M.A. (Information Science) / A need exists for criteria with which to evaluate formalistic popular fiction in the public library. The love story is one of the types of formalistic fiction which is very popular and which is found in great numbers in the collections of public libraries, but which is not bought in a responsible, professional way. Meaningful criteria for evaluating the love story cannot be developed without knowledge of the nature and characteristics of this type of story. This study examines the characteristics of formula fiction in general and of the formalistic love story in particular. Formula fiction is fiction written according to the requirements of specific formulae. Formula fiction can be regarded as a genre because it contains certain characteristics with a specific aesthetic impact, in accordance with the requirements of a genre. A fiction formula is a narrative structure which is used in a great number of individual works and which leads to the genesis of a story type. The most well-known story types or sub-genres of formula fiction which have originated in this way are love stories, science fiction, Wild West stories, espionage- and detective stories and social melodramas. "The most important characteristic of formula fiction which has been identified is that it is standardized. This standardization causes certain stereotypes to appear in formula fiction, namely stereotyped characters, themes and background and language usage. Each of the sub-genres of formula fiction, including the love story, has its own specific stereotyped characters, themes and background and language usage. The stereotypes existing within the love story are described extensively. The stereotypes in formula fiction acquire aesthetic impact when the author succeeds in adding a new element which regenerates the stereotype. The most important criterion for evaluating the formulistic love story is therefore the way in which stereotypes are handled in these stories. The formalistic nature of the love story is therefore accepted, but the regenerative handling of the formula must be evaluated in order to distinguish the better love story from the weaker one. Three love stories are evaluated to demonstrate how this criterion, namely the establishing of the extent of regeneration of stereotypes, can be applied to assess the merits of a love story. This study points out that the successful love story is the one in which the regeneration of stereotypes is done successfully. The use of this criterion for establishing the quality of individual love stories offers the opportunity for public libraries to decide in principle to include the popular love story in their collections, but to establish a responsible point of interception according to which the weak love story will not be bought.

x, 195 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation explores two subgenres of popular romance fiction that emerge in the 1990s: "corporate" and "paranormal" romance. While the formulaic conventions of popular romance have typically centralized the gendered tension between hero and heroine, this project reveals that "corporate" and "paranormal" romances negotiate a new primary conflict, the tension between work and home in the era of global capitalism. Transformations in political economy also occur at the level of personal and emotional life, which constitute the central problem that contemporary romances attempt to resolve. Drawing from sociological studies of globalization and intimacy, feminist criticism, and queer theory, I argue that these subgenres mark the transition from what David Harvey calls Fordist capitalism to flexible or global capitalism as the primary social condition negotiated in the popular romance. My analysis demonstrates that corporate and paranormal romance novels reflect changing ideals about intimacy in a globalized world that is increasingly influenced, socially and culturally, by the values and philosophies that dominate the marketplace. Each of these subgenres offers a distinct formal resolution to the cultural and social effects of a flexible capitalist economy. The "corporate" romances of Jayne Ann Krentz, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Lowell, and Katherine Stone feature heroines who constantly navigate the dual and intersecting arenas of work and home in an effort to locate a balance that leads to success and happiness in both realms. In contrast, the "paranormal" romances of Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, and Carrie Vaughn dissolve the tension between home and work, or the private and the public, by affirming the heroine's open and endless pursuit of pleasure, adventure, and self-fulfillment. Such new forms of romantic fantasy at once reveal the tension in globalization and the domination of corporate and masculinist values that the novels hope to overcome. / Committee in charge: David Leiwei Li, Chair; Mary Elene Wood; Cynthia H. Tolentino; Jiannbin L. Shiao

Etiqueté péjorativement « roman à l’eau de rose », le roman sentimental, critiqué et plutôt méconnu, est pourtant un genre paralittéraire à succès. Bien qu’inspirant mépris et indifférence, cette production et son lectorat francophone méritent dès lors qu’on s’y attarde. Produit emblématique de la culture médiatique, le roman sentimental représente en effet un indicateur de mutations culturelles d’importance. Articulée en deux temps, notre analyse se centre, d’une part, sur les spécificités de cette production et, d’autre part, sur son lectorat francophone. L’examen du roman sentimental sous l’angle textuel, éditorial et auctorial est donc couplé à une enquête qualitative basée sur un ensemble d’entretiens semi-directifs visant à circonscrire les pratiques du lectorat, à éclaircir les motifs à la base de la lecture sentimentale et à déterminer sa fonction principale. / Doctorat en Langues et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished