Romance has always played a major role in human literature. Romance and women in fiction have a connected to one another. But what makes romance and women in fiction compelling to readers?
Women and female characters have been defined by their relationships. They may be passionate lovers, reluctant heroines, or characters resisting societal norms. It’s important to consider these factors if you want to make your female characters stand out to readers.
In modern times, romance and women in fiction has earned some negativity. It has become unrealistic and focuses on physical and erotic aspects rather than the human condition. Many fantasy stories have fallen into overused tropes, from shallow ‘insta-romance’ to the glorification of toxic relationships.
So how do we get back to heart? How can writers tackle romance in a way that creates depth and keeps the reader invested in the relationship of two characters?
In this blog, we’ll delve into how romance and women in fiction often reflect cultural values, and why these stories continue to resonate with readers. Together, we’ll explore the magic and meaning behind women’s journeys in romance.
Setting the Stage for Depth in Romance and Women in Fiction
Like anything in nature, capturing romance and women in fiction is all about balance. This is going to depend on the genre. That’s the first question you have to answer. Are you writing a romance novel or a fantasy novel with a romantic subplot? Is romance going to be front and center or one minor component?
Romance and women in fiction: Romance Central Plots
In stories where romance is the focus, romance in fiction is at its most compelling when it is more than just a backdrop or a superficial trope—it becomes a powerful force driving character growth, story development, and emotional connection. To craft meaningful romantic narratives, especially ones centered on women, it’s essential to move beyond the clichés of “insta-love” and overdone tropes that prioritize physical attraction over emotional depth. Instead, the focus should shift toward relationships that are authentic, complex, and reflective of the characters’ personal journeys.
One key to achieving this is creating female protagonists who are fully realized individuals with their own goals, struggles, and strengths. Readers are increasingly looking for characters who go beyond the “strong woman” archetype—a stereotype that often sacrifices nuance in favor of portraying an overly independent, unrelatable persona. True strength in female characters lies in their vulnerability, courage, and ability to grow through the relationships they have and the hardships they face. Femininity itself, often dismissed in modern portrayals, can be a source of profound power, offering nurturing, wisdom, and resilience that enrich a narrative.
Romantic Subplot
For romantic subplots, romance should be more subtle. It must be woven seamlessly into the larger story. Instead of being the sole focus, it should complement the protagonist’s broader arc, reflecting their personal growth and the themes of the story. Whether it’s a fantasy epic, a slice-of-life drama, or a thrilling sci-fi adventure, romance should feel organic—a natural outcome of two characters’ shared experiences and mutual understanding. This approach not only keeps readers invested in the relationship but also creates a narrative that feels balanced and multidimensional.
In particular, I want to examine three tropes that lend well to any story, whether a romance or a romantic subplot: The long evolving friends to lovers trope, the forbidden love trope, and the equally long evolving enemies to friends to lovers trope.
Why Romance and Women in Fiction Are Essential to Storytelling
Romance has been a central theme in literature since the written language was developed. We as humans are defined by our emotions. How we interact with one another, how we express love and relationships, is important for understanding humanity. Romance is a powerful narrative to add into your writing. It provides emotional depth, personal transformation, and a sense of intimacy that readers will relate to.
To make the most of romance in your writing, it’s important not to fall into cliques. For romance to be meaningful, it must go beyond surface-level attraction. Strong character development, emotional vulnerability, and genuine connection are essential.
How Romance and Women in Fiction Reflect Society’s Values
Romance is a way to explore society’s expectations. Gender roles and cultural values as they have evolved through time can be explored. Consider this when writing fantasy and science fiction as well. How does your society see men and women?
Authors can explore how men and women interact, how they face the challenges that they are confronted with, and how they seek one another out.
Cultural Expectations
Romantic narratives can reveal societal norms. They can highlight what a society finds taboo and acceptable. There is always a push and balance to be had between society and community and the individual.
Breaking Stereotypes: Romance and Women in Fiction
In modern times, female characters have become unpopular due to a lot of forced narratives. Controversial feminist activism has seeped its way into fiction, especially in fantasy and science fiction genres. It’s caused a lot of backlash because female characters in these modern books and TV shows have the reputation of being unrealistic, unlikable, unnecessarily aggressive, and masculine.
Stereotypes about romance and women in fiction often portray femininity as weak or subordinate. However, well-developed female characters can embrace their feminine traits while still exhibiting strength, resilience, and complexity.
But there’s a way to navigate these negative stereotypes and create female characters that are realistic, feminine, and strong. These are some female character tropes that have become cliche and unpopular and these are the ways to fix them. Check out my article on Mary-Sue‘s for ways to create believable female characters.
The overly masculine woman
We often equate strength with masculinity and weakness with femininity. To compensate, a lot of writers often sacrifice femininity in favor of a character with overly masculine traits.
