Romantic fantasy, or "romantasy", is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that combines fantasy and romance, bringing to fantasy many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre.[1] One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, political, and romantic.[2]
Romantic fantasy has been published by both fantasy lines and romance lines. It can be defined as a fantasy where the plot is so dependent on the romance that it would fall apart without it.[3] As a result of the financial success of authors such as Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros in the 2010s, publishers created imprints to focus on this subgenre. Some publishers distinguish between "romantic fantasy" where the fantasy elements is most important and "fantasy romance" where the romance are most important.[1] Others say that "the borderline between fantasy romance and romantic fantasy has essentially ceased to exist, or if it's still there, it's moving back and forth constantly".[4] Game historian Stu Horvath noted, "the heroes and heroines of romantic fantasy seek social connection and emotional wealth. Instead of carrying on by themselves, they find belonging in a community and a purpose larger than themselves. Magic and psychic abilities are often in-born talents; intelligent animals speak; and societies are egalitarian."[5]
Medieval and chivalric romance
Between the 12th and 15th centuries, there was a popularity in stories about knights going on quests. These quests frequently involved courtly love, specifically knights fell in love with noble ladies. They would also involve fantasy elements like dragons and magical places and objects. Examples from this period include; The Romance of the Rose, a French poem that blends love and fantasy in an allegorical way; Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, a collection of King Arthur stories, including the love story of Lancelot and Guinevere and set in the magical world of Camelot; Tristan and Isolde, a famous tale about forbidden love between a knight and a queen that involves many fantasy elements and is considered one of the first stories to mix romance and magic in a way that influenced later fantasy romance books.[6]
Renaissance
This era of romance and fantasy becomes more centered on theatre and poetry. Edmund Spenser’sThe Faerie Queene was a poem written in the late 1500s that combines knights, love stories, and magical creatures. It has had a big influence on modern romantic fantasy because it demonstrates a blend of romantic themes with fantasy world building. William Shakespeare's plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest feature fairies, magic, and love. Despite the fact that Shakespeare was not considered a fantasy author, these plays mix romance with fantasy, setting a template for later fantasy romance works.[7]
Origins of Modern Romantic Fantasy
Emma Bull's War for the Oaks published in 1987 follows a human woman who becomes drafted into a war between faeries and ends up falling in love with the same person who put her in danger. The fantasy very rich in Irish mythology but also strongly features romance at center of the story.[8] Fantasy and romance can be seen as similar in many ways. It is very common to see a combination of fantasy and romance today. For a very long time, both genres have not been taken seriously. Despite this, they have become incredibly popular.[9]
2023–2024: social media trend
In 2023 and 2024, romantic fantasy novels termed "romantasy" became a social media trend. Sales of the books have been widely driven by promotion on social media, particularly the part of TikTok known as BookTok.[10]Writer's Digest notes much of the credit for the rise in the romantic fantasy genre can be attributed to platforms such as TikTok, where word spreads more efficiently in speed and "influencability."[11]The Economist notes that the genre has particular appeal to those who grew up reading young-adult fantasy, such as Harry Potter, and are now interested in similar themes, but with adult themes of sex and romance.[12] Popular authors in the genre include Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros, whose Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm have all broken sales records and are due to be made into a TV series.[10][13] Authors of novels labeled as romantasy are largely women, as is the market, and the novels are known for representing minorities.[12][14]
Gender discussion in romantic fantasy
There is a complex discussion surrounding romantic fantasy and where they are examples of female empowerment or if they enforce misogyny and sexism. Some believe that these stories are feminist because they portray strong female characters that are warriors and heroines, frequently empower women, embrace their sexuality, and subvert gender roles such as the damsel in distress trope.[15] There is also a widespread belief that these stories are inherently feminist because they are primarily written for and enjoyed by women, as the majority of readers of romantic fiction novels are women between the ages of 18 to 44.[16]
On the other hand, others believe that these stories uphold patriarchy due to the fact that they often tie a woman's strength and empowerment to her male love interest or to her traditionally masculine traits such as aggression, physical strength, and stoicism. There is also an argument that romantic fantasy frequently portrays men in a way that strongly adheres to gender roles. Male love interests tend to be strong, ruthless men in positions of power who have tragic backstories and are rarely emotionally vulnerable, only ever breaking their stoic facade and showing emotions for their female partners once the romance blooms.[17]
Notable examples of romantic fantasy
Some examples of media in the romantic fantasy subgenre include:
Literature
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer – A love story between Bella Swan, a human girl, and Edward Cullen, a vampire, set in a world where supernatural beings coexist with humans.
The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman – Set in a magical world and features the romantic relationship between Princess Buttercup and her true love, Westley
Beauty and the Beast (1991) – Disney’s animated adaptation of the classic fairy tale, which focuses on the romantic relationship between Belle, a young woman, and the Beast, a prince who is magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance and cruelty.
The Princess Bride (1987) – The film adaptation of William Goldman’s novel, which is set in a magical world and features the romantic relationship between Princess Buttercup and her true love, Westley.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) – A story set in a visually fantastical world which focuses of Edward, an unfinished artificial humanoid that has scissors for hands, who falls in love with Kim, a teenage girl in an American suburban neighborhood.
Ghost (1990) – focuses on a murdered banker, whose ghost sets out to save his girlfriend from the person who killed him – through the help of the psychic.
Legend (1985) – A magical adventure in which Princess Lily and a hero named Jack must thwart the Lord of Darkness's evil plot to cover the world in eternal night.
Cinderella (1950) – Disney’s animated film adaptation of the classic European folk tale, which centers around the romantic relationship between Cinderella and Prince Charming, in a magical fairy-tale world.
Your Name (2016) - A romantic fantasy anime, where two high school students suddenly begin to swap bodies despite having never met, unleashing chaos onto each other's lives.
Television
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) – A cult TV series that focuses on the adventures of the teenage girl Buffy whom was chosen to fight vampires and various other creatures, as well as explores her romantic relationship with the vampire Angel.
True Blood (2008–2014) – A TV adaptation of The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by Charlaine Harris. The series is set in a world where vampires coexist with humans and it features the romantic relationship between a telepathic waitress and a mysterious vampire.
Beauty and the Beast (1987–1990) - A modern retelling of the classic fairy tale which is set in New York during the later 1980s and focuses on the romance between Catherine, a successful lawyer, and Vincent, a mysterious, lion-like man who lives in the tunnels beneath the city.
Video games
Xenogears: A JRPG set in a fictional world ruled by a highly technological country named Solaris. The protagonists, Fei Fong Wong and the Solaris officer Elhaym van Houten, are destined by reincarnation to fall in love with each other.
12Robinson, William C. (October 2004). "A Few Thoughts on the Fantasy Genre". University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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