The Evolution of Dark Romance and How Its Meaning Changed
How, when and why the meaning of ''dark romance'' changed?
Time changes, so does the meaning of a phrase or word. This especially is the case for a field like literature where every day is a chance for a new movement, trend or genre to appear.
An example for this can be the (sub)genre dark romance. The term dark romance or dark romanticism first appeared in the 19th century when Gothic literature became popular. It was used as the other name for Gothic romance. Some of the characteristics of Gothic romance were a collective fascination with melancholia, crime, the grotesque, and the irrational. It explored complex female characters, anti-heroes, the depth of human emotions, the boundaries between love and fear, tragic and non-traditional love stories. However, dark romance is now used for a completely different meaning. A website explains dark romance by today's understanding as novels often come with content warnings, and they can explore role playing, abduction, rape fantasies, and kidnapping and captivity. So, it would not be wrong to say the meaning has changed quite a lot. How and when it happened?
The term ‘Gothic’ comes from the ancient Germanic tribe, The Goths, who are believed to have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. The literature genre was inspired by Medieval style of ornate architecture that originated in France. The beginning of the Gothic Literature is accepted as 1764, when The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole was published. Then, The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe followed and with so many more popular and influential works like Frankenstein, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Dracula the genre became popular.
As for Gothic Romance as a sub-genre, its beginning is accepted as A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe 1790. Then, with works like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights where the main character is a woman that challenges the traditions of the time, the subgenre gained popularity.
Then, in the 20th century Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier became one of the most famous Gothic romance authors. Authors like Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Phyllis A. Whitney followed her. Meanwhile, authors like Vincent Virga and Anne Rice brought queer stories into the genre.
The Gothic romances in the 19th and 20th century explored themes that were considered unsettling and challenged societal norms and science. They used semi-supernatural characters and setting while exploring human's capacity for evil and good.
However, as for the 21th century, the term dark romance became something completely different with the release of the Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James. Known for its heavily sexual themes and possesive characters, the novel changed the meaning of dark romance deeply.
Some of the modern dark romance books might still have some characteristics from the 19th century. They are non-traditional love stories, and they have a dark and unsettling setting. However, their main plot and focus have changed drastically. In the past, dark romance was about the mistakes of the humanbeings, their capacity, their fear, emotions, them crossing the boundries of the time. Now, dark romance focuses on the sexual themes and possesive male characters who are usually criminals or bullies. They have a traumatic past that causes them to become who they are and their love for the innocent female character is obsessesive and unhealthy.
Some of the popular dark romance books include Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton, God of Malice by Rina Kent, The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori and Corrupt by Penelope Douglas.
I don't think we can judge or interfere with what people read, but it is really interesting how this subgenre took a completely different turn than what it was before. The use of the non-traditional characters and love stories theme become love of a criminal instead. The dark setting become basements and mafia clubs instead of big castles and monastries. Exploring of the human capacity became the exploring of the love of a mafia boss or a kidnapper.
I think why modern dark romance is one of the most popular genres right now is a discussion we should have separately. Time, what people want to read, and the understanding of love all change. Who knows what will dark romance mean in another century?
References:
https://www.nedaaria.info/post/the-evolution-of-dark-romance-a-historical-perspective
https://bookcaseandcoffee.com/is-gothic-romance-the-same-as-dark-romance/
https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/romance/what-is-dark-romance-booktok-trend
https://seacrowbooks.com/blog/gothic-romance
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/10/03/brief-history-gothic-romance
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z9cssk7#zphjjsg
https://mytbr.co/what-is-dark-romance/