"Because you're not quite the ice-princess you pretend to be are you?" He taunted. "On the surface it's all frosty dignity, but underneath the fires are burning - I can feel their heat."

Based on this incredibly corny excerpt from a 1996 Harlequin romance novel, you might wonder what is going on in the heads of the vast number of almost exclusively female trashy romance novel consumers. Or quite possibly, you are one of those consumers. It may be that guilty little secret you hide from your co-workers, lovers, husbands, or kids. Perhaps it has even become a hard-core dependence; instead of drugs, caffeine or alcohol, you are addicted to good old romance novels. It's as American as apple pie and the Internet. And what makes the phenomenon of the romance novel even more American, is not its longevity, but its enormous marketing and fiscal power; the swift and voluminous way in which these books sell.

One of the major reasons behind their publishing appeal is the fact that women have begun to dominate the book-buying market. According to the New York Times, in the book business, it is a widely held belief that "more women buy books than men - perhaps as much as 70 or 80 percent of fiction." But the important question behind these facts and figures, is what exactly is behind the massive appeal that contemporary romance fiction holds for women? At one time or another, we have all picked up a romance novel and read it - either with pleasure, disgust, indifference, or amusement. I have read more than my share of romance novels, and there is no doubt that they are incredibly formulaic. The plot never changes outside of the following paradigm: attractive and usually petite woman meets a rugged extremely masculine man, who she's very attracted to, but for one reason or another (he seems like a big jerk, their families hate each other, she's a nun) they can't REALLY get together for good (i.e. marriage, kids, financial security, and/or lifelong commitment) until the last page. So it's a quintessential romance story line; the major point, is that we all know what's coming - a "happy ending". This happy ending is no coincidence. One of the points stressed by Harlequin/Silhouette editorial guidelines is that every single romance novel needs to have a happy ending. Women everywhere are paying for the happy ending. Men who look like Fabio are getting paid for pretending to be the guy responsible for the happy ending.

There is definitely more to a romance novel's appeal than its repeated and expected ending. The predominant explanations behind the formidable force of women who read romance novels are escape, fantasy, relaxation, and entertainment. Just as many men turn to professional sports, romance fiction offers women time away from everyday mundane tasks and life's disappointments. There are no dirty dishes, and there's certainly no mediocre sex; only a world in which bodices are torn off, heroines are pursed by their 'rogue-like' heroes, and the endings are always happy.

Susanne McCarthy, Forsaking All Others (Ontario: Harlequin Enterprises, 1996) 23.

2Jyoti Puri, "Reading Romance Novels in PostColonial India," Gender & Society 11.4 (August 1997): 434.

3Gabriel Trip, "Women Buy Fiction in Bulk and Publishers Take Notice," New York Times (17 Mar. 1997) D1.