Fantasy and Reconciliation: Contemporary Formulas of Women's Romance Fiction (Contributions in Women's Studies)

Book info: Fantasy and Reconciliation: Contemporary Formulas of Women's Romance Fiction (Contributions in Women's Studies) (Hardcover, 217 pages) – Praeger, 1984. Language: English.

Editorial Reviews Review ?Teachers and students of Popular Culture, Women's Studies, and American Studies will find that Kay Mussell's scholarly discussion of contemporary woman's romance fiction provides a systematic exploration of an underscrutinized but significant genre. Mussell's book makes several specific contributions; 1) It seeks reasons for the popular genre's persistent appeal despite changing cultural options for women, and it does so against a background of popular-culture theory and female psychology. 2) It codifies and defines contemporary women's romance conventions. ... 3) It examines the connections between contemporary women's romances and associated narrative forms. ... 4) It illuminates relevant critical debates and engages contending theoretical issues. ... While Fantasy and Reconciliation may be short on the absolute political assurance that some radical feminist scholars hope for, it offers thoughtful and lucid reflections upon popular female fantasy fiction during transitional times for women and validates the study of women's romances from a well-modulated women's studies perspective.?-American Literature

?The critical discussion of the romance is well grounded in the historical evolution of the genre, in feminist theory, and in informed treatment of changing modes of social behavior.... The contradiction between feminist advances in society and patriarchal convention in literature is reconciled, Mussell argues, in the notion that romances serve as imaginative harbors of stability and certitude for women adrift among shifting values and rapidly changing sexual customs. They function as a kind of survival tactic'.... The argument is not new, but it is well made and well documented here. A useful bibliography and extensive chapter notes are included. Recommended for graduate libraries and undergraduate libraries wiith holdings in popular culture.?-Choice

"The critical discussion of the romance is well grounded in the historical evolution of the genre, in feminist theory, and in informed treatment of changing modes of social behavior.... The contradiction between feminist advances in society and patriarchal convention in literature is reconciled, Mussell argues, in the notion that romances serve as imaginative harbors of stability and certitude for women adrift among shifting values and rapidly changing sexual customs. They function as a kind of survival tactic'.... The argument is not new, but it is well made and well documented here. A useful bibliography and extensive chapter notes are included. Recommended for graduate libraries and undergraduate libraries wiith holdings in popular culture."-Choice

"Teachers and students of Popular Culture, Women's Studies, and American Studies will find that Kay Mussell's scholarly discussion of contemporary woman's romance fiction provides a systematic exploration of an underscrutinized but significant genre. Mussell's book makes several specific contributions; 1) It seeks reasons for the popular genre's persistent appeal despite changing cultural options for women, and it does so against a background of popular-culture theory and female psychology. 2) It codifies and defines contemporary women's romance conventions. ... 3) It examines the connections between contemporary women's romances and associated narrative forms. ... 4) It illuminates relevant critical debates and engages contending theoretical issues. ... While Fantasy and Reconciliation may be short on the absolute political assurance that some radical feminist scholars hope for, it offers thoughtful and lucid reflections upon popular female fantasy fiction during transitional times for women and validates the study of women's romances from a well-modulated women's studies perspective."-American Literature About the Author

Mussell /f Kay