This thesis is focused on finding out if the romance novels today break or perpetuate the stereotypes about the genre, its heroines and the social gender stereotypes about women. It does that by giving an overview of the definition and the evolution of the genre itself, presenting the relationship of society and literature as the basis of comparison for the stereotypes. The analysis of the stereotypes is based on a sample of five romance novels written by American authors in the period from 2018 until 2022 and were chosen as the representatives from the sample of almost 300 novels. The analysis is done by the method of close reading of the five novels. Based on the results, conclusions were drawn and the original hypothesis was answered.
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the form has existed for over 280 years and the “widespread disdain for and condemnation of this literary genre” (Regis, preface) has been following it from the beginning. The parts of them that were disliked have changed and evolved with the genre, but the one constant is the negative perceptions of these novels. They have been stereotyped as lacking literary merit, not being serious, formulaic, presenting life, characters and relationships as unrealistic and idealized and so on. These stereotypes have also spread to the characters themselves, especially in a negative way about the novels’ heroines – they must be weak, passive, dependent and without a goal, besides getting married, of course. (3)
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this thesis will aim to explore if the contemporary romance novels are breaking free from these stereotypes, both in terms of the genre itself and its heroines.
This is precisely the main research question of this study – do modern romance novels challenge or perpetuate the stereotypes associated with the genre and its heroines and does their representation of women help break or maintain the gender stereotypes in society? (4)
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the books selected for close reading analyses are the following: From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata, published 2018, The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, published 2019, The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren, published 2020, Beach Read by Emily Henry, published 2021, and Reminders of Him by Collen Hoover, published 2022. (31)
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The results of the analysis have shown that the chosen novels break most common stereotypes about the genre and its heroines. These novels put emphasis on their heroine’s agency, goals and achievements , personal growth and complexity of character. With this the novels break the stereotypes of romance novels heroines as passive and helpless, and by portraying the heroes as family and relationship oriented, emotionally aware, understanding, and vulnerable, they break the most common stereotypes about the heroes of this genre. (60)
Here's the abstract:
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