that seeking attention from the opposite sex may be potentially dangerous as Jessica's actions demonstrate (Radway 143).
Like the feminist text, the novel In Love Again focuses on female empowerment which symbolizes how female characters gain strength by refusing to be constrained by stereotypical gender practices. Throughout the story, Todd's detachment from Elizabeth is apparent when he does not arrive on time to meet her after school or for dinner arrangements on several occasions. Elizabeth becomes frustrated with his insensitivity
"Todd, do you realize how late you are? She demanded. Her tone was much stranger than she had intended, [... ] "Tm sorry'" Todd said nonchalantly. 'Practice took longer than I thought it would' [... ]" (88). Here, like Krentz's romance heroine, Elizabeth's words are her most dangerous weapon. Trites describes the feminist protagonist as one who would refuse to be trapped by her own unhappiness and verbalize her inner-thoughts.
At the same time, Trites would likely problematize the context of motherly scolding in which Jessica chooses to exercise this temporary power. Unlike the romantic heroine,
108 once Todd abruptly ends his relationship with Elizabeth, she refuses to plead for his love.
The narrative reveals that "Elizabeth felt a queasy sensation in her stomach. It wasn't
what she wanted at all. But now that Todd had broken up with her, she wasn't going to
beg him to take her back. After all, she had her pride" (91). Todd is as an emotional
challenge that Elizabeth must also conquer. She defeats Todd through her pride and
stubborn personality which demonstrates how she refuses to be silenced by the hero:
"Jessica sighed. Maybe you should call Todd. Tell him you're sorry and you want to talk
the whole thing over. Elizabeth shook her head. But Fm not sorry. Everything I said to
him is what I really feel" (104-105). Keeping in mind Trites' notion of female agency,
Elizabeth pursues her own choices in order to validate her independence. For instance,
although Elizabeth still cares for Todd, she represses such emotions and controls her
actions: "[...] But she could not call Todd and apologize. How could she tell him she was
sorry, when what she was sorry about was that they had lost touch with each other, that he
had changed too much to make a go of things?" (105). This example affirms Trites'
notion that the feminist heroine recognizes her own agency despite being involved in a
romantic relationship.
Although Elizabeth is portrayed as being assertive, she continues to balance nurturing qualities attributed to womanhood by patriarchal culture into her dangling
actions. Consistent with Gilligan's claim that female thinking often relies on
interrelationships, Elizabeth feels threatened by emotional isolation and yearns for a heterosexual relationship: "She just wished that either she could stop thinking about him or that she could see him again and everything could be the way it used to be" (99).
109 Unlike the feminist protagonist as described by Trites, Elizabeth validates herself through
Todd: "What she didn't say was that she was still hoping Todd would show up. She wanted him to put his arms around her and tell her that things were going to be just fine between them..." (111). Readers are informed that the ending of the novel like the feminist text celebrates the independent heroine who maintains her integrity despite being involved in a romantic relationship (Trites, 1997, 91). Consistent with Wilson's
(1999) study, through the heroine's determination adolescent readers experience personal independence. For instance, Elizabeth's refusal of Lovert Academy forces Todd to re- consider his values which plays a contributing factor in their reunion: "That night
Elizabeth and Todd couldn't take their eyes of each other [... ] I'm just glad it's all worked out so well, Elizabeth said tenderly...Todd and his parents have straightened everything out about school" (148). Here, Trites' argument that the feminist heroine embodies traditional conceptions of femininity but at the same time triumphs because of them is ratified. That is, Elizabeth desires to embrace Todd's love while maintaining her views about Lovert Academy.
Like Elizabeth, Enid in the novel Secrets asserts her independence by refusing to beg for Ronnie's forgiveness: "A hot, pricking sensation behind her eyes warned that tears were dangerously close. She fought them. She was determined to hold her head up, not to let him see how much he was hurting her" (41). Throughout the story, Enid maintains her female agency in order to control her emotions: "She twisted away from him, facing the window so he wouldn't see that she was crying. Hot tears dripped onto the hands she held tightly clenched in her lap, so tightly her fingernails dug into her
110 palms" (43). Here, the passage emphasizes Trites' observation that Enid like Ihe feminist heroine refuses to be trapped in a conventional gender role. In other words, Enid weeps for Ronnie but never discloses her vulnerability. Keeping in mind Trites' concept of voice (7), Enid's assertive behaviour towards Ronnie represents how she understands the power of her own thoughts or words: "[...] Enid yanked her wrists from his grasp. Ok, if thafs what you want to think! It's obvious you don't even care what my side is! Why can'tyou trust me just a little?" (44). This example illustrates Trites' notion that the feminist heroine rejects the idea of affirming her identity through a male's opinion of her
(88). Enid's verbal assertiveness is further evident when she confronts Elizabeth about revealing her secret to Ronnie: "Why should I believe you? You're the only one who knew about these letters. The only one. I confided in you. Ithadto beyou...Before she could finish, Enid had slammed the phone down" (51). By identifying with Enid, readers challenge Ihe cultural ideologies thatportray women as meek and compliant.
