The Love Hypothesis is a New York Times best seller romance, taking place in a biology lab, involving fake dating, horrible communication, needless pining, and as usual- smut. Readers may be opposed to the usage of smut in modern literature becoming an outbreak. An outbreak that not only takes away from the plot, but makes it impossible to write a book without readers begging for smut, and impossible to read without stumbling upon a rude awakening to human anatomy. However, I believe the usage of smut in The Love Hypothesis to be an important plot device.
As one might use the death of a character to ruffle their feathers into realizing that their actions are bad, or maybe even becoming evil, smut slaps a character into realizing their feelings. Sex is, in actuality, a plot device. Romance is a hard genre to write, because it is one of the most reliant on formulaic writing, so when trying to find a plot device, it’s hard to find something realistic and not overused. You could kill off a character in romance, that’s realistic- death. Yet, how many characters would you have to add? How much will it really help someone understand their feelings (in the context of a romance novel)? Of course a character can talk about their feelings with their family, friends, consigliere, etc. Yet, how far does that go into changing character dynamics? It does change how one character may act towards another, but when in need of a fast change in dynamics that potentially affects both characters involved, why not use sex as a plot device?
Chapter sixteen of the love hypothesis sent all the soccer moms into a wizard of Oz-esque tornado-like spiral, but was it really so bad? Olive (our protagonist) already was aware of her feelings for Adam (our male lead), as was Adam of his feelings for her. Yet, Olive was the only one who had the chance to convey the whole truth to her trusted friend, Adam didn’t get that relief. Both assumed the other wasn’t interested in them, both consented to sex, both realized the other’s attraction to them. Even so, neither was aware that the feelings of the other could surpass friendship mixed with the devil’s tango. Sex, importantly, gave the characters hope. Along with other rude awakenings they discover separately during that weekend, having sex changed their dynamic to “hopelessly pining but the other is just a friend” to “hopefully pining while uncertain of the other’s romantic feelings”. Chapter sixteen, allowed for the two characters to finally be somewhat honest about their feelings (with and towards each other), even if mostly highlighting physical compatibility (and lack thereof). Coitus (sex, intercourse, in this case fornication), is a helpful plot device in this case, because it allows for the characters to talk alone. It’s a private and intimate (not just physically) moment. Here, it’s an example of a realistic way to change dynamics when all you’re working with is romance.
In conclusion, sex is an acceptable plot device. I may not love (or even like) to see smut in every romance novel, because it’s definitely not the only plot device out there. However, it is a plot device, and easily utilized for realistic romance (although balancing romance and grad school doesn’t seem super realistic). Sex is real. So is love. Why not both?
Author’s note- smut is not intended to be derogatory more than to reference written sex.
Works Cited: Hazelwood, Ali. The Love Hypothesis. 2021.
.png)
Good work, Sophie. This blog post definitely caught my eye immediately, and I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but now that I've read it I see your point. Sex as a plot device is definitely a very common romance trope that could be replace with something more complex, but I see your point that it makes for a realistic dynamic.
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks for not being scared by the title. Also, I think it can be done tastefully, but it often feels out of place. It tends to sort of just be stuck in there for the sake of having it, and doesn't change the story/ serve the story at all.
ReplyDelete