The heroine has suffered terrible trauma. She was kidnapped by a motorcycle gang, or an alien, or an evil ex-husband, or a nasty lover, or a hairy beast, a pack of wolves, a mad kangaroo, or she has been abused, stalked, beaten and left for dead, or thrown off a mountain, or survived an earthquake. And now, alone and vulnerable, she is about to fall in love.
Here comes the hero who will provide care/security/understanding/protection and wild sex.
Or will he? Because sometimes, even our hero has been traumatized by bad love, or was jilted at the altar, or used for his money, or wounded in a war. Sometimes he was abused in school, or by terrible parents, or by an evil sibling, or a nasty witch, or a sorcerer, or else he has barely survived a tornado.
In short: two walking wounded.
What happens now? In Romance books, the hero and heroine will overcome trauma, work through their ghastly experience, then love each other and themselves and find perfect bliss… for FOREVER.
The Trauma Trope: loved by readers and writers alike. But what happens in real life?
In real life, trauma results in significant and permanent fear, confusion, helplessness, and dissociation, thus creates emotionally strained relationships. Highly charged disagreements will be frequent; even loving partners are seen as enemies. Too often, traumatized people are unresponsive and unable to communicate. They will always doubt a partner’s fidelity and will have difficulty accepting love.
In other words, the Trauma Trope? It’s just another fairytale.
2 comments:
Great post, and what you wrote is so true. When I write, I'm very careful not to have instant love, which is totally unbelievable. Having been through the wringer myself with romance, I sometimes struggle with making the hero a good guy but real. You know, a pain in the ass at times.
That said, given the state of the world today, I'm opting for fairytales and fantasy. I - and many people I know - need a break until things get better.
Agreed, Tina
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