Am I alone in my thinking? Oct. 8, 2012
Why is it some of the best love stories and/or romances other than romance novels involve a great beauty and a male who is physically handicapped in some way? We are taught to make sure the hero is flawed in other ways.
The Phantom of the Opera.
The mystery writer, Jeffery Deaver, writes of a quadriplegic NYPD consultant, Lincoln Rhyme and the woman who loves him, detective Amelia Sachs.
Why is it some of the best love stories and/or romances other than romance novels involve a great beauty and a male who is physically handicapped in some way? We are taught to make sure the hero is flawed in other ways.
Consider:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Esmeralda.
The Beauty and the Beast.The Phantom of the Opera.
The mystery writer, Jeffery Deaver, writes of a quadriplegic NYPD consultant, Lincoln Rhyme and the woman who loves him, detective Amelia Sachs.
I asked my wife who is an avid reader of romances if she
could remember any hero who had a physical handicap. She not only said no, she
said women who read romance want escape. The guy’s rich, handsome etc.
My gut tells me, if it is well written; a physical flaw
would elevate the drama and make the romance sweeter (to say nothing of making
it harder to write).
Help me here. Are
there heroes with physical flaws in romance novels? Does RWA have an opinion?
On the flip side, my heart went out to the blind heroine in
THE IVORY CANE by Janet Dailey. It inspired me to write a not yet published
novel about a blind heroine. I enjoyed the challenge of describing her world
and developing her character and the man who loved her. Let’s not forget many
fine movies, i.e. An Affair to Remember, A Patch of Blue. . . .
Is it just me and my male POV or do you yearn for a breakout
novel with a hero who is physically flawed? Would you dare write one?
A funny thought, I suppose all these vampires, werewolves
etc. are very much physically flawed. My wife doesn’t read them. Are there any,
non-paranormal physically flawed heroes in our romance novels? If not, why not?
A patch of Blue, 1965, Sydney Portier with Elizabeth Hartman playing a blind white teenager.
Please girls, tell me why we can't write with a physically handicapped hero. In so many romance novels, the secondary characters are handicapped. My wife is wrong, but I'm not going to tell her.
