STRAIGHTFORWARD: The Narrative Construction of Heteronormativity from Homer to The Hobbit

by Marcus Attwater

non-fiction, paperback or epub

Straightforward is a study of the ideal of love as it developed in the stories of the European West, from the inseparable comrades-in-arms of warrior societies to the self-assured screen heroines of the twenty-first century who choose their own lovers. By examining well-known tales as they are retold and reimagined in such different genres as ancient epic, medieval romance, baroque opera and modern fantasy movies, what was added or dropped can tell us what their audiences wanted from a love story. And those love stories are not always where we expect them…