(no subject)

[shadowkat]

The Twitter Thread in Defense of HEA in the Romance Genre via Courtney Milan. What happened was a guy decided to treat the comment "Is there any trope more strongly enforced and policed than the HEA trope in the romance genre?" He got crucified, and removed the tweet. Hee Hee.

But it haunted me. I think because I've read a lot of books across various genres, and I'd recently published a book in which a critic stated it wasn't believable because it ended happily. (It sort of did and sort of didn't depending on your point of view. I felt I left it more or less open-ended. But I didn't end it tragically or grimly like most noir writers do, because that appears to an enforced view in noir. I subverted the requirement or trope or whatever you want to call it.)

Anywho...the HEA (Happily Ever After) seen in the romance genre isn't reserved to that genre, and if you've read a broad range of "romances" you'll note that not all romances necessarily end happily. I happen to know of one novella in which the heroine died at the end. And another, in which they are dead, and died rather tragically in the sequel. Also, hello, Tolstoy's Anna Karenia is a romance novel, granted a literary one, but it is somewhat grim. So too are some of Hardy's novels, and the Bronte Sisters. The Victorians didn't like to write "Happily Ever After" for some reason or other. And in a lot of "so-called" literary fiction, the trend seems to be grim endings. I personally seem of the "grim" endings difficult to digest or believe.

Some romance novels are deft critiques of abusive relationships, and the grim ending has the two people still together.

It's a broad genre with lots of subgenres, and has gotten a lot of crap over the years...mainly because it's largely a genre written by women for women. 90% of the writers are women. Whether the romance is LGBTQ or Straight, the writers tend to be mostly women. Women actually can be turned on by m/m romances. I tried to explain that to an Aunt once who assumed only straight men liked same-sex romances about the opposite sex. I said, eh, no, actually, this is true of both straight men and women. Although they don't tend to like romance same-sex stories about their own gender, just the opposite gender. Which I personally find fascinating.

I've also read enough across genres to know they all have their sticking points. The Sci-Fi Genre seems to be obsessed with world-building. Fantasy is obsessed with mythology. Mystery -- somebody has to die. It's rare to have one where no one dies. I wrote one where no one dies -- or there wasn't a murder, mainly because I burned out on murder mysteries in the 1990s and wondered if you could do something different. Noir -- it ends badly.

There's an assumption that you can't learn anything from books for pleasure -- this is not true. You can learn something from everything you read or do, if you are open to it. I've learned that much.
You may not always like the lesson...

The novel that I'm currently reading "A Lady's Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran" has a rather interesting bit about the ticket to leave act in Victorian England, and the penal system. It's also quite timely -- addressing in a romance novel a topical and controversial issue about jailing people accused of petty crimes with murderers. The same issue was addressed by Victor Hugo in Les Miserables and Charles Dickens. I'd say we don't do that today, but in a way we do with the drug laws. Throwing a man or boy in jail for twenty years for possession of crack cocaine, is a bit harsh, particularly when a college kid caught with a packet of cocaine is slapped on the wrist, or caught dealing LSD.
(I saw this happen in real life, so I am not exaggerating.) Same with marijuana, it's a bit excessive to thrown someone in jail for dealing or smoking weed -- in comparison to someone dealing heroine.
I remember defending three different drug cases in law school -- one was possession of crack cocaine, which had a sentence of 15-20 years, one was for killing people in association with the heroine trade -- 20 years to life, and one was felony bank robbery, which he did to support a cocaine habit, 10-15 years, probation. Think about that. This novel discusses the inequalities of the penal code and how funding and supporting putting more people away or incarceration funds private interests who are using the prisoners as free labor, and/or using prisons as a business investment. Which is also what is happening today in the US. Duran wraps all this socio-political discourse in the pretty guise of a romance novel and it is a historical romance novel with all the trimmings.

The woman definitely has something to say, and has found a way to weave a narrative that could potentially make her readers think outside their comfort zones.

Right now, I'm flirting with Americanha - about two lovers who immigrate from Nigeria, one to the US and one to London, and their differing experiences with immigration and race, it's written by a Nigerian immigrant. But I'm forcing myself to hold off on buying it until I finish some of the books in my queue. I have a tendency to see a book on Amazon, while I'm knee deep in another one and impulse buy it, but not get around to reading it. Resulting in over 300 books in my Kindle that I have not read. I finally read Slaughter-House Five this year. It was sitting in the Kindle for three years before I got around to it. Bought it on sale for 1.99 from Amazon. Also flirting with Dark Matter - a romance about two lovers separated by dimensions, it's a sci-fi novel. And The Circle about a young woman in a Google like tech company that she discovers is up to something nefarious, actually it seems to be about more than that...the movie trailer has made me curious.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

There's an assumption that you can't learn anything from books for pleasure

That's a strange assumption. I'm often picking up facts which come in handy. It helps that writers come from so many different backgrounds -- you can often tell when they're writing about a profession they know or a place they've been. Sometimes the interesting bits are in the revelations of how people apparently spend their time. But yes, stories that are actually about something while still playing out a genre storyline are often a pleasant discovery.

