“Or dead, either way.”Alcott herself never married and thought that Jo “should have remained a literary spinster”. But if the romance fantasy was long doled out to women as a compensation for powerlessness elsewhere, contemporary writers are increasingly turning the marriage plot on its head. Normal People, which won the Costa novel award and is being adapted for TV, is a story of first love. Marianne gets to experience the healing force of unconditional love from a good guy without giving up her independence. Anna acts out a love scene with a prince: “Who cares about danger when there’s love?” she says, making the toys kiss.

Source: The Guardian January 25, 2020 13:52 UTC