Gender stereotyping in popular fiction plays a crucial part in the construction of the story.
The stereotypes that are exerted are variable depending on the genre of the text .Different
Genres have different criteria’s with regards to gender stereotyping .The stereotyping is
Crucial to the reader’s enjoyment, as the reader will most probably have some
preconceived ideas of the roles in which male and female characters are placed .This
idea varies again due to the genre of the text .The extracts I have chosen to analyze are
‘Carrie’ and ‘Marriage to Be?’ Both are contemporary texts, however ‘Carrie’ is of the
Horror genre and ‘Marriage to be?’ is a romantic fiction text.
‘Marriage to be?’ is a well suited title for the book as basically, marriage is where the
story will progress to .The extract opens with descriptions of an idyllic setting ‘It was soft
, light snowfall, dusting the roads and trees ‘(Gail Link, Marriage to be?, 1996) .The
Extract continues onto an introduction to the heroine ‘Emma’ .Emma is introduced to us
with her subconscious thoughts of repressed feelings for her forbidden love .’Emma
found her thoughts wandering back to the hours just past ,to the things she’d learned
about Burke ‘. She elaborates on this by adding ‘She wanted to reach out and touch him
in some way ‘(Gail Link ,Marriage to be?, 1996) .This behaviour is stereotypical of the
romantic genre . The extract goes on to add that Emma is vulnerable ‘and she was
vulnerable ’ (Gail Link ,Marriage to be? ,1996 ).The formula in romantic fiction
generally entails an attractive vulnerable female meeting a handsome strong male. The
technique of giving us Emmas subconscious enables the reader to build rapport with
the heroine, which is an essential factor in reader enjoyment .
Our introduction to the main character in ‘Carrie’ is somewhat different .Carrie is first
introduced to us when the buckets of blood fall on...