Understanding the divine feminine can help with this. Check out my article on divine feminine. But femininity offers its own strengths. It can be resilience, resistance, and endurance. Give your character the emotional strength to handle what challenges she deals with. But make sure she is also vulnerable. This creates a realistic character with strengths and weaknesses.
The Damsel in Distress
The damsel in distress is common in fairy tales, but it often portrays a woman that lacks agency. If the ‘damsel in distress’ represents an internal struggle, she should take steps to help herself, even if someone ultimately rescues her.
It’s okay for the prince to rescue the princess. But the princess should look to help herself as well. Maybe she is aiding her own rescue by manipulating her captor. If the ‘damsel in distress’ symbolizes an internal struggle, she should actively seek ways to help herself, even if someone eventually rescues her.
The Hysterical Woman
It’s no secret that women are more sensitive and emotional than men. We are designed with a temperament that includes empathy and compassion. But there always needs to be balance. There is a level of emotional maturity and intelligence that should be explored. An overly emotional woman can be a drain on the emotional energy of others.
Make your character emotionally vulnerable when she needs to be. Let her express compassion and empathy. But she can also exude a level of logic and reasoning that doesn’t cloud her judgement and allows her to hold her own.
The Martyr Woman
This female character is constantly taking on everyone else’s burdens. In a way, she is the opposite of the damsel in distress or the hysterical woman. She always bites off more than she can chew. But she refuses to accept help from others and refuses to show vulnerability. She sees vulnerability as weakness.
This woman is often rigid, cold, and aloof. Through the course of the story, she should be vulnerable. She learns to let her walls down and trust others and ask for help, sharing the burden.
The Over sexualized woman
This woman is a problem in modern society where modern literature has become overly sexualized. Don’t see your character as an object because your readers will see her that way too. And too often, these characters are used as a cheap way to get attention from readers. Because sex sells.
But the ‘sex sells’ ideal is only skin deep. Your character needs to be more than a way for instant gratification. Give her a purpose, goals, dreams.
Using Romance and Women in Fiction to Strengthen Narratives
When integrated properly, romance can become a vital part of the storytelling, even if it’s a minor subplot. It can weave through the fabric of your story and create deep characters that readers will relate to.
By introducing high stakes and emotional investment, you will give readers a reason to care about your characters. By creating conflict and tension, both internal and external, characters will face obstacles and growth challenges.
Complementing other Themes
Romance can be blended into any genre. Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, adventure, etc. It can enhance the plot and provide nuance. It doesn’t have to overshadow the main plot either.
Tropes that add depth and Versatility
A trope is a familiar plot point that writers often use in genre fiction. They are patterns and themes that readers recognize. Not to be confused with a cliche which are themes and patterns that are often seen as over done, dull, and unrelatable by readers. These are three powerful tropes for romance and women in fiction that can be used. Check out this list of common tropes here.
The Long Evolving Friends to Lovers Trope
This trope offers the chance to really dive deep into your character and their love interest long before that romantic spark. It’s a relationship that develops slowly over the course of the novel. With this trope, a writer can focus more on crafting a character that’s well defined.
This story is character driven. Maybe there’s a lot more going on in the character’s life and romance isn’t on the plate in the beginning. Maybe the love interest starts out as a complete stranger and through the course of a series of events that keep bringing them together, they slowly form a friendship that later evolves into romance.
These relationships have the potential to be long lasting.
The Forbidden Love Trope
This is a favorite trope because the obstacles to overcome creates the main conflict. This trope gives you the chance to bring depth to your society and world building. What is keeping your couple from being together? Maybe one is rich, and the other is poor. Maybe they come from rival feuding families. Whatever the obstacle, the characters must overcome it if they want to be together. Maybe a couple is forced to carry on their love affair in secret, always afraid of discovery. What would it mean if they were to be discovered? What would the consequences be? Define the stakes.
The enemies to lovers trope
This trope needs be handled carefully. Define the nature of why these two characters are at odds. Maybe one of them is a member of a group that the other was taught to hate all their lives. Maybe because they are on opposite sides of a war.
It’s important to use caution because if the enemy is some irredeemable super villain and your main character falls in love with them anyway, despite everything they’ve done to hurt others, this can be a very problematic relationship that will turn readers off. And romanticizing abuse and hurting others is never a good thing.
But if you navigate it right, this is a really interesting trope that will draw readers in and make them care about your characters.
Bringing it all together: romance and women in fiction
No matter the genre, romance and women in fiction will continue to shape storytelling, offering emotional depth, cultural insight, and compelling narratives that captivate readers.
Romance is just one type of character relationship to explore. Relationships are the heart of human nature and literature isa way to express our feelings about certain relationships.
What are your favorite romantic tropes? Who are your favorite female characters in literature? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
For more insights on crafting strong female characters, check out my related post: Mary-Sues and the Divine Feminine!”
