Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Romance fiction--History and criticism; Romance-language fiction; Sex role in literature; Criticism, interpretation, etc; Academic theses;
Abstract
Mass-market romance novels remain top sellers among popular fiction and paperback in the American market; however, academic scholarship examining the popular romance novel is dated. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the gender roles of the heroine and hero characters within the novels. This thesis is a content analysis that examines seventy-two Harlequin romance novels, publication dates 1971-2006. The findings in this thesis suggest that the gender roles of the heroine and hero deviate drastically from those analyzed in the 1980's and 1990's, specifically regarding sexuality and gender performance. Neo Romance emerges, characterized by a sexually aggressive, autonomous heroine; the disappearance of the hero character; and a new "happy ending" - one that does not necessarily end in heterosexual coupling.
Year of Submission
2007
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of History
First Advisor
Barbara Cutter
Second Advisor
Karen Mitchell
Third Advisor
Samuel Gladden
Date Original
2007
Object Description
1 PDF file (111 leaves)
Copyright
©2007 Amanda L. Breeden
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Breeden, Amanda L., "Neo Romance: Gender Renegotiation in Harlequin Romance Novels" (2007). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2138.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2138
Comments
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