I'd rather agree with Jenn Burke, that the HEA is not a trope but what makes the genre a romance. But that definition is one that fits the modern publishing classifications rather than something historical, which many of your counter examples are drawn from. I think it's rather like the definitions of gen, het, and slash. It's not that gen stories don't focus on relationships (though they're generally platonic ones) or that they don't include moments of romance between characters. It's that it's not the point of the stories the way it is with het or slash.

Similarly, a lot of stories have romantic elements, including mystery, scifi, fantasy, and highbrow literary works. But stuff that's a morality tale, or an "exploration of the human condition" or a study of social mores, or what I'd uncharitably label existential claptrap, are not romances even if they're primarily about a relationship or the pursuit of romantic fulfillment.

[shadowkat]

that's a strange assumption. I'm often picking up facts which come in handy. It helps that writers come from so many different backgrounds -- you can often tell when they're writing about a profession they know or a place they've been.

I've always thought so...it comes mainly from people who read very narrowly, or just for information -- ie newspapers, non-fiction, business journals, and don't understand why folks read for pleasure. They might pick up an airplane read, which to be fair -- can feel a bit in one ear and out the other.

I'd rather agree with Jenn Burke, that the HEA is not a trope but what makes the genre a romance. But that definition is one that fits the modern publishing classifications rather than something historical, which many of your counter examples are drawn from.

To a degree, yes. But, my mother recently read a book that was published about a year ago by romance novelist Lorraine Heath. It was a novella. The plot? A Marquess falls in love with the daughter of a baker as a child, they become best friends, he eventually marries her, and she dies in childbirth, he goes a bit mad with grief -- in that he refuses to let her go and talks to her ghost. My mother rather liked it -- and didn't see it as depressing, more like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

But I think you are right -- the readership won't allow it. I had an Aunt, who used to read the endings of books prior to reading them, she wanted to ensure they ended happily. She refused to read a book without a happy ending. (She's no longer with us, died in 2000.) Loved romance novels, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery...as long as it ended happily. She introduced me to the Lord of the Rings, CJ Cherryth (Sp?), along with various others in the 5th and 6th grade. She was a librarian for a school in Vegas, that was only the 6th grade.

Similarly, a lot of stories have romantic elements, including mystery, scifi, fantasy, and highbrow literary works. But stuff that's a morality tale, or an "exploration of the human condition" or a study of social mores, or what I'd uncharitably label existential claptrap, are not romances even if they're primarily about a relationship or the pursuit of romantic fulfillment.

True. I'm not sure we can label Thomas Hardy's novels romances. Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenenia, maybe, but I've never really read it...so maybe not.

I've often been on the fence about the Brontes and Austen, who were romances but also social critiques. But then so are many romance novels today. Meredith Duran, Courtney Milan, and Sherry Thomas all engage in a similar sort of social criticism of manners.

I wrote a book that had a romance in it, but is was more of a humorous noir mystery novel than a romance, the romance was not the point of the book -- and involved supporting characters only. And the books I'm writing now both have romances in them, but they aren't the point or main focus, both are more speculative adventure science-fiction. I tend to write subversive hybrid genre fiction, with a pseudo-literary bent, which is impossible to market and scares publishers.

[yourlibrarian]

I've only ever read Wuthering Heights and it's not what you'd call a "feel good" book but it does actually have a happy ending. The younger Catherine is in a new romance with Hareton and the likelihood that she and Hareton will inherit both estates and symbolically reunite the families and put their old feuds to rest is an obvious proposal for the future. Of course, if you were in the story for the tempestuous relationship between the elder Catherine and Heathcliff it's not the ending you'd have wanted, but given the mores of the time it would have made the book more scandalous than it was (even without the implication that Catherine and Heathcliff are half-siblings -- as it is, young Catherine and Hareton are first cousins so clearly this wasn't nearly such an obstacle for readers).

