Are romantic novels nowadays becoming a little too stereotypical?
By abhi_destar
@abhi_destar (764)
India
May 15, 2011 3:10am CST
I don't know what you feel about this, but I certainly do feel this is the case. They're all becoming the same saga where the girl suddenly meets an extremely handsome guy (if it's Twillight, then it's a vampire!!! 
) and goes absolutely gaga over him so that she nearly even forgets her own name when he's around!!!! I mean, come on, does being handsome all that matters nowadays when we speak of love? Is everything else secondary? That's what these novels would have us believe, anyway. Just now, I was reading Fools Rush In (Weddings by Bella) and it almost see,s a rerun of the Twilight series itself, with the girl drooling over the incredibly handsome cowboy.. And nowadays, I really can't find a girl who doesn't go dreamy-eyed at the mention of Edward. Love has certainly become more of a marketing nowadays, with the guy having the best outward packaging getting the most suitors. What do you feel? Come, share with me.
) and goes absolutely gaga over him so that she nearly even forgets her own name when he's around!!!! I mean, come on, does being handsome all that matters nowadays when we speak of love? Is everything else secondary? That's what these novels would have us believe, anyway. Just now, I was reading Fools Rush In (Weddings by Bella) and it almost see,s a rerun of the Twilight series itself, with the girl drooling over the incredibly handsome cowboy.. And nowadays, I really can't find a girl who doesn't go dreamy-eyed at the mention of Edward. Love has certainly become more of a marketing nowadays, with the guy having the best outward packaging getting the most suitors. What do you feel? Come, share with me.1 person likes this
5 responses
@Logicalmale (1)
• Australia
15 May 11
Well to be honest, nearly all novels these days are clichéd. In particular, novels directed at teens. The twilight saga is the most horridly written pile of rubbish. However to respond to your point of the guy who looks the best has the most suitors, isn't that what constitutes as "love" these days amongst the youth?
I'm 16, and I'm in a happy, long term relationship, I'm just happy the person I'm with isn't like any of the air headed bimbos your see in love novels or even walking around these days.
1 person likes this
@abhi_destar (764)
• India
15 May 11
Well, I'll have to completely agree with you on the point that the Twilight saga is indeed a pile of rubbish. No guy can exert such an influence over girls. You're really lucky to have found your love at such an early age.. Wish my life had also been like that.. But no matter, the point is that you're more lucky because your girlfriend has brains and doesn't believe in this nonsense. All the best for your love story. Never ever give up on your love as you grow up. Cheers.
1 person likes this
@chinchoy (191)
• Hong Kong
15 May 11
If people keep buying them, the publishers will keep printing the same stuff again and again. Why change a winning formula when there is a profit to be made. It is just a novel, not some piece of literature to be passed on for centuries to come. They are just cashing on the dreams of every young maiden out there. Ability to appreciate inner beauty comes only with aging. It is the look that counts when we are young.
1 person likes this
@abhi_destar (764)
• India
15 May 11
Very well put forth, indeed, chinchoy. And direct to the heart of the problem. Of course, that's the marketability which is pervading all spheres of life. Sell the dreams, that's the motto behind all stories and movies. Portray a character which you would like to be, make things happen to the person which you would've liked to happen in your life, and you've got a blockbuster in your hands. But I'm not only talking about inner beauty. What I want to say is that, does this inversely mean that comparativelu worse-looking guys have no place in the love stories? Do they.always get portrayed as the villains, the jilted lovers looking for vengeance, seeking to ruin the picture-perfect love story of the leads? I'm disgusted by such hypocrisy. You don't always have to be a good-looking person to be one good at.heart.
1 person likes this
@katieh (151)
•
15 May 11
From the point of view of someone who's not a huge fan of romantic fiction, I'd have to say that they've always been like this. As far as I can tell, the selling point of the "romance" genre is that there isn't any other plot. It's all about the love. Yes, in a romance genre book everything else except how attractive the two people find one another is secondary.
If something other than love was primary, the book would be listed in a different genre. For instance, in Lord of the Rings, Aragorn's certainly handsome and that's why Arwen first fell for him (she didn't _know_ him, she fell for his looks). But the book's about fighting the evil of Sauron.
You can't find a girl who doesn't go dreamy-eyed at the mention of Edward? You just did :) I think he's a creepy control freak.
1 person likes this
@AngelHope2011 (199)
• United States
16 May 11
I really like this question. I think the reason why novels are the same now is because this society says that if you're attractive then girls will fall for you and it's just their way of marketing men to the general public. This society also says that you should always look at a man based on his outside and not his inside. They're not telling girls to look at the guy for what he truly is and what he's not. This is why so many women get caught up in bad relationships because they like someone based on their looks and not their personality and by the time they realize sometimes it's too late.
1 person likes this
@RabbitCanFly (120)
• China
17 May 11
I haven't read any western romantic novels so I have no idea how they are like nowadays.But I do read some Chinese romantic novels,and they're all the same: Retarded female character,super-man male character,and stupid plot only people with no life experiences at all would find interesting.
