The Glass Slipper: Women and Love Stories

The latest book from Adelphi University English professor Weisser (A Craving Vacancy: Women and Sexual Love in the British Novel 1740-1880) aims to "recover the basis of the long-standing appeal of romantic narrative." Weisser discusses a range of topics, from the parallels between Jane Austen and D.H. Lawrence to the compatibilities and incompatibilities of the romance genre with feminism. Her main argument is that contemporary "love" and "romance" are "regressive" with feminism-friendly details that mask the fact that the scenarios being presented are still concerned with women finding worth in men. She focuses primarily on fiction, but also analyzes the packaging contained in reality television shows such as The Bachelor and Internet ads. While the decision to focus on heterosexual romance helps keep the book focused, her generalizations about modern love may turn off some readers, and her tendency to use the words "romance" and "love" interchangeably sometimes leads to confusion about where the differences and similarities begin. A valuable, if repetitive, introduction for those interested in women's or media studies. (Oct.)