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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

What the X is going on? VBR


Bear with me for a moment as I eXplain myself -

I firmly believe that the trilogy 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon that is all the rage right now has the classic novel Jane Eyre as it's inspiration.  (The fact that the young woman in 50 Shades holds a degree in Early English Literature is probably just a little coincidence. wink wink nod nod)

Jane Eyre, Mr. Grey? What?? How? Who? Where?

Let me eXxplain - Poor girl meets rich jaded damaged man.  Girl becomes enmeshed in the man's world. A world of wealth, privilege, power, and oh yeah - a brooding, decadent dark secret, that all of his loyal servants seem to be in on.   Girl tries to resist falling under his spell. Girl finds herself doing and being involved in things that she is not sure she is comfortable with.  Oh, but Man, he is so fragile despite l his gruff and domineering ways.  He is in pain, pain of the heart and soul.  But, Girl, well she who has led a plain life with little exposure to wild wanton things, she knows just how to help the poor man heal. She understands his demons.  She shows emotional maturity not often seen in one who can still blow out her birthday candles in one quick breath.  She endures his insensitive ways, his demanding unreasonable behavior, with little more than a demur "Yes, Sir".

And, then, of course, we have the crazy nutter broad in the attic, or  the blond in the day spa.  Both of which seem to have  pasts that are shall we say 'wicked' -  and not in a witch way. 

Now, Jane runs away from Mr. Rochester once she finds out nutty in the attic is in fact Mrs. R. She leaves the poor man to deal with his past and she tries to make a new life in a much more austere (but safe) place.

Mr. Grey's young lady, she does make a token effort to split when she realizes just what Sir's proclivities might entail.  Mr. Grey goes into a bit of a tailspin at her departure, the poor misunderstood billionaire.

BUT! It's kinda hard to stay away from a good looking guy, who is a billionaire, showers her with baubles and little fancy sports cars, the best wine and food, private jet and helicopter, clothes to die for, artwork. Her wish is his command.

So, she pulls up her big girl pants and goes back to 'fiX' her broken man. (With an emphasis on embracing the X).

Jane, also goes back, BUT, she goes back only after Crazy Woman has jumped off the roof, blinding Rochester in his attempts to save her.  He is just a poor damaged blind dude heartsick over the loss of the only love he ever had, Little Jane.

And, this is where my question What the X is going  on? comes into play.

Why is it that modern 'romance' novels require the male to be incredibly rich and good looking. No Joe the Plumber or Sid the Accountant for our young heroines.  No, she can only be won by Mr. Rich Goodlooking Dude.     The abominable behavior they eXhibit (and I am not even talking about the Xrated parts here) seems to  all be eXcusable, because after all one should be a little more patient with Mr. Rich Goodlooking Dude after all.  Umm....NO! 

It seems that Mr. Grey may be in Mr. Rochester's storyline, but he bears a startling resemblance to the infamous - and for my money, the original Mr Stalker Psychopath - Heathcliff.

Oh well, who knows,  maybe in mommy porn land one can miX the men, much as one would miX a martini, or maybe a metaphor.   MiXing men, hmmm.....that leads me to another pet peeve in the world of romance novels, but that is best saved for another time, another place, another letter of the alphabet.

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16 comments:

  1. that was quite the trilogy, wasn't it? i'm not sure what i thought of it overall...but i confess to having read them all to see how it turned out. minus the s&m it is the traditional love story. i guess that s&m is the answer to "today's" love story. i enjoyed reading your post. great writing! maybe you should write your own book since you have a gift with words!

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  2. Such an interesting post, I must admit - although I have not read 50 Shades of Grey. Well I have read Jane Eyre several times, though. Does that count for anything?

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  3. Wonderful post and excellent questions ~ Don't plan on reading 50 Shades of Grey ~ what you write seems to make lots of sense ~ (A Creative Harbor) ^_^

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  4. Absolutely loved this, but I'm clueless. I've not read either book.

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  5. Hi Mrs. Bee, I liked your write up. I have not read the book and doubht if I ever will so it was a big help for me.

    I am sure that Mrs. Jim has read it, she has read just about everything. XD
    ..

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  6. Hi all! I read that 50 shades thing because I needed to know what the big hoohah was.

    As far as I am concerned reading Jane Eyre multiple times and not reading 50Shades even once counts DOUBLE!!!

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  7. Clever you!
    Jane Eyre - read and read again.
    Fifty Shades - started it and thought my teeth or mind might rot before I could get through it!

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  8. I'm not big into reading novels of such. That got away from me years ago with the onset of kiddies. My brain can only focus on short pieces found in magazines at best. But, you know a romance story wouldn't be a romance story without the ruthless or dashingly handsome wealthy man for the heroine to meet fall in love with or to change completely around. Thanks for the insightfulness into 50 Shades of Grey on Alphabe-Thursday. Also, thanks for stopping by! ;)

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  9. I love this! I've always had issues with the if the guy is rich enough, the girl will swoon. I know some relationships in real life are based on money, but seriously haven't women come far enough to claim their own right to happiness, not based on what a man's idea of her happiness should be?

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  10. excellent post -- and I completely agree with you. (Haven't read Gray, but have read and re-read Jane Eyre many times. Best.Romance.Ever.)
    Sue

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  11. Great "X" post! I never put the 2 novels together in terms of theme before, but I believe you're right. I'll have to go back and read "Jane Eyre" again to see.

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  12. I agree, there probably is much too much emphasis on money and looks these days.

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  13. hmm...Thanks for synopsis! Now I don't have to actually read it. Although almost everyone I know is --or has.
    Mr. Rich Goodlooking Dude--Oh don't we all simply long for that--even if he IS a cad?!

    (PS: Sadly, I can never get to your blog from comments left on mine. This is the message I get: "The Blogger Profile you requested cannot be displayed. Many Blogger users have not yet elected to publicly share their Profile."

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  14. Okay, I think I fixed the problem!

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  15. Interesting take. BTW - I have the same problem as Splendid Little Stars...thanks for you visits and comments, though. If you visit this week, you'll see I'm pulling away for a bit...:(

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  16. Amen, sister!

    I read this book.

    Don't tell my Mom, though, okay?

    ha!

    I think we need to change it up a bit. How about poor cute guy grovels for screwed up rich girl?

    Oh wait.

    We already read about that with celebrities.

    Okay.

    never mind!

    Thanks for an Xcellent link this week.

    A+

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