Still have no memory of the plot of that one, but I do vaguely remember (I think) thinking the 'hero' was an asshole.
Hence the controversy. LOL! (well that and the fact that he does, ahem, forcefully take her virginity because he thought she had slept with someone else and got jealous. Seriously, the dude has the worst caveman mentality. He's slept with hundreds of women...but he needs her to be pristine because she's his possession? Dude, get a grip. But that's partly the trope - Dude starts out as Caveman, all male, all penis, then as the book progresses, he becomes nicer, less Caveman, kinder, and not just about possession. In short he softens and figures out how to love. )
As far as I can tell.. boddice rippers had one of two plot tropes, or rather a combination of these two plot tropes:
Powerful, arrogant, attractive guy who has women falling over themselves for him - becomes insanely attracted to heroine, who is a bit of a spitfire (usually tough and iron-willed, and stubborn). She's basically his match, except he's "physically" stronger than she is.
What ensues is a battle of wills - on all fronts, physical, cereberal and emotional. He tries to break her with his penis or sex (either with forceful seduction or rape) it does not work. She tries to break his will by denying him sex (which sort of works and doesn't at the same time). A misunderstanding ensues - ie, he decides she isn't a virgin and has been sleeping with other people while denying him. So he well, rapes or forcefully seduces her - it's not always clear. And of course it does not give him what he wants. He hurts her and hates himself. And fears he's lost her forever...and tries to figure out how to live with himself and without her. Time passes. He attempts to make amends. She finds a way to understand why he did what he did and manages to forgive him. And love him. He regains her trust...and through trust and understanding are able to build a life together and live happily ever after.
The moral? You may do grievous acts, but with remorse and apology, you can be forgiven and loved. No one is irredeemable. And no matter how grievous, the act can be forgiven and healing can come about through that act of forgiveness.
Of course depending on the writer - it isn't always convincing. Some writers don't do a good job of developing the male hero - so he comes across as a bit of an ass. Whitney, My Love was Judith McNaught's first book and the hero in it is not as well developed as some of the heroes in her later novels. Other writers don't do a good enough job of developing the heroine. And others don't develop the plot very well.
For the trope to work - the hero has to commit a "beastly" act and it has to be unforgivable, if it's not really bad - the time the two are separated and his self-loathing won't make sense. In short, he's searching for a way not to be a Caveman (want take have) and be a Gentleman or Good Man. (ie. he's coming to grips with the feminine part of himself - not the male part, sort of like Spike searching for his soul.) The most unforgivable act that a hero in a romance can commit is like it or not - rape. There really is nothing worse. I suppose beating - but romance novelists tend to like to steer clear of that, although a few have done it instead. That's why, I think, its in so many of these books - at least Judith McNaught's. I also think that many writers are struggling to deal with their own fears of it.
I will state that the books written in the 1980s and 1970s do a far better job of pulling this off than ones written now - which either are too politically correct for their own good (ie. no conflict) or make the act beyond the realm of forgivable (ie. the heroine is repeatedly raped, beaten, kidnapped, and emotionally tortured by the hero...then weirdly she falls in love with him and forgives him? In that order. I don't know that's taking Stockholm syndrome a bit far.) or have jumped into absurd and rather silly paranormal/gothic horror territory.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2013-12-14 12:15 am (UTC)Still have no memory of the plot of that one, but I do vaguely remember (I think) thinking the 'hero' was an asshole.
Hence the controversy. LOL! (well that and the fact that he does, ahem, forcefully take her virginity because he thought she had slept with someone else and got jealous. Seriously, the dude has the worst caveman mentality. He's slept with hundreds of women...but he needs her to be pristine because she's his possession? Dude, get a grip. But that's partly the trope - Dude starts out as Caveman, all male, all penis, then as the book progresses, he becomes nicer, less Caveman, kinder, and not just about possession. In short he softens and figures out how to love. )
As far as I can tell.. boddice rippers had one of two plot tropes, or rather a combination of these two plot tropes:
Powerful, arrogant, attractive guy who has women falling over themselves for him - becomes insanely attracted to heroine, who is a bit of a spitfire (usually tough and iron-willed, and stubborn). She's basically his match, except he's "physically" stronger than she is.
What ensues is a battle of wills - on all fronts, physical, cereberal and emotional. He tries to break her with his penis or sex (either with forceful seduction or rape) it does not work. She tries to break his will by denying him sex (which sort of works and doesn't at the same time). A misunderstanding ensues - ie, he decides she isn't a virgin and has been sleeping with other people while denying him. So he well, rapes or forcefully seduces her - it's not always clear. And of course it does not give him what he wants. He hurts her and hates himself. And fears he's lost her forever...and tries to figure out how to live with himself and without her. Time passes. He attempts to make amends. She finds a way to understand why he did what he did and manages to forgive him. And love him. He regains her trust...and through trust and understanding are able to build a life together and live happily ever after.
The moral? You may do grievous acts, but with remorse and apology, you can be forgiven and loved. No one is irredeemable. And no matter how grievous, the act can be forgiven and healing can come about through that act of forgiveness.
Of course depending on the writer - it isn't always convincing. Some writers don't do a good job of developing the male hero - so he comes across as a bit of an ass. Whitney, My Love was Judith McNaught's first book and the hero in it is not as well developed as some of the heroes in her later novels. Other writers don't do a good enough job of developing the heroine.
And others don't develop the plot very well.
For the trope to work - the hero has to commit a "beastly" act and it has to be unforgivable, if it's not really bad - the time the two are separated and his self-loathing won't make sense. In short, he's searching for a way not to be a Caveman (want take have) and be a Gentleman or Good Man. (ie. he's coming to grips with the feminine part of himself - not the male part, sort of like Spike searching for his soul.) The most unforgivable act that a hero in a romance can commit is like it or not - rape. There really is nothing worse. I suppose beating - but romance novelists tend to like to steer clear of that, although a few have done it instead. That's why, I think, its in so many of these books - at least Judith McNaught's. I also think that many writers are struggling to deal with their own fears of it.
I will state that the books written in the 1980s and 1970s do a far better job of pulling this off than ones written now - which either are too politically correct for their own good (ie. no conflict) or make the act beyond the realm of forgivable (ie. the heroine is repeatedly raped, beaten, kidnapped, and emotionally tortured by the hero...then weirdly she falls in love with him and forgives him? In that order. I don't know that's taking Stockholm syndrome a bit far.) or have jumped into absurd and rather silly paranormal/gothic horror territory.