WARNING Do Not Try This At Home: Jealousy Is Only Sexy In Romance.
My critique partner and I meet up monthly at the Pancake Parlour to discuss our writing and talk about the romance genre. It was at one of these sessions that I discovered she was fascinated by story lines with jealousy as a major theme. She has kindly written this weeks blog article on the topic. Happy reading.
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“Why don’t you want me to marry that London boy?” she asked.
Robin brought his fist down on the table with a crash that set all the china leaping.
“Because you are going to marry me,” he shouted. “Do you hear, Maria? You are going to marry me.”
The above seems like a passage from a romance novel, does it not? It’s actually from the 1946 low fantasy children’s book The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. These characters are about twelve years old. And this is the exact moment when I became fascinated by jealousy in romance novels. I reread it over and over again, trying to pinpoint what had just happened. Why was Robin so angry? And why did Maria delight in his fury, deliberately taunting him until he exploded?
Ever since reading that scene, I became a jealousy-junkie. I could just eat jealousy for breakfast. I reread. I savour. I feel a delicious, dark pleasure knowing that the intensity of emotion has caused a temporary explosion.
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire was a guilty pleasure for me. The book isn’t entirely great, although I do admire the author’s way of building up this intense, almost certainly unhealthy co-dependency in a way that was addictive reading. There’s a scene where Travis drags Abby’s date from the car during a goodnight kiss. It was like that scene in Forrest Gump, except the guy doing the dragging was a gorgeous, tattooed bare-knuckle boxer who was so in love with Abby but she couldn’t- or wouldn’t- acknowledge it. It’s acceptable to the reader because we know Travis is the guy for her.
Another moment I loved was in JD Robb’s (aka Nora Roberts) Judgement In Death when Roarke beats Don Webster for making a play for his wife, Eve. Furniture is smashed, they are described as charging rams, and the following sex scene is probably one of the most intense, possessive and primal things Nora Roberts has ever written. It was saved from being disturbing because Eve goes as completely cavewoman as well. And it is awesome.
So what does my love of jealousy in books say about me? Would Freud have a field day?
This kind of jealousy is an intense emotion that many of us experience during the early stages of a romantic relationship, and it stems from perceiving a threat to a valued (prospective or existing) relationship. The underlying motivation is to ensure that our genetics prevail, not our rival’s. Hey, you. That’s my woman/man, not yours. Back off. I want them.
It seems to infect a person with madness; they would do anything to claim the affections and fidelity of their beloved. It blurs judgement. It’s painful, irrational, often destructive, and usually not enjoyable for the person suffering from it. It might flatter and delight the recipient.
I think jealousy is definitely one thing that we can file under “better in fiction than in real life”. Like all strong emotions, jealousy makes for entertaining reading. We get all the voyeuristic thrill with none of the personal anguish. When we read, we can remember a time that we felt that way, and we identify with that character.
I don’t mean to confuse jealousy with possession. I am referring to jealousy in romance novels as a spontaneous reaction to an event or threat, whereas possession is more of an attempt to gain ongoing control, and often there is no specific threat to the romantic relationship. The supernatural genre, now full of vampires, werewolves and shifters usually have highly alpha males who ‘claim’ the woman as theirs, usually instantly. The word mine gets used a lot. They don’t follow human social codes and so the reader can suspend their disbelief. Otherwise, you’d be yelling for help!
An outburst of jealousy is usually the moment in a novel the writer “shows” rather than “tells” the reader about the jealous character’s true feelings and motivations, and is often the trigger for some soul searching. A romance novel is often a battle of wills, or a situation where we cannot possibly see how these two people can be together. We know they will, but it’s the journey that’s so enjoyable. One character is often withholding themselves, and might need a bit of a push. Imminent danger, threat of separation or realisation that an earlier assumption was incorrect are some common devices used to trigger an emotional change. Jealousy is another.
Jane Austen’s Emma is an example. When Emma believes that Mr Knightley may have feelings for her friend Harriet Smith, she becomes deeply distressed but cannot imagine why. She likes both Harriet and Knightley and only wants happiness for each. Readers love feeling clever, and in those moments where Emma grows more agitated, we smile smugly, knowing she is on the verge of realising that: “It darted through her with the speed of an arrow that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!” The jealousy prompts her to be honest with him, and they get their happily ever after. But had there been no Harriet Smith? Who knows, Emma and Knightley may have remained just friends into old age.
If you’re a romance writer, you almost certainly need to consider planning a specific incidence of jealousy into your plot to demonstrate the depth of your character’s feelings. As long as it moves their relationship forward, is not a threat of violence to the female character and blows over without any lingering possession that could trigger that this character is unstable, it is an incredibly effective technique in demonstrating romantic love. And so much fun to write! I bet it will be a scene long remembered by your reader, and often reread.
Please feel free to comment below with some of your favourite moments of jealousy in books!
By Sally L.
