Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice

Narges Zarei

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice

Narges Zarei

Published in Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 4, Issue 6)

Received: 4 September 2018 Accepted: 9 October 2018 Published: 25 January 2019

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Abstract

According to literary histories, there are many texts and poems which are written within the frame of romance before their being recognized as a specific genre in the 12th century. Although the basis of all romances since its unknown date of birth up to now have been love, travel, and adventure, the presentations of them have changed a lot throughout the history especially during the last decades of the twentieth century when postmodern romances appear to be the popular ones. This research is a comparative examination of traditional and postmodern romance features in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in comparison to the conventional romances namely Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The fundamental idea of this research was trigged by some questions including what is the difference between Marry Me: A Romance and conventional romances namely Pride and Prejudice? And how does John Updike dissociate Marry Me: A Romance from the norms of conventional romance? The answers of these two questions are definitely prerequisite for this research. It explores the points where Updike departs Marry Me from the conventions of romance strategies indicated in Pride and Prejudice which is a traditional romance in terms of form. The researcher scrutinizes the elements of conventional romance in regard to form such as Mythos, Historical Mode, Hero’s Superiority in Degree, Love, and Quest to point out where both novels share the same traditional elements and where Updike detaches Marry Me from those conventions. To do so, mostly the arguments of Northrop Frye on form given in his book: Anatomy of Criticism would be enforced to these novels. The results of the research demonstrate that apparently Updike has changed the conventions of romance to the extent that Marry Me identified as a realistic novel by a number of critics, is truly a postmodern romance with a number of dissociated facets of the traditional ones while Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is doubtlessly a conventional one as it is entirely ardent to the conventions of romance.

Published in	Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15
Page(s)	90-95
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Marry Me: A Romance, Pride and Prejudice, Traditional Romance, Postmodern Romance, Form, Northrop Frye, Ending

References

[1]	Amis, Martin. “Updike’s Version”. Observer Review 30. Aug. 1987.
[2]	Austen. Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. R. W. Chapman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.
[3]	Berthold. Dennis. “Romancing History, Historicizing Romance”. Chicago Journals. Modern Philosophy, Vol. 89, No. 1 [Aug, 1991]; 52-62.
[4]	Chase. Richard. The American Novel and Its Tradition. London: The John Hopkins University Press, 1990.
[5]	Freeman, Kimberly A. ‘‘Divorce Me Romance and Realism in John Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance". Love American Style: Divorce and the American Novel, 1881-1976. New York: Routledge, 2003.
[6]	Farmer, Cadmen. Imagination and Idealism in John Updike’s Fiction. Sydney: Boydell and brewer, Limited, 2017.
[7]	Frye Northrop. The Secular Scripture: A Study of the Structure of Romance. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982.
[8]	‘‘Archetypal Criticism: Theory of Myths”. Anatomy of Criticism. 6th ed. U. K: Princeton University Press, 1990.
[9]	Hawthorn, Nathaniel. Preference to the House of Seven Gables. London: Everyman, 1995.
[10]	Hudson. Glenda. A. “Precious Remains of the Earliest Attachment: Sibling Love in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice”. A Publication of the Jane Austin Society of North America. December 16, 1989. Web. February 4, 2016.
[11]	Hunt. George W. John Updike and the Three Great Secret Things: Sex, Religion, and Art. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.
[12]	Kazin, Alfred. ‘‘Alfred Kazin on Fiction [Review of Marry Me]’’. Critical Essays on John Updike. Comp. Macnaughton, William R. U. S: G. K. Hall and Co., 1982.
[13]	Newman, Judie. Modern Novelists: John Updike. London: Macmillan Publishers LTD, 1988.
[14]	Schiff. James., et al. The John Updike Review, Vol. 6, No. 1 [Winter 2018].
[15]	Updike, John. Marry Me: A Romance. U. S: The Ballan2ne Publishing Group, 1976.
[16]	A Study of Short Fiction. Michigan: Twayne Publishers, 1993.

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Narges Zarei. (2019). Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 4(6), 90-95. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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Narges Zarei. Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2019, 4(6), 90-95. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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AMA Style

