Frye on Romance

I'm sure everyone wanted to see my ridiculous notes on Frye on Romance,
but here they are anyway. Now, when I expose my thoughts more fully, there will be
something to refer to (for me at least).

Most notes are direct quotes from Anatomy of Criticism by Northrup Frye. Page numbers
appear above the relevant section.


186
BASICS
Wish-fulfillment dream
feeds on hopes and desires; ever-present
childlike and nostalgic for a golden age
plot is adventure; the quest
187
THREE STAGES (importance of threes)
1) AGON – conflict (perilous journey and minor conflicts)
2) PATHOS – death struggle (crucial struggle ends in at least one death)
3) ANAGNORISIS – discovery (exaltation of the hero)

OTHER IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF ROMANCE
Protagonist/hero & Antagonist/enemy
Form is dialectical
Hero (upper world) --> Our world <-- Enemy (lower world)
188
Inescapable connection to solar myth and sun-god
Reading as critics vs. Reading for fun
Divine ® myth ® canonical ® heavier weight of conceptual meaning
Myth as metaphorical key to the displacements of romance
189
Dragon-killing theme
Monster/Leviathan = sterility, sin, death
190 Labyrinth in the belly
Killing monster releases former victims from belly
Ariadne figure
191
Two concentric quest-myths in the Bible
1. Genesis – apocalypse
2. Exodus – millennium
Importance of sea/water symbolism
192
If leviathan = death, then hero enters death, dies, rebirth, resurrection

Now, we have a FOUR PART QUEST-MYTH
1) AGON – conflict
2) PATHOS – death, often of both the hero and the enemy
3) SPARAGMOS – disappearance of the hero (tearing to pieces)
4) ANAGNORISIS – reappearance and recognition of hero

These are also the FOUR PARTS OF A CENTRAL UNIFYING MYTH
1) ANAGNORISIS = COMEDY
2) AGON = ROMANCE
3) PATHOS = TRAGEDY
4) SPARAGMOS = IRONY

Treasure -- wealth -- power/wisdom (prophet/oracle/sibyl) requires mutilation or
handicap
193
Quest-romance translates to
DREAM as Deliverance from anxieties of reality, but will still contain that reality
RITUAL as Victory of fertility over wasteland
195-6
CHARACTERIZATION in Romance is not usually subtle or complex
· for quest or against
· two women – duty and pleasure
· faithful companion and traitor
· heroine and siren/beautiful witch
· dragon and friendly animals
· those who are morally neutral and have connections with the natural world
197
FOUR POLES OF CHARACTERIZATION
ROMANCE COMEDY
1) hero eiron
2) enemy alazon
3) nature spirits buffoon or master of ceremonies
PURPOSE is to intensify and provide focus for romantic mood
4) ???? agroikos (rustic clown)
PURPOSE would be to call attention to realistic aspects of life; practical;
the more realistic the story, the more important this character would be
198-203
SIX ISOLATABLE PHASES which form a cyclical sequence
1) Myth of the birth of the hero
a) water-based
b) flood, ark, animals
c) false father
d) false mother
2) Innocent youth
a) malaise; longing to enter the world of action
b) may be close to taboos; sexual barrier
3) Normal quest theme
4) Maintaining the integrity of the innocent world against assault of experience
a) May be individual, social, or both
b) image of the monster tamed and controlled by a virgin
5) Reflective, idyllic view of experience from above
a) natural cycle is prominent
b) contemplative withdrawal from action
c) experience as comprehended NOT as mystery
d) moral stratification of characters
6) End of movement from active to contemplative adventure
a) image of old man in tower
b) return to beginning
c) framing “cuddle fiction” device may be used
d) apocalyptic floods and life must begin anew (see many examples in sci-fi)
203-206
Point of Epiphany
- associated with mountain tops
- connection between earth and heaven or sun
- may be erotic – the summit of natural experience
- top of the wheel of fortune