Friday, 10 October 2014

Conventions of the romance genre

Romance Conventions

  • The heroine should initially be involved with a possessive creep, a catatonic Wasp, a perfectly harmless fellow she's been dating for years, or Mr Wrong. It is never clear to the audience what she sees in him.
  • Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again
  • Pushy but lovable mother
  • Unlikely pairings
  • Harried, befuddled father
  • Damsel in distress
  • The male lead has a best friend who is a lovable slob. Not until he can ditch this slob friend is he ready for the big time, relationship-wise.
  • Love is an obstacle course
  • The female lead almost never ends up with the man she was originally supposed to spend the rest of her life with.
  • The gay neighbor or co-worker who knows what you're going through because he's had his heart broken so many times himself.
  • Replaces boyfriend, the guy she replaces him with may work with his hands or live in Montana or raise bees.

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