Article Analysis

The reading of romance novels has criticized women for several decades. Women have been fans of romantic novels for years. I believe it began as little girls when we read our first Disney story. Many of these stories are based on love and happy endings. No wonder women today still enjoy reading about love, although, society views these women as weak, desperate, and lonely individuals. There is a major difference between reading a romantic fiction novel and living out the fantasies in the book. Sadly, society has given romantic novels a bad name just because critics fail to understand that the book is the choice of the reader and not a self-help book.

Romance novels also open the door for opportunity. Women have a chance to express their opinion and feelings about the book they are reading and the author, they no longer have to feel embarrassed or ashamed like the golden days when romance and love was hidden behind bedroom doors. In the article many authors shared their personal opinion about romantic novels, but what is a romantic novel?

Many authors claim they are love stories with happy ending while others view them as trashy. My analysis of the article shows an unawareness to popular culture and what they enjoy reading. When the book 50 Shades of Gray by E. L. James hit the book shelf no one really knew how to take the books new arrival to the bookstores. There were many mixed emotion about the book. I noticed it gave many women a chance to share their opinions with other women through different websites and book clubs. These women are hardly passive and isolated.

I agree that the reading of romance novels creates a sense of community for women. It is important for readers to form a canon that allows them to not only read a romance novel but praise their favorite authors. I also agree that critics need to recognize that it is the reader’s choice to read the books they read and it should not imply the unquestioning adoption of its ideology. I believe that most romance readers are college educated; just because you enjoy romance fiction does not mean you are uneducated or are in to pornography.

The importance of this analysis is that it explains to the critics why women enjoy reading romance novels. They enjoy forming a sense of community to interact with each other and discuss the readings. The article also states that studies have found that most romance fiction readers actually work outside the home and have a college level education. As I stated in the beginning as little girls we develop the desire for these types of novels through the Disney stories. For some it is an outlet, for others they dream of a happy ending and this is how they find it.