Reading the Romance

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Originally published in 1984, this work challenges the prevalent myths surrounding romantic fiction, a genre that captivates millions of women readers. Critics, including feminists and literary theorists, argue that romance novels reinforce women's dependence on men and promote a repressive ideology. However, the author contends that attention should shift from the text to the social event of reading itself. She explores the complexities of publishing and the individual reader's engagement with the genre. By combining reader-response criticism with anthropology and feminist psychology, she invites readers to reflect on their motivations and experiences. Through interviews with forty-two romance readers in a midwestern town, facilitated by a bookstore employee, the author uncovers the emotional and psychological rewards of romance reading. Many women express that they read to escape their demanding routines and seek the tenderness often absent in their lives. The heroines in these stories are strong and independent, yet their experiences with male aggression reflect broader societal issues. The readers' engagement with romance serves as both a protest against limited choices and a temporary escape from patriarchal constraints. The author urges feminists to consider this complex relationship between culture, text, and the female reader, advocating for a shift from solitary imagination to active social engagement. In a new introd