ABSTRACT
It has often been pointed out that in contemporary popular romantic novels the external world drops away from the text except as a setting, leaving the hero and heroine viewing each other in a one-dimensional universe.1 If one function of romance is to move woman from her position of heterosexual subordin ation to one of unified and secure subjectivity, then the romantic relationship is the place where women find their authentic selves and have their identities estab lished, completed and confirmed - in a kind of natural, absolute possession outside of any social, economic, or political context. The narrative leads to resolution through heterosexual union, which closes down the possibility of other desires and other narratives, and relegates women to a position beyond culture and history, firmly placed in the realm of ‘nature’ and ‘eternal truth’.
