Ah, the waltz from Labyrinth -- "Worship me, fear me ... and I will be your slave." Now that was a line that made many women sit up and think seriously about the temptation that Sarah faced ... A different version of "Beauty and the Beast," I suppose, although I've gotten quite tired of the variations on the vampire and werewolf themes. Perhaps I've just tired of the usual plot motifs for romance novels.
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray cured me of the "love conquers all" theme (at least for the moment). Love and family constantly war against the desire for money (security enters into it for a while, then Becky subverts everything to her quest for the good life). Amelia worships her wastrel husband, who marries her despite his family's disapproval (since her father lost all of his money in a economic crash); he dies at Waterloo, and she spends most of the money spoiling their son and worshiping her husband's memory ... Either way, the satire cuts through sensibilities like a scalpel. What hurts is the fact that, except for the corsets and cravats, the same conflict haunts 21st century society ... except that our creditors can't send us to debtors' prison. (Yes, someone said that during a bankruptcy meeting ... and the speaker agreed!) Although Thackeray's novel is set during the same time as Austen's novels, their views of society and love are polar opposites. Interestingly enough, Thackeray's allusions point out that the common Victorian readers recognized more allusions than many modern readers ... He only caught me once or twice ... and even the Cliff Notes didn't mention the ones I didn't know, so I don't feel totally culturally illiterate.
The recent anthology Hot & Steamy edited by Martin Greenberg proved that non-romance writers (and readers) just don't understand what constitutes a romance. Shoot, Corsets & Clockwork (a YA anthology) fit the genre better ... Both anthologies claimed to combine romance with steampunk, but the adult anthology generally had unhappy endings -- the last story, which had the most imaginative premise -- tunneling under the North Sea to provide the coal for engines -- ends with the death of the girl's newly-wed husband. Several had automatons involved in love triangles ... The one set during Sherman's march to the sea chilled, since the crazed Southern inventor epitomized every stereotype of the evil plantation owner, like a mechanically minded Simon Legree. The YA anthology fit the romance genre more closely; I think the story set on the train with the female sharpshooter and the rustler on the run put the best twist on the historical links that lurk in the steampunk era -- Jane and Jesse make quite a pair.
Unfortunately, "hot and steamy" describes Texas all too well this summer. 40 days (more or less) of days at 100* or over ... no wonder we can't get anything done, except read and enjoy other worlds.
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