Abstract
This chapter synthesizes the varied debates and paradoxes, literary and philosophical, identified with the enduring and capacious genre of romance from classical antiquity to the present day, such as the status of ancient Greek romances as genre paradigms and the relationship between romance and the novel. Major critical contributions to the shifting perceptions of romance are examined, as are examples of romance as a special form of idealizing fictional world, a created universe with long-established conventions that invite creative invention and experimentation and lend themselves to philosophical and ideological expression, as exemplified by works that range from Heliodorus’ Ethiopica to James Cameron’s Avatar. Recent cognitive approaches to art suggest that romance may be the art form closest to the anatomy of the human imagination.
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- 1.
For general information on the Odyssey and issues of debate regarding the poem’s author(s), origin(s), date of composition, and the like, consult Whitman (1958, 285–309). On the Odyssey and nostos, see Barker and Christensen (2015, 85–110). On the importance of the Odyssey’s plot on numerous forms of Western narrative, consult Fusillo (1991, 24–31) and Lowe (2000, 129–56). Lowe calls the Odyssey ‘the supreme textbook of plot technology’ for classical antiquity (156) and writes that the poem is ‘the most encyclopaedic compendium of technical plot devices in the whole of ancient storytelling, and one of the most dazzling displays of narrative fireworks anywhere in literature’ (128).
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I follow Doody (1996, 26) on the dating of the Greek romances. On the Odyssey and the adventure plot of Greek romance, see Silk (2004, 31–44) and Hunter (2004, 235–53). On the Odyssey and romance conventions in general, see Louden (2011, 57–104). Lowe (2000, 222–59) writes of the Greek romance as classical epic fiction strongly influenced by Homeric narrative form and with a close generic tie to New Comedy. See Fusillo (1991, 31–53) on the influence of classical tragedy and comedy on the Greek romance and its self-conscious theatricality. Mentz (2006, 55–6n30) provides a summary of the more recent criticism on Greek romance. Of this growing body of criticism, I mention only the following : Whitmarsh (2011), MacAlister (1996), Doody (1996), Konstan (1994), Reardon (1991), Hägg (1983), and Perry (1967).
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Frye (1976, 161–88) summarizes his anatomy of romance.
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Doody (1996, 432–64) links the rise of romance in ancient times with religious practices devoted to an array of goddess and goddess-like figures—Isis, Cybele, the Virgin Mary, and so forth.
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For more on the complex relationship between romance and the novel, consult Pavel (2013), Moretti (2006, 1, ix–x), Moore (2010, 3–7, 30–36). Note that in his two-volume collection of essays on the novel, Moretti stresses the ancient origins and planetary nature of the novel as an art form, while Moore (3), like Doody, elides the distinction between ancient romances and the novel.
- 8.
Scholes et al. (2006, 3–81) address the transition from storytelling to narrative and the variety of classical narrative forms that established the major paradigms for fiction in the West. Doody, Pavel, Moretti, and Moore’s books in their own ways stress the ancient history and the enduring and global nature of romance as an art form.
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On the recovery of the ancient Greek and Roman prose fiction and vernacular translations in Early Modern Europe, consult Reeve (2008), Mentz (2006, 47–71), and Bearden (2012, 19–46). On the subsequent influence of ancient Greek and Roman prose fiction, consult Sandy and Harrison (2008). For an excellent summary of the recovery of Aristotle’s Poetics, Heliodorus’ romance, and the debate over imaginative literature in the sixteenth century, consult Forcione (1970, 11–87). On the recovery of the Poetics, the growing debate over romance, genres, and fiction in general, see Weinberg (1961, 2, 635–714), Hathaway (1962, 3–42). Bearden (2012, 20–21) notes that despite their kinship, early modern reception privileged Greek over chivalric romance for moral and aesthetic qualities and also for the cultural variety depicted. On the identification of romance with the female reader, see, for instance , Goody (2006, 1, 18–29), Radway (1991, 19–45). For essential information on the emergence of the romances of chivalry as bestsellers in the sixteenth century, consult Sieber (1985), Eisenberg (1982, 27–54), Thomas (1969, 1–83), and Chevalier (1968). Chartier (1987, 147–49, 154–56) discusses the practice of reading romance works aloud at gatherings and how this practice ties in with study and discussion groups focusing on literature.
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Briand (2006) discusses Daphnis and Chloe as an exemplar of poikilia (variety, diversity, assortment), a polyphonic collection of varied themes, types, and techniques mixed together as part of a whole—the one and the many—an essential characteristic of romance. The classical master trope of weaving figures prominently in romances from ancient times to the present—note its appearance in the Canon of Toledo’s comments—and is one example of romance’s persistent, self-conscious foregrounding of metafictional elements, inscribing into or depicting within the romance a paradigm of multiple plots woven into one, and an emblem of craftsmanship, and the craft of Zeus and Athena, the goddess of weaving. See Scheid and Svenbro (1996, 111–69) for more on the weaving master trope in classical culture; on the weaving trope and Renaissance romance, see Doody (1996, 283, 308–17) and Collins (2016, 27–37).
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For more on fictional worlds, consult Doležel (1998, 16–28), Ronen (1994, 76–143), Eco (1994a, 64–82, b), Pavel (1986, 43–113), and Maitre (1983, 21–75). Eco observes that ‘[e]ven legendary lands, as soon as they are transformed from a subject of belief to a fictional subject have come true’, reaching ‘a truthful part of the reality of our imagination’ (2013, 441).
