This chapter will address the intersection of these two genres, how this provokes a reconsideration of steampunk as a radical form and indeed, how the representation of men and women in this hybrid of steampunk romance might run counter to more radical literature within the subculture, despite the visibility and ostensibly positive message of the fiction under discussion. (217)
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Given the focus on visual culture, spectacular subculture and especially sartorial style which compromises a significant aspect of steampunk, it is perhaps unsurprising that romance genre writers have explored the alternative steampunk world as a useful backdrop to their fictions. The metaphorical journey that the heroine undergoes (the discovery of a new sexual self) is often mirrored in literal journeys to exotic places: ‘hence travel, relocation and movement have been central to such romantic trajectories’. In terms of the coalition of steampunk and romance, it is easy to see why an alternate world of a fantastical nineteenth century that never was might have particular crossover appeal: the cityscapes and the appearance of characters within steampunk narratives are lavish and highly detailed. Janice Radway comments that one of the most crucial linguistic devices is the ‘genre’s careful attention to the style, color, and detail of women’s fashions. Extended descriptions of apparel figure repeatedly in all variations of the form … Romantic authors draw unconsciously on cultural conventions and stereotypes that stipulate that women can always be characterized by their universal interest in clothes’. This proliferation of detail also characterizes the steampunk romance (218-219)
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Through investigating the ways in which the conventions of romance coalesces with steampunk, this chapter has demonstrated the intersection of these genres can provoke dialogues about history, sexuality and narrative. Whilst the emancipated post-feminist heroine in these stories can introduce different career trajectories, interests and practices for women, these are also frequently overturned by the recourse to a traditional narrative of heterosexual marriage. At the same time, the positivity of representing alternative forms of sexuality can be undercut by a recourse to stereotype and visual signifiers, such as clothing and fashion, to render ‘gay identity’ observable and detectible. Steampunk fictions can be interpreted as both conservative and revolutionary in these contexts, subjecting the sexualized subject to visibility, but also stereotype and ultimately critical surveillance. (240-241)
See the chapter on "Steampunk Romance: Gail Carriger and Kate McAlister" (pages 217–246, direct DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350113176.ch-006 ).
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