However, it is important to acknowledge how in the novel Secrets Jessica maintains female agency by adopting traditional beliefs of femininity and masculinity.
For instance, Jessica's monstrous behaviour is highlighted as she tries to entrap the hero in order to be crowned queen at the Sweet Valley High dance: "She simply had to win. It was her big chance to make Bruce fall in love with her [...] She simply had to find a way to get him. She remembered how his eyes had traveled over her- he certainly hadn't tåken any shortcuts" (18-29). Jessica's actions continue to emphasize the image of the male hunter as the story informs readers that Bruce is indeed her target: "She had Bruce in her sights, and like a bullet homing toward the target, she was dashing ahead to catch
111 up with him" (25). Consider Trites' assertion that "female characters gain their strength by rejecting stereotypical expectations that girls must be submissive and by exploring their own choices [...] each of them confronts a central truth about her gender: being female can give her strength" (24). From this perspective, the feminist novel encourages female readers to perform gendered codes of behaviour. For example, although Jessica is determined to be nominated queen, she affirms her female strength by trying to establish a romantic relationship with the powerful hero: "[...] Bruce had been nominated for king, and it seemed a cinch he would win [...] If she won, too, it would mean reigning at
Bruce's side for many of the school-related activities during the semester. It would mean that, finally, Bruce would to have to notice her-and, naturally, fall in love with her" (3).
This passage confirms for adolescent readers that they need to remain feminized in the eyes of the hero in order to capture his attention. It also reveals that the relationship between femininity and power is connected to popularity, heterosexual love and status.
However, reading the series from a feminist standpoint allows females to recognize and understand how certain situations shape their experiences as adolescent girls. To what extent does Jessica's behaviour reflect Trites idea of role-reversal? How much strength does Jessica's female identity provide her with? To what extent are the Sweet Valley
High books a traditional male script? How much of an agent is Jessica in her own decision-making?
The novel Power Play focuses on female confidence and independence. For example, the protagonist Robin attends another Sweet Valley High dance and faces her peers who continuously torment her at school. Despite that she is overweight, she also
112 engages in excessive training to qualify for the cheerleading squad: "Liz had no idea who she was with, but Robin was jogging like a pro, matching him stride for stride, with a serious look of determination on her face and sweat pouring down her cheekbones" (126).
Like Trites' feminist heroine, Robin enacts her own awakening and understands herself as a strong and determined individual (8). Throughout the story, Robin overpowers the
Machiavellian Jessica through her assertiveness: "[...] she wasn't going to take that kind of treatment anymore. The few people around them froze in their tracks. No one ever publicly called out Jessica Wakefield. Jessica was stunned" (167). Robin, like Trites' feminist heroine, appreciates the importance of her female voice and mus lives through words. Similarly, like the detective heroine, Robin's female strength is clearly evident when she confronts Jessica in order to re-establish justice at Sweet Valley High: "Nobody treated Jessica Wakefield that way. And no w the girl was invading her life. Hanging with her sister at lunch, trying out for her squad. She was everywhere [...]" (170).
Keeping in mind Trites' concept of female agency, once Robin discovers her agency, she is in essence renewed. That is, she comes to terms with the power she holds as a female
(24). For instance, Robin satisfies her own female needs by being crowned the next
Beauty instead of becoming romantically entangled with the hero. While she has led
Bruce to believe that he can escort her down the stage stairs in front of the large crowd on the day Robin wins Miss Sweet Valley High contest, she has the keys to Bruce's Corvette but requests that Allen Walters escort her instead. They both climb into the Corvette and
Bruce is left mortified: "The crowd laughed and whooped and cheered as Bruce turned the color of cooked lobster [... ] She couldn't help it. She'd never seen him so utterly
113 defeated" (193). Unlike the romance fantasy, although the hero and heroine remain physically separated, Robin, the feminist heroine, verbalizes her own agency by punishing the antagonistic Bruce.