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Interestingly, nearly 2000 years after Charicleia espouses lying as a noble stratagem under certain circumstances, Star Wars’ Princess Leia lies to Darth Vader about her secret mission to help the Alliance in the opening scenes of the movie. Konstan (1994, 218–31) suggests that there may be a relationship between the polyglot, multicultural love, travels, and marriage in the romances and the increasing ‘decenteredness’ of the late Roman Empire. See Schmeling (2003) on ancient Greek romance as a fictional representation of what the society of the time thought of itself, stressing the mythic qualities of place and character, particularly the chaste, beautiful heroine, and noting the un-Roman, Greek quality of the fictional world.
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See Doody (1996, 62–81, 432–64) for more on the relationship between the ancient romances, religious mysteries and initiation rites, and worship of Mother goddesses. The pioneering works of Reinhold Merkelbach (Hirten 1988; Roman 1962) provide the impetus for exploring the potential relationship between the antique romances and the ancient mystery cults. On the influential cult of Isis in particular, see Merkelbach’s Isis regina (2012, 3–70).
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Doody (1996, 213–73) discusses the impact of the antique romances on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century fiction. She comments on Longus: ‘Longus’ story becomes almost synonymous with “pastorals” (pastoralia), and its influence can be felt in Montemayor’s Diana, in Sidney’s Arcadia, Cervantes’ Galatea, and other works; far-off echoes of it can be heard in the youthful loves of Tom and Becky in Twain’s Tom Sawyer’ (251). On Longus’ impact on Renaissance romance, see also Collins (2016, 19–23). Barber (1988, 1–26) writes of the sixteenth-century translations of Daphnis and Chloe, underscoring widespread familiarity with Longus’ text. See also the description of ‘idyllic romance’ articulated by Hardin (2000, 1–24), who focuses on Daphnis and Chloe as the original exemplar. Garland (1990) examines Greek romance’s long-standing celebration of emotional fidelity, if not chastity itself.
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Steiner (1988) studies the prominence of ekphrasis in romance and the symbiotic relationship between the verbal and the visual in romance’s fictional world.
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Varvaro (2006) links the twelfth-century French romance with the emergence of the novel. Brownlee (2000) examines the complex links between medieval Spanish narratives and Cervantine prose. On the main characteristics and development of twelfth-century French romance in general, consult Bruckner (1993, 60–108, 207–25, 2000), Gaunt (2000), Rider (2000), Kelly (1993, 1–33), and Vinaver (1984, 25–32, 44–52, 68–98). On Chrétien and the fictional world of his romances, consult Bruckner (2005, 2008), Hunt (2005), Duggan (2001, 1–46, 311–27), and Lacy (1980, 1–66, 1987).
- 17.
On Chaucer’s creative, transformational engagement with Boccaccio, Statius, and epic tradition, see Hanning (1980), Haller (1966), and Muscatine (1950). Haller (1966, 68) argues that love, specifically the possessive love that leads to violence in The Knight’s Tale, has displaced epic battles fought over political issues. On oppositional symmetry and the order/disorder, civil and domestic conduct issues, and ambiguity regarding chivalry in The Knight’s Tale, consult Miller (2004, 82–110), Howard (1978, 227–37), Elbow (1975, 73–94), and Muscatine (1969, 175–90). To my view, love’s central importance typifies romance, although selfish love that leads to aggression is neither idealized nor celebrated, and while the order/disorder dichotomy discussed by these critics and others is commonly present in romance, the tale’s ambiguity regarding order/chaos and fate and human agency is uppermost in Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale. On The Knight’s Tale and consolation in general, and Boethius’ Consolation in particular, see Schrock (2015, 107–27), Edwards (2008), Miller (2004, 111–51), and Elbow (1975, 19–48). I concur with Schrock (2015) that ‘The Knight’s Tale is a series of failed narratival and philosophical closures that ends in a diminuendo of consolation’ (107).
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On Tasso’s use of allegory and dramatization of Counter-Reformation ideology in Jerusalem Delivered, see Quint (1993, 213–53), Treip (1994, 53–94), Murrin (1980, 87–127), and Giamatti (1969, 179–210). On Tasso’s theory of the epic, see Treip (1994, 80–88), Murrin (1980, 87–127), Tasso (1973), and Durling (1965, 185–95, 200–10). For more on the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns, consult Weinberg (1961, 2, 797–813), Hathaway (1962, 437–59), and Maravall (1986, 294–98). On the celebration of admiratio/wonderment at the time, and its classical sources, consult Weinberg (1961, 1, 150–55, 188–90, 397, 2, 737–43).
- 19.
On Cervantes’ experimentation with romance, and his engagement with a variety of topics, see Collins (2016, 136–89), Pavel (2013, 99–106), and Finello (1994, 49–57). On Sidney’s experimentation with romance, and his engagement with a variety of topics, see Collins (2016, 190–236), Pavel (2013, 99–106), Bearden (2012, 66–99), and Lamb (2008). For more on Cervantes’ The Little Gipsy Girl, romance, and Erasmian views on marriage, consult Forcione (1982, 93–223); on Cervantes’ The Power of Blood and the nature of miracles, consult Forcione (1982, 317–97). On the concept of a unified Christian community in Cervantes’ The Spanish Englishwoman, consult Collins (1996, 65–71).
- 20.
Couégnas (2006), for instance, discusses the intersection between high and popular literature in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century France and England, noting the popularity of the ‘sentimental novel’ and the ‘gothic novel’, both literary types that I would identify as forms of romance.
- 21.
Hogan (2003, 76–121) presents his theory of human emotions and prototypical narrative; his view of the common form of prototypical narratives, 230–38. Hogan’s studies are not limited to the Western tradition.
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Collins, M.S. (2018). Romance. In: Stocker, B., Mack, M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54794-1_13
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