Narges Zarei. Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Adv Sci Humanit. 2019;4(6):90-95. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15,
  author = {Narges Zarei},
  title = {Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {4},
  number = {6},
  pages = {90-95},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20180406.15},
  abstract = {According to literary histories, there are many texts and poems which are written within the frame of romance before their being recognized as a specific genre in the 12th century. Although the basis of all romances since its unknown date of birth up to now have been love, travel, and adventure, the presentations of them have changed a lot throughout the history especially during the last decades of the twentieth century when postmodern romances appear to be the popular ones. This research is a comparative examination of traditional and postmodern romance features in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in comparison to the conventional romances namely Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The fundamental idea of this research was trigged by some questions including what is the difference between Marry Me: A Romance and conventional romances namely Pride and Prejudice? And how does John Updike dissociate Marry Me: A Romance from the norms of conventional romance? The answers of these two questions are definitely prerequisite for this research. It explores the points where Updike departs Marry Me from the conventions of romance strategies indicated in Pride and Prejudice which is a traditional romance in terms of form. The researcher scrutinizes the elements of conventional romance in regard to form such as Mythos, Historical Mode, Hero’s Superiority in Degree, Love, and Quest to point out where both novels share the same traditional elements and where Updike detaches Marry Me from those conventions. To do so, mostly the arguments of Northrop Frye on form given in his book: Anatomy of Criticism would be enforced to these novels. The results of the research demonstrate that apparently Updike has changed the conventions of romance to the extent that Marry Me identified as a realistic novel by a number of critics, is truly a postmodern romance with a number of dissociated facets of the traditional ones while Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is doubtlessly a conventional one as it is entirely ardent to the conventions of romance.},
 year = {2019}
}

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Author Information

Narges Zarei

Department of English Literature, Science and Research Branch University, Tehran, Iran

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Narges Zarei. (2019). Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 4(6), 90-95. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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ACS Style

Narges Zarei. Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2019, 4(6), 90-95. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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AMA Style

Narges Zarei. Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Adv Sci Humanit. 2019;4(6):90-95. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15

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@article{10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15,
  author = {Narges Zarei},
  title = {Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {4},
  number = {6},
  pages = {90-95},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20180406.15},
  abstract = {According to literary histories, there are many texts and poems which are written within the frame of romance before their being recognized as a specific genre in the 12th century. Although the basis of all romances since its unknown date of birth up to now have been love, travel, and adventure, the presentations of them have changed a lot throughout the history especially during the last decades of the twentieth century when postmodern romances appear to be the popular ones. This research is a comparative examination of traditional and postmodern romance features in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in comparison to the conventional romances namely Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The fundamental idea of this research was trigged by some questions including what is the difference between Marry Me: A Romance and conventional romances namely Pride and Prejudice? And how does John Updike dissociate Marry Me: A Romance from the norms of conventional romance? The answers of these two questions are definitely prerequisite for this research. It explores the points where Updike departs Marry Me from the conventions of romance strategies indicated in Pride and Prejudice which is a traditional romance in terms of form. The researcher scrutinizes the elements of conventional romance in regard to form such as Mythos, Historical Mode, Hero’s Superiority in Degree, Love, and Quest to point out where both novels share the same traditional elements and where Updike detaches Marry Me from those conventions. To do so, mostly the arguments of Northrop Frye on form given in his book: Anatomy of Criticism would be enforced to these novels. The results of the research demonstrate that apparently Updike has changed the conventions of romance to the extent that Marry Me identified as a realistic novel by a number of critics, is truly a postmodern romance with a number of dissociated facets of the traditional ones while Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is doubtlessly a conventional one as it is entirely ardent to the conventions of romance.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Postmodern Glorification of Romance in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in Comparison to Austin’s Pride and Prejudice
AU  - Narges Zarei
Y1  - 2019/01/25
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 90
EP  - 95
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20180406.15
AB  - According to literary histories, there are many texts and poems which are written within the frame of romance before their being recognized as a specific genre in the 12th century. Although the basis of all romances since its unknown date of birth up to now have been love, travel, and adventure, the presentations of them have changed a lot throughout the history especially during the last decades of the twentieth century when postmodern romances appear to be the popular ones. This research is a comparative examination of traditional and postmodern romance features in Updike’s Marry Me: A Romance in comparison to the conventional romances namely Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The fundamental idea of this research was trigged by some questions including what is the difference between Marry Me: A Romance and conventional romances namely Pride and Prejudice? And how does John Updike dissociate Marry Me: A Romance from the norms of conventional romance? The answers of these two questions are definitely prerequisite for this research. It explores the points where Updike departs Marry Me from the conventions of romance strategies indicated in Pride and Prejudice which is a traditional romance in terms of form. The researcher scrutinizes the elements of conventional romance in regard to form such as Mythos, Historical Mode, Hero’s Superiority in Degree, Love, and Quest to point out where both novels share the same traditional elements and where Updike detaches Marry Me from those conventions. To do so, mostly the arguments of Northrop Frye on form given in his book: Anatomy of Criticism would be enforced to these novels. The results of the research demonstrate that apparently Updike has changed the conventions of romance to the extent that Marry Me identified as a realistic novel by a number of critics, is truly a postmodern romance with a number of dissociated facets of the traditional ones while Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is doubtlessly a conventional one as it is entirely ardent to the conventions of romance.
VL  - 4
IS  - 6
ER  -

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