The Libertine in Romance Novels
A few of my lovers are avid readers of romance novels. One day, I decided to read a few to see what the fuss was all about. I quickly discovered that libertines figure frequently in romance fiction, particularly in the historical romance subgenre and what is known as the "steamy" category. The basic theme of such novels is loosely "Good Girl Tames Bad Boy".
The male character, variously described as a "libertine", "rake", "rogue", or "scoundrel", is usually in his late 20s to late 30s, has never been married, and lives a sexually unrestrained lifestyle, having many lovers. The female character is almost always a virgin, ranging in age from late teens to around 30. There are some exceptions to this, there are some "ruined" females, that is, one who has had sex at least once, usually several years before, but who is now paying for her "mistake" with the prospect of lifelong spinsterhood. A few novels feature widows, usually in dire financial straits. In one novel by Susan Johnson (who writes excellent sex scenes, by the way), there is a woman in her late 20s who could just about be described as a libertine herself, having had lovers without the expectation of marriage.
A typical theme of such novels is that the couple meets, usually with the male helping the woman out of one type of scrape or another. The male is captivated at once by this woman, while simultaneously being irritated by her. The woman is attracted immediately as well, though many times will try to deny it for half the book. His "bad boy" aura draws her like a moth to a flame, but the good girl in her feels as if she "shouldn't" be attracted to someone like that. But as she gets to know him and realizes he's a lot more interesting, alive, and fun than the men she's known previously, she gives in to him, sometimes sooner, sometimes later.
In some instances, the male character remains an active, unrepentant libertine almost to the end of the novel. But more often, almost as soon as the man meets the woman, he suddenly loses interest in his libertine lifestyle, all because he can't get this woman out of his mind and that she's totally different from any other woman he's ever known. He will either immediately become celibate or faithful to the new woman, if they've had sex earlier, rather than later. Another common running theme in some novels, particularly those by Cheryl Holt (who also writes excellent sex scenes), is that the man is a libertine because of some type of psychological damage as a child, that he is really "good", but his libertinism is a defense mechanism in response to his unfortunate childhood. Oh please, spare me the psychobabble!
Regardless of variations in plot, the endings are always the same, without exception. The man loses all interest in continuing his libertine lifestyle and suddenly realizes that all he ever wanted, after all, was a conventional, monogamous marriage, like "everyone else". The characters get married and have a completely conventional marriage, from that moment forward. Now, there's nothing wrong with this ending on occasion, but it's trite, tiresome, and unrealistic to have it every time. Predictability is boring. Considering that the reason that the woman was attracted to the man in the first place was precisely because he was a "bad boy", having him turn into a domesticated male like the ones who had bored her in the past would tend not to bode well for their future relationship.
In the Susan Johnson novel, "Seduction in Mind", which had the rare combination of a sexually experienced female with a libertine male, I'd had hopes that it would end differently, with a more unconventional relationship. As Johnson had avoided the tiresome cliche of virgin female paired with a psychologically tortured male libertine, I'd thought that this book might be different. But no, it ended as all the others did. Sigh. This was especially disappointing, because Johnson's books are otherwise a cut above most such books of this genre, in that she's done extensive research to get the historical details correct; her books come complete with footnotes detailing her research.
I'm suspecting that one big reason why these books always end the same way is that publishers have decided that their female readers want them to end this way. This is no doubt true in most cases, but I'm sure many readers would also like to see novels with less predictable endings. But considering that the sacred cow of monogamy runs deep through every facet of our culture, I doubt readers will see anything different in romance fiction any time soon.
It does seem that those historical romances ("bodice-rippers") seem to have
the same theme. They're just set in different countries and timeframes.
;^)
Visit me @ http://pimme.blog-city.com
Do young women select their idea of Mr. Right from the pages of romance
novel? Is that where the elusive Prince Charming
lives?
Dave
dave3477@aol.com
I agree that the publisher's have a lot in it and no doubt make the
changes! They see profit only and want to no doubt satisfy the "monogamy
majority"!
Visit me @ http://middle-aged-guy.blog-city.com/
One of the things I've always loved about the writings of Robert A Heinlein
is his sheer delight in unconventional relationships. Too many to list,
but lots of fun.
Visit me @ http://gloryroad.blog-city.com
yeah, the whole one man one woman thing will probably never change in
romance -- it works for the readers. It's basically required for the
genre's HEA (happily ever after). Marriage isn't required as it once
was.
Erotica, which is becoming very popular with mainstream female
readers (Brava, Ellora's Cave) also tends to have the same monogamy at the
end, but getting there might be a whole lot funkier.
If you want exploration of relationships, ebooks will give different slants.
But I think romance is a lot like mysteries -- you have a framework you have work within but you can often play within those rules. mystery = murder, which is solved // romance = relationship, usually heterosexual, which ends happily. Mysteries can be cozy, hardboiled, silly etc. Same for romances -- they can be sweet, erotic, funny.
kate, romance
writer [katerothwell@comcast.net]
Thanks very much
for your comments. I understand why the monogamy thing is de rigeur in
mainstream romance, but I would have thought that unconventional
relationships would have found a niche by now in erotica. As you said,
there are many subgenres in both mystery and romance fiction, including
some that incorporate several genres at once. I can only hope that one day
there will be a subgenre for nontraditional relationships as well. The can
be HEAs, but allowing for the fact that for some people a HEA might be
something other than a monogamous marriage. All it will take is for a
publisher daring enough to print such romance fiction.
dave -- I get the impression that most readers use romance as an escape,
not as a guide for life.
I read the genre,and I sure don't expect anything out of the pages to be true (okay, maybe not as farfetched as the science fiction that I also love.)
Hey, I tend to only pay attention to the mainstream publishers that
actually pay. Although come to think of it, I've heard of maybe two
mainstream books that end with at least a threesome living together. I can
look up the titles if you want. (Of course, because we're talking
heterosexual women readers, the threesome I can recall was one woman two
men)These books are definitely erotica vs. romance.
As far as I can tell from guidelines, erotica has a lot more sex and different definitions of sex, doesn't necessarily end with the couple in a longterm relationship, and can actually have more than a single couple -- at least for Ellora's cave. Brava, the other big publisher, sticks to a single couple. (As for erotica vs. porn --> erotica has to have characters and emotional interaction -- not necessarily love but something other than lust, whereas porn can be a collection of body parts and not much else)
kate again
Even though I'm a
guy, I'd be curious to know the titles of those books that end in a
threesome. Perhaps the erotica genre would attract more male readers if it
portrayed a variety of scenarios and not always from the woman's point of
view. From what I understand, fan fiction fills a niche that mainstream
publishers usually will not explore, but fan fiction is an uneven genre as
far as quality goes, unfortunately. And, of course, romance could branch
out into many other directions as well; older characters with long
histories behind them, plain or fat women who don't have to get a makeover
or lose weight by the end of the novel, and so on. Lots of room to grow and
opportunities for creative authors.
one last PS. when I say big publisher, I mean the publishers that are
recognized by the RWA, Romance Writer of America. I'm sure there are plenty
of profitable publishers of romantic erotica that aren't in those listings.
Xstacy for instance. . .they have ebooks geared for women.
kate last time I SWEAR
Perhaps there should be erotica for lovers to read together,
alternating between male and female points of view. And feel free to
comment here as much as you want.
Well, this is coming way late, but you just suggested that I read this on
my blog. Kate, who has posted several times on this one, is a good buddy,
and has told you everything I can. A romance novel is defined by an HEA
with a monogamous relationship. If you're looking for a different ending,
you'll have to look outside the genre. In fact, romance writers often
write under other names in other genres so that they can have greater
freedom.
