Pamela Regis
Autor von A Natural History of the Romance Novel
Über den Autor
Pamela Regis is Professor of English at McDaniel College
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- Geschlecht
- female
- Nationalität
- USA
- Wohnorte
- Westminster, Maryland, USA
- Berufe
- professor
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- McDaniel College
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- 108
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- #179,297
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- 3.4
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Regis then sets out to define “romance novel”: “…a work of prose fiction that tells the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more heroines”. She then expands that definition to include eight essential elements:
1. The society setting is defined – including explaining unfamiliar principles in historical romances.
2. The hero and heroine meet.
3. A barrier to their relationship is established – for example, the hero’s pride and the heroine’s prejudice.
4. The hero and heroine are attracted to each other.
5. One (usually, but not always, the hero) declares love for the other.
6. The point of ritual death (I had a little trouble with this one; “death” seems too strong a word). Regis refers to a situation where the “barrier” mentioned above in #3 seems to be too strong to overcome and there is no prospect of a happy ending.
7. The recognition – where the hero and heroine recognize that the “barrier” can be overcome
8. The betrothal – the hero (sometimes the heroine) proposes and is accepted. Regis notes that starting in the late 20th century, it’s no longer required that the couple actually marry, just that they establish a permanent relationship.
Regis then notes there are three other common elements that are not essential: a wedding; a scapegoat (who perhaps was responsible for “the barrier) is exiled; and bad character is converted.
Regis goes on the cite the historical roots of the romance novel: Richardson’s Pamela; Pride and Prejudice (which Regis thinks is the best romance novel ever written); Jane Eyre; Trollope’s Framley Parsonage; and E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View. She then takes her ideas into the 20th century, this time citing novelists instead of particular novels – Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, Janet Dailey, Jayne Anne Krentz, and Nora Roberts. Regis notes some new features in these: the heroine is often “affective”, which is Regis’s term for someone of independent means and/or personality; and the hero is “dangerous”, figuratively (or sometimes literally) a pirate, outlaw, cowboy or adventurer who needs to be “tamed” by the heroine.
My own romance novel reading has included Jane Austen and the Brontë’s in the historical group and Georgette Heyer in the modern category, plus a few others not mentioned by Regis (Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters; Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt; and miscellaneous others). I’ll definitely have to read some of the other authors Regis cites. Regis comments that men she contacted didn’t like romance novels because “nothing ever happened”; I don’t know how to respond to that except to say that if you think “nothing happens” in Pride and Prejudice you’re missing a lot.… (mehr)