Sep 14, 2011

Why is this Considered Romance?

I've never understood why people think that Jane Eyre is a romantic story.

A man who mocks you, who ignores you when his friends are around and then demands to know why you didn't talk to him is not romantic. A man who owes you money is not romantic. A man who makes you think he is marrying another woman just to see if you'll get jealous is not romantic. A man who tricks you into a sham of a marriage when he is already married and is hiding his insane wife in the attic, and then when you find out about the insane wife, tries to convince you to live with him in sin though it goes against everything you believe is not romantic.

A man who sleeps around and doesn't like children, not even the child who may or may not be his is not romantic. A man who lies to and takes advantage of other people is not romantic. A man who takes advantages of a young girl's vulnerabilities is not romantic. A man who is vain enough to think that he can do all these things and still get you to love him is not romantic.

Romance this is not.

3 comments:

  1. When I saw the title, I thought the post was going to criticize the Twilight series. :)

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  2. Amen. I feel the same way about Romeo and Juliet. And I sort of harbor dark feelings towards anyone who loves the play because "it's so romantic!"

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  3. I won't defend the man because i just watched the movie and yeah, i think he's a bit of a jerk too. But i do think that true romance shouldn't be based on rationality: when you love someone, blah blah blah. It's rational Eyre's irrational love for him that makes it a romance; not his general being an idiot.

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