Sarah Frantz was quoted yesterday
in the Ventury County Star. Speaking about
Fifty Shades of Grey, she states that
"The sex is compelling. Sex is always compelling. But the
18th-century scholar in me says nothing (E.L. James) has done is new,
apart from having 20,000 fan fiction followers ready to buy the book the
instant it was available," said Sarah Frantz, president of the
International Association for the Study of Popular Romance and an
associate professor of literature at Fayetteville State University in
North Carolina.
"She is using many of the conventions and tropes of romantic fiction,
including the Byronic hero who has committed nameless crimes in the
past who will be cured by the love of a good woman," Frantz added.
Frantz spoke on the topic during a Romance Writers of America
Passionate Ink gathering in Anaheim in July. The full-length version of
her presentation, "The History of BDSM Fiction and Romance," will be
included in "Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades," slated for publication in
November.
The term is an acronym for
bondage-discipline/dominance-submission/sadism-masochism, themes that
James delves into in the "Fifty Shades" trilogy — albeit inaccurately,
Frantz said.
"Reading along, you very much get the feeling that the BDSM elements
are there to titillate the reader, but that Christian ultimately will be
'cured' of the need to have them in his life, as though they are by
definition 'bad,'" she said.
Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey will be published by BenBella Books and is edited by Lori Perkins.
Wow, Laura! You're amazing. I've been looking for this, and you still found it before I did. :) Thank you!
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