Serial Sociality and the Forms of Fictional Love. Corpus-Based Mixed-Methods Analyses of the Liebesheftroman (romance dime novel)

Although the Liebesheftroman (romance dime novel) has long held a dominant position within the pulp fiction market, it remains, as Heinz J. Galle aptly describes, “terra incognita” within the fields of literary and cultural historiography. This is particularly regrettable given the genre’s immense circulation figures, which point to its significant cultural formative power. The historical influence of the Liebesheftroman on popular narrative conventions and collective social imaginaries has yet to be adequately acknowledged. The romance genre provides a particularly productive lens through which to examine whether and how the Heftroman (dime novel) mediates and reflects the diversification of social semantics, roles, and relational structures. In this context, one of the subproject’s primary objectives is to conduct, for the first time, a systematic analysis of the evolving narrative forms of fictional love, differentiated both historically and by genre. Therefore the project places particular emphasis on the representations of love, familial and communal structures, and societal configurations, paying close attention to shifting gender norms, issues surrounding gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as to the concerns related to race and processes of racialisation. To this end, the subproject will conduct a combined computer-based quantitative and qualitative investigation into the forms and semantics through which social relations are narratively articulated in the Liebesheftroman. In doing so, it will closely collaborate with SP 4 (on plot patterns in erotic romance) and SP 6 (on narrative structures of romantic tension), while also considering visual and design aspects such as the evolution of cover aesthetics (SP 3). Moreover, bookselling requirements and publishing practices (SP 2) necessitate, on the other hand, an examination of the ways in which Liebesheftromane are embedded within their respective social constellations - both within the non-specific Liebesheftroman genre and across its various subgenres, such as aristocratic, regional (Heimat), and medical Liebesheftromane. As 'love' in Heftromanen is shaped through a serial structure of repetition and variation (“serial sociality”), the subproject will contribute to a more precise understanding of the specific media logics that characterise the Liebesheftroman format. It thereby makes a substantial contribution to the overarching research agenda of the research group (FOR).