Interestingly, Robin's behaviour like Jessica's reflects traditional and non- traditional discourses of femininity. As stated above, Robin is in competition with Jessica for attention which reflects traditional notions of girlhood, that is, female power is often equated with beauty. For instance, once Robin gains insight into the fact that Jessica is responsible for her elimination from the beauties committee, she states "[...] And, Jess,
PH see you after school, Robin said with a grin. What? Sorry? Jessica said, clearly caught off guard [...] Elizabeth could hear the venom behind it, the tone that said that Robin knew exactly what had gone on with the Beauties, and that she wasn't going to take that kind of treatment anymore" (166-167). From a feminist standpoint, does Robin really defy preconceived notions of femininity? Robin's actions draw attention to how female agency is defined within patriarchal gender relations. For example, Robin embodies female agency by performing gender practices "The entire room fell silent [...] Robin's jeans sat lo w on her hips and a flowy short-sleeved blouse revealed miraculously toned arms [...] Her makeup was flawless and she wore a pair of high-heeled sandals that
Elizabeth happened to know Jessica had been coveting at the mali for the last month"
(164). The above passage informs readers that there is a strong correlation between female agency and sexuality which positions girlhood within a culturally constructed framework. In other words, Robin needs to play on fixed notions of femininity in order to exert temporary power. Robin does exercise agency, however, she is constrained by
114 gender ideologies. Are the Sweet Valley High books really ever hegemonic or transcendent in their portrayal of gender norms?
Conclusion
This chapter demonstrates that although the Sweet Valley High heroines challenge stereotypical gender practices, their actions represent how they exercise female agency within dominant patriarchal structures. Jessica embodies female agency in ways that are essentially harmful. That is, she succumbs to the virgin-whore dichotomy and her aggressive behaviour reflects culturally defined masculine traits at times. What does
Trites understanding of female agency actually represent for the adolescent female reader? Interestingly, this study found that Elizabeth is the only female character that subverts gender stereotypes by asserting her individuality through female agency.
However, at this point, it is questionable if the Sweet Valley High series are indeed feminist texts. The series definitely reflect traditional gender norms. Li other words, the selected Sweet Valley High books demonstrate how Jessica's voluptuous appearance and flirtatiousness trigger's the hero's aggressive sexual acts. This argument reinforces how
Jessica gets punished because she is "asking for it". This investigation demonstrates that the female heroines and lesser characters are ultimately concemed with heterosexual relations and yearn for "Prince Charming". Once again, what does being female really mean in a patriarchal culture?
115 Chapter Five
Conclusion
This investigation looked at the history of the romance narrative with a constant emphasis on some of its key features such as heterosexual love, the theme of power, female sexuality and independence. Dubino (1993) and Radway (1984) contend that the popular romance novel evolved from Samuel Richardson's Pantela (1740) and Katheleen
Woodiwiss's The Flame and The Flower (1972) in which the hero and heroine's romantic relationship dominates the plot. The conclusions of Radway's ethnography suggest that the romance novel paints the unfilled needs of women in a male-dominated world.
Through the romance fantasy, women readers escape feminine codes of behaviour including familial duties and obligations. This study also examines the success of the
Sweet Valley High series in the young adult market. Pattee's (2008) dissertation found that the series is appealing to female adolescent readers as the extravagant female protagonists Jessica and Elizabeth represent the good and bad girl binary opposition. In addition, Puri (1997), Juhasz (1988) and Radway posit that the act of reading provides romance readers with emotional nurturance allowing them to resist gender ideologies constructed by patriarchy. The findings of this study reveal that the selected Sweet Valley
High books reflect some of the characteristics associated with the romance narrative. For example, the no vels begin with the female character yearning for the hero's affection to recover the primary love of her mother and conclude with the fairy-tale union of the hero and heroine. From a feminist vantage point, the female protagonists are given personality
116 traits according to assigned gender expectations for male behaviour. As a result, the female characters are actually conforming to traditional gender practices in order to recognize and understand temporary female power.
The purpose for conducting this study has been to make significant contributions to the field of adolescent romance literature that focuses particularly on young females reading experiences. The research questions considered throughout ihis investigation have been: Ho w do the Sweet Valley High series portray the characteristics of the romance novel? How does romance in the series provide adolescent girls an emotionally fulfilling reading experience? Is there a justification for reading popular adolescent literature? The Sweet Valley High series can be considered romance novels as they are concemed about heterosexual love. Like the prototypical fairytale, the happy union of the hero and heroine dominates the series. For example, the opening pages of the selected books clearly inform readers that the female protagonist like the romance heroine not only needs to restore her identity but yearns for the hero to satisfy her emotional and sexual needs. The heroine's desire for the unattainable is exemplified through Elizabeth and Jessica's desire for Todd throughout the series. Like the romance fantasy, Jessica and
Elizabeth validate themselves through the hero. The series premises adolescent females that they will only feel complete as a woman through a lasting, romantic relationship.