Also I don't think many readers of the time considered it a romance as opposed to simply being a literary drama that focused on family life. What I find amusing is that the book you described by Heath sounds like it was a remix of the Wuthering Heights plot, only a much cheerier version ;)

And yes, I was amazed when I heard of fans who'd read the end of books or fics to ensure they'd suit their tastes. I can't say that's ever been a big concern of mine but I have seen more than one story that was a WIP definitely veer into different territory, garnering a backlash from the readership. The most critical issue seems to be of pairings -- with the author either assuring readers that the desired pairing is what will happen by the end, or, in one case, an author admitting that they couldn't see the story ending as they'd originally planned and pairing the main character with someone else.

which is impossible to market and scares publishers

Yeah, genre stuff which doesn't fit neatly into a genre is a real problem in marketing and is likely to displease a fair number of readers. I always felt some sympathy for, say, the marketing team trying to advertise Serenity, given that Firefly had already been a difficult sell on TV. Or Cabin in the Woods for that matter. That last really split viewers with some thinking it a brilliant critique of the horror genre (or even more specifically, its audience) and others angry because it was a completely unconventional horror film.

I am still amazed that many considered Buffy a comedy. It was certainly funny but a comedy it was not.

[shadowkat]

I've really only read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights irritated me -- so I skimmed it or read the adapted play version. (I could not stand Cathy or Heathcliff, which would be a problem. And felt sorry for everyone who had to deal with either of them. It was one of those books that I wanted to throw against the wall because I hated the characters. LOL! I know I'm in the minority on this -- there's a lot of Heathcliff/Cathy fans out there.) According to my mother, who read the Lorraine Heath book -- it actually has more in common with the Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

Anyhow, Meredith Duran's romance novel, "A Lady's Code of Misconduct" has a rather interesting statement regarding happy endings or happily ever after:

Men - women -we make mistakes. We judge those we love. But we keep loving them anyway, because we know that mistakes can be repaired, and that tomorrow, our love will be deserved again. It only takes faith - or loyalty, as you called it. Those are what tie a family together through thick and thin. And they tie a husband and wife together, too. There is no happy ending, you're right -- not in the singular. But in a marriage, there might be countless happy endings, and even more sweet beginnings, if loyalty and love are what guide you.

Interesting statement considering the discussion. Because none of the books really end..."and they lived happily ever after..." You know the characters will die at some point.
You know they will have problems. Books usually just end with a wedding, a child, or the resolution of the central conflict. Some with a death. But no-one has a "they lived HEA == Happily Ever After".

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, a good point at what defines a HEA. I suspect this is part of the reason why fandom is so obsessed with first times rather than established relationships. I very rarely see a standalone established story. When I do get them it's because the story is part of a series.

[shadowkat]

I think so too. And it's not just fandom...television series and books and movies tend to veer away from established relationships. Now, you see it more, but a lot of writers shy away from them or they do the soap device of breaking up the relationship over and over and over again to create conflict. As opposed to having them handle the conflicts, and reunite, without a melodramatic breakup and jumping to someone else, before eventually, years later, reuniting, only to break up again. Whedon famously stated that Sam and Diane being together was boring. My response, was no, it doesn't have to be, that's a flaw in the writing. The writers could have made it interesting.

I remember the innovative thing about the comedy series "Mad About You" was that the couple was married, and established. It was an examination of an established couple.

In the romance genre, Sherry Thomas often tackles established relationships, but she'll tackle them after they broke up and the story is about them reuniting. They want a divorce, and the story is about the two characters re-examining their relationship and changing their minds. Usually the male character decides on some level to fight for the relationship, even though the female character has decided to move on.

But that's rare. Noel Coward's plays occasionally played with it. And I see it in a lot of family dramas. "The Catch" is playing with established relationships, albeit just coming within inches of the soap devices. It's seems to be teetering on the edge of soap opera at the moment. "Grey's Anatomy" also plays with established, as does "This is Us".

So it is out there and it is popular, but fandom and fannish shows, often aren't into the established relationships as much...for some reason.

[yourlibrarian]

I agree that a dull relationship is a matter of bad writing. I used to watch Mad About You and that's what I liked about it as well. Although I haven't seen it, I gather that the coach and his wife were a huge draw for Friday Night Lights for the same reason.

I've seen that same approach in romances too -- I don't recall the titles but I remember at least two stories I read that were about a couple reuniting. I think one of them ran a B&B.

I also wonder at the reason. I think it's because there's a deep love of the "fated" romance element, including things like the soulmate trope. It's so stressed that in most stories I read, if there were previous romances at all, they were always unsatisfactory. I've occasionally read a story where, to explain the presence of children, someone a man has lost his wife and mourned her before moving on (to a man, which in and of itself, makes the relationship 'unique'). In many cases though, the past relationship was either done solely for kids, some kind of arranged marriage, or some other setup where the couple was not in fact a real couple.