Bryce isn't just looking at romance, and even within what's being classified here as romance, "the formula's obligatory happy ending is frequently side-stepped" (122). However, here are some quotes about romance/romantic fiction:
In the western context, as a genre dealing primarily with the feelings and situation of women, by women, for women readers, romantic fiction has always been both marginalized and enormously successful in terms of sales. In Africa, romantic fiction is both less gender specific (it may also be by or about or read by men) and less formulaic, so that within certain recognizable parameters, significant deviations occur. (121)
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The romantic formula requires obstacles to be placed in the way of 'true' love: in the African context, such obstacles are frequently provided by religion and ethnicity. [...] This tendency suggests one of the functions of romance in the African context: rather than escapist fantasy, romantic love becomes a trope for the desire for change, both personal and social, and for the belief in the possibility of change. (122)
Bryce isn't just looking at romance, and even within what's being classified here as romance, "the formula's obligatory happy ending is frequently side-stepped" (122). However, here are some quotes about romance/romantic fiction:
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