It gets tiring, we know, but we must once again repeat how the Brontës didn't write romance novels. They couldn't be considered so in their time, and they can't be considered so in our time. Mina Jacobs writing for the Connellsville
Daily Courier makes that mistake:
Years went by and soon I was devouring the pages of romance novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
And so does romance writer Amy Jo Searle aka
Sable Grey, who says to her local newspaper
The Clinton News,
"My English teacher, Nancy Pavy, gave me a copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It opened my world up to romantic literature." (Joel Wesley Hobson)
Oh well, what can we do?
A newcomer to these recurring mentions is, of course, Twilight. The
Guardian follows suit as regards to Stephenie Meyer's book:
Bad, glamorous anti-heroes have been catnip to impressionable teens since the Brontes. From black-locked, dissolute Heathcliffs to violet-eyed Lestats, the bad boy – damned forever or still holding out the intriguing possibility of redemption – kicks the goody-goody's backside every time. (Imogen Russell-Williams)
PopMatters reviews the book
Once Again to Zelda by Marlene Wagman-Geller:
Once Again to Zelda is divided into 50 short chapters, each devoted to a book, its dedication, author, and the story behind the dedication. I read about Mary Shelley and Charlotte Brontë, Herman Melville and George Eliot, Lewis Carroll and Mark Twain. (Diane Leach)
Charlotte Brontë's appearance is of course due to her dedication of Jane Eyre to William M. Thackeray.
And finally an alert for today, from
Lit Lovers:
In January we will be reviewing Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Look for the newsletter for a brief synopsis of this book. For any help you may need with language or plot (I needed it!) go to Spark Notes. It is a great resource.
After our discussion we will watch the movie. [...]
Our meeting will be held on January 8, at 6:30 at Mindy's house.
Categories: Alert, Books, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights
Actually literature and poetry alike are always considered differently from reader to reader. When I read Jane Eyre I was touched and moved by Jane's story and the romance she did indeed find. I suppose if I'd not enjoyed the book as a romance writer, I might have enjoyed it as women's fiction if that were my genre of interest. However, as readers, we do tend to focus on the aspects of the story that appeal to us. Jane's romance appealed to me...and is the reason I left writing horror and dark fantasy behind me to pursue a career in the romance genre. It was one of the most influential books I'd ever read and did literally change my life and career. I have readers who perceive my own books as romance, love stories, some as romantic fiction, and some as silly fantasy writing. Whatever the reader considers my books makes the story different to each of them and I find that lovely and satifying as an author.
ReplyDelete- Sable Grey aka Amy Jo Searle
Clinton, MS
Hello there, and thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteSince we started BrontëBlog - and even before that - we have noticed that some people confuse Romantic - with a capital R - and romantic and some other people consider the Brontës either the grandmothers of chicklit or romantic literature.
The greatness of Jane Eyre is, among other things, that today it still can be addressed from so many perspectives. One of them, but not the only one, is as a romantic story (young girl finds older wreck who is redeemed by her pure love). Our complaint is that, often, Jane Eyre is epitomised as the sancta sanctorum of romanticism when it is just one element (important but not exclusive) of the richness of the novel.
'we have noticed that some people confuse Romantic - with a capital R - and romantic and some other people consider the Brontës either the grandmothers of chicklit or romantic literature.'
ReplyDeleteWell-Bloody-said! The Brontes, due to their Romantic ideals, appeal to a far wider range of people: be it sex, socio-political background, religion etc. than would otherwise be found under the vulgar and crass categorisation of the sisters' work as mere romance novels.
I understand to a degree what Ms Grey's intention was in citing the romance aspect of the novel, but I feel the direction in which it was let off lets the side down. There is such a diverse range of ideas and themes prominent in the book that would appeal to an even wider readership, but it is not always given the chance to do so; as a superficial outline of the book as a romance by many in the mass media put an equal many off from exploring such a profound and intimate work.
Can I just clap my hands? ;)
ReplyDelete