Just like the romance fantasy discussed in Radway's study, the Sweet Valley High series celebrates the heroine's greatest triumph, that is, a man. However, the heroine teaches the hero how to attend to her wants by providing her with the love and care she deserves. Do the Sweet Valley High series suggest that men are incapable of emotional nurturing? Is it
117 a womarTs duty to teach a man how to love? Jessica and Elizabeth adopt the gender stereotypes assigned to femininity as they constantly yearn for the nurturing and gentle hero. However, it is imperative to note that Jessica and Elizabeth like the romance hero ine constantly decipher Todd's hostile behaviour as a form of love. Do the Sweet
Valley High books demonstrate that it is culturally acceptable to equate love with aggression?
In addition, the Sweet Valley High female protagonists and lesser characters conform to traditional and non-traditional discourses of femininity. The findings of this study suggest that the Sweet Valley High protagonists are portrayed as being adventurous, verbally assertive and independent at times. The Sweet Valley High hero like the ideal romance hero is strong and protective, yet compassionate. It is important to note that the
Sweet Valley High female protagonists try to capture the hero's attention by becoming sexually alluring. Jessica's behaviour like Radway's romance heroine demonstrates that a woman's sexuality may be potentially dangerous and harmful because of its capacity to activate male erotic urges. For example, Todd like the romantic hero unleashes his sexual urges once he registers the heroine's fiirtatiousness. The Sweet Valley High hero becomes sexually aggressive towards the heroine if he suspects in any way that she has been unfaithful during their relationship. Do heterosexual relations reflect power dynamics? Bearing in mind Radway's study, to what extent do the series suggest that women need to control their sexual impulses and limit them to marriage within patriarchal culture. The Sweet Valley High series emphasizes how culturally defined
118 masculine traits embodied by female fictional protagonists are far more acceptable than male characters adopting stereotypical feminine personality traits.
At this point, this study questions if the Sweet Valley High series can be considered feminist texts. As previously stated, Trites concedes that the feminist heroine refuses to be constrained by conventional gender roles. Instead, the Sweet Valley High heroines and secondary female characters subscribe to traditional gender stereotypes in order to exercise female agency. That is, she inscribes to the deceitful woman gender stereotype. For example, chapter three discusses how Jessica aggressively seduces Todd into a romantic relationship through trickery. In the novel Double Love, Jessica's goal is to transform Todd into the perfect partner despite the fact that he has his eyes on
Elizabeth. Jessica manipulates Todd into believing that she represents everything he has always wanted in a woman through her cruel schemes. For instance, she convinces Todd that unlike Elizabeth she does not have a date for the Sweet Valley High dance: "I, on the other hand, don't even have one. Not even one single guy to, say, go to the dance with"
(53). However, readers are informed that Jessica has many Sweet Valley High suitors courting her who desperately want to take her to the school dance. Keeping in mind
Trites' definition of female agency, my investigation suggests that Jessica enacts agency within patriarchal gender relations. For example, in Power Play Jessica exerts female power by deliberately eliminating Robin from the beauty committee in order avoid any form of competition for popularity. As a result of Jessica's actions, Robin begins to emotionally torment herself: "Liz you don't get it. I hate mirrors. I spend most of my life trying to avoid them. Fve always been fat and ugly [...]" (76). Another example that
119 highlights Jessica's devious acts occurs when she destroys Ronnie's and Enid's relationship to be crowned queen at the Sweet Valley High dance. She reveals to Ronnie
Enid's secret that she has been writing letters to her past lover, George. However,
Elizabeth gets blamed for Jessica's Machiavellian deed which also impedes her friendship with Enid. Elizabeth states: "All I want to do is straighten out this whole mess. I just hope Enid will listen to me" (52). Does Jessica temporarily embody female agency within a conventional gender role?
Furthermore, there is indeed a justification for reading popular adolescent literature. Romance is a reoccurring theme in many popular novels which continues to be an important issue in the lives of adolescent girls. Through romance, adolescent females fantasize about the perfect lover, explore their own sexuality and challenge cultural constructions of femininity. The portrayal of heterosexual love and female sexuality in the Sweet Valley High series provides readers with the opportunity to reflect on how women are emotionally dependent on men and need to be found desirable by them through their sexualized body in patriarchal culture. By reading the series, adolescent readers can reflect on dominant romantic ideologies. For example, Elizabeth the "good girl" is independent and reunited with the tender hero who truly nurtures her needs.
Instead, Jessica the "bad girl" experiences romantic love only through her sexual impulses which produces terrifying consequences for the reader. The series informs female readers how they may enact traditional gender stereotypes in their own lives. The
Sweet Valley High books are appealing to teenage girls as they focus on the obstacles females face when trying to develop their own identity. For example, Willinsky and
120 HunniforcTs (1993) study found that teenage giris read romances to learn how to behave on dates. Through adolescent literature, readers can fonn their own understandings of what it really means to be a female.
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