It has been
said that romantic literature depicts life as it should be, while realistic literature depicts
life as it is. This is as good a basic definition of a romantic novel as we might
find.
In romance novels, no matter how perilous or uncertain the plot seems
at certain points, we can depend on an uplifting, if not always happy, ending. A romance novel
also involves a love affair of some sort, and most generally, the two lovers end up united at
the end, all obstacles overcome. Even if they don't, the ending has an upbeat, inspirational
quality, as one lover nobly sacrifices himself or herself for the other lover or for a heroic
cause. In Agatha Christie's romance, The Rose and the Yew, for example
(written under Christie's pen name Mary Westmacott), the female lover, though terrified of
dying, takes a bullet and dies to save her belovedand we feel (or are expected to feel) inspired
at this uplifting example of the sacrifice true love makes.
The protagonists
of romance novels are often larger than life, more beautiful than ordinary people, of
aristocratic lineage (though that might not be uncovered until the end of the story), and
idealistically given to living by the highest principles. The language of the romance novel is
sometimes overheated and the plot sometimes fantastic. Nevertheless, the drama and the heroics
are often satisfying and fulfill our wishes about how we would like the world to be and people
to behave.
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