Australian romance fiction

AbstractThe present study intends to examine the link between clothes and cultural identities in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Hema and Kaushik” (2008). It will argue that Lahiri explores her protagonists’ cultural displacement through their items of clothing. We want to suggest that the protagonists’ clothes are employed in each narrative as signifiers for the characters’ cultural identities. The study will further show that each item of clothing could be loaded with the ideological signification of two separate cultures. In other words, it aims to demonstrate how ideology imposes its values, beliefs, and consequently its dominance through the dress codes each defines for its subjects. Moreover, it intends to suggest that the link between clothing and identity is most visible and intense in the case of female immigrant characters rather than men. Drawing on Luptan’s structure of the Cinderella line, we will explore Lahiri’s protagonists’ cultural transformation from simple ethnic girls to stylish American ladies through their items of clothing. The study will conclude that the “Cinderella line” does not work in Lahiri’s realistic stories the way it does in fairy tales and romance fiction.

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The Dream of the Wise Child: Freud's ‘Family Romance’ Revisited in Contemporary Narratives of Horror

Prospects ◽

10.1017/s0361233300003951 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 293-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ann Douglas

Keyword(s):

Middle Aged ◽

Stephen King ◽

Family Romance ◽

Romance Fiction

On the Phil Donahue show in early December 1981, Janet Dailey, the most successful romance writer in America today, explained, in answer to a question, why actual parents are usually absent in romance fiction. The form is short, it places a premium on excitement – and parents are not “interesting.” For a moment, Ms. Dailey almost lost her largely middle-aged audience. No one present thought to remind Janet Dailey that a contemporary genre of popular “thrillers” (which, by definition, aim to excite the reader) centers on parenthood. “Thriller” authors include Ira Levin, Peter Blatty, Stephen King, Lawrence Sanders, Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Block, V. C. Andrews, John Saul, and hundreds of lesser-known and -talented figures. It is logical, in fact, that no one mentioned in Dailey's presence what I call “family horror.” Romances and family thrillers are widely dissimilar, yet closely connected; the proverbial opposite sides of the same coin.

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Sexuality in Lesbian Romance Fiction

Feminist Review ◽

10.1057/fr.1992.48 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 49-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Joke Hermes

Keyword(s):

Romance Fiction

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Female Readers as Literary Critics: Reading Experiences of Kano Market Romance Fiction

International Journal of English and Comparative Literary Studies ◽

10.47631/ijecls.v2i1.199 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 34-45

Author(s):

Haruna Alkasim Kiyawa

Keyword(s):

Reader Response ◽

Social Transformation ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Response Theory ◽

Reader Response Theory ◽

Romance Novels ◽

Romance Fiction ◽

Romance Genre ◽

Traditional Marriage

This paper aims to explore the female readers reading experiences, views and feelings of Hausa romance novels found in most of the northern part of Nigeria. This article also examines some criticism and accusations against the readership and content of the Hausa romance genre. The study applied the Transactional Reader-Response Theory of Rosenblatt’s (1978) as guide by selecting 7 female readers within the age ranges between 22-26 years from 2 book clubs to participate in the study. The findings revealed that all the readers individually were able to reveal their varied responses, beliefs, and experiences on the value of the romance novels which challenged the assertion made by the literary critics and traditional society that the books have no relevance in their life activities which supported their arguments and personal interpretive reading stance towards the Hausa romance genre. The finding yielded four themes were emerging: (a) promoting literacy development; (b) resistance to the traditional marriage system in society; (d) enlightening females on social inequality. These findings provided empirical support for the application of the Transactional Reader-Response Theory of Rosenblatt (1978) outside classroom contexts to understand the role of African romance novels towards female social transformation.

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