Theories on Declarations and Recognitions (Subtitled: Don't Read This In Bed, You'll Fall Asleep)
So I was doing what I typically do in my cabin all day: surfing on the internet. Instead of looking for guided tours to Ireland or scenic pictures of waterfalls, preferably with a naked Jack Sparrow posed in them, I focused instead on improving my writing by looking for online courses that might be beneficial to me. There was one called, “The Natural History of the Romance Novel”, and it listed the eight essential elements of a romance novel as: Society Defined; The Meeting; The Barrier; The Attraction; The Declaration; The Point of Ritual Death; The Recognition; and The Betrothal.
Which I recognized most, except the Declaration and the Recognition, and it took me a while to figure out what they were. Then I realized they’re only the two most important aspects of the eight. They’re central to the novel—without them, you wouldn’t have your arc. And if you have a story without an arc, you have a book that’s completely flatlined.
Now granted, I didn’t take the class, but here are my theories on the two.
The Declaration and The Recognition are based on the inner conflict of your characters. The Declaration hinges on whatever fatal flaw your character is in possession of. The Recognition is when your character realizes this flaw—then chooses to do something about it. Failure to fix the flaw results in an non-happily-ever-after.
The Declaration is the point where the character’s Fatal Flaw becomes obvious to everyone. Except the character itself. And it’s the point of the book where we know if this characteristic doesn’t change, the character won’t grow…and he/she will not get their happily ever after. The big dummies. 
Take Pride & Prejudice. Mr. Darcy makes his proposal (the worst in the history of proposals) and basically declares himself as a complete stuffed shirt prig of the highest order. It is abundantly clear to all of us, Dear Readers, that if he doesn’t get enlightened soon, he will be doomed to be a stuffed shirt prig of the highest order for the rest of his life, with no Elizabeth to buffer the slings and arrows of boring society with him. Elizabeth, meanwhile, makes her declaration that she is absolutely right in her perceptions of people; her instincts are never wrong; and he is a complete stuffed shirt prig of the highest order.
Strangely, our Fatal Flaws are usually our strengths: Elizabeth’s perception of being able to read people helps her from taking the world so seriously. She is a lot happier that way; and it’s only when Mr. Darcy finds her wanting that her usual perceptive nature is blocked by prejudice. It doesn’t matter if she finds out Mr. Darcy saves orphaned kittens, he’s clearly a jerk and she wants nothing to do with him. And yes, she’s well aware her family is far from perfect, she may even be the first to mock them—but if someone else mocks them, look out! She’s fiercely protective of Jane, who she knows doesn’t displace her emotions lightly and can be misunderstood.
Mr. Darcy’s strength: he’s a perceptive guy too, but he doesn’t perceive people with an ironic smile and a sense of the absurd like Lizzie. He too makes knee-jerk decisions about people and doesn’t second-guess if he might have misjudged. And he too is a protector: as is revealed when he protects his sister from Wickham and his friend Bingley from a lukewarm marriage.
Elizabeth and Darcy are so caught up in being right about their perceptions, there is no chance of them falling in love…not without a major catalyst that makes them re-evaluate their positions. The major catalyst would be the “Ritual Death”, by the way.
The major catalyst is followed by character rebirth: The Recognition. The point where your character realizes the problem, and their part in it. This is a two-fold recognition, because not only do you have recognize you’re doing it, you have to do something about it. The character makes a concerted effort to mend his ways. After Elizabeth bawls out Darcy for the worst proposal in the history of proposals, Darcy learns from Elizabeth just exactly the extent of how badly she thinks of him. “So this is what you think of me?”—and he leaves, rather hurt and pole-axed. He goes home, then writes her that letter that explains why he did the things he did…leaving Elizabeth to realize she knee-jerked as well.
And then Darcy goes about rectifying his mistakes, because he cares what Elizabeth thinks of him. He doesn’t send out a parade when he does these things; Elizabeth finds out Darcy’s the man behind the scenes, the man who’s singlehandedly saving her family from complete ruin…and her sister from being separated from the man she loves. [Insert *swoon* here.] When Mr. Darcy’s aunt comes to confront Eliza and make her promise not to become engaged to him, she refuses. (Granted, her rectification isn’t quite on the same scale, but it can be forgiven. Darcy had a lot more to make up for.) Then there is this magnificent meadow reunion scene…and, well, you’ve seen the movie.
Summary:
Your central conflict of your book is the inner conflict of your characters. Because all action taken by your characters, even though that action propels the plot, is based off whatever neuroses your characters are suffering. Whether they’re suffering from trust issues or daddy issues—it creates the external plot. 
The inner conflict of your characters comes from the Fatal Flaw, which is usually the dark-side of the character’s strength. The Declaration is the recognition of this flaw, the realization that if this flaw is not overcome that the Happily Ever After will not come. The Recognition is the place where the character figures out the flaw herself and makes a change to overcome it. It usually involves some grovelling. And an awesome meadow scene.
Okay, so those are my theories. What do you guys think? What do you think the Declaration and the Recognition are? Where does your external conflict come from? Circumstances or neuroses? Who’s with me in thinking all books should end with an awesome meadow scene? Who just caught on that the hotties have nothing to do with this post and are only here in an effort to keep everyone awake?
Books by the Crew
43 comments:
Hellion!
Brilliant technical analysis!
Einsteinian in its depth and perception!
And achieved without a single equation!
Jane and Lucy will be giggling together and plotting to haunt you!
Absolutely loved it. :D
I definitely caught on to those brilliantly placed hotties!
Fun Summary... it's to early to answer these q's... lol! Don't make me think right now, I can't do it!.
Can I just agree with everything above?
And lately, my external conflict comes from stripping my characters of their morals, in a moralist society, then setting them to the wolves :)
Meadow? Are you joking? This is a euphemism for something right? *w*
Who can think anything with those pix?
I think this is brilliant. It's too early for me too, but I did enjoy the hotties.
I'll think and post back.
The hotties are working. I'm awake! Then again, I've been awake since before 5am. Grrrrr....
I think these theories are quite sound, but I have a question. Should there be two declarations? Because I'm thinking at some point the characters should declare what their external intentions are. Every character should have an agenda. I'm guessing the external/behavior agenda would be a direct result of the character's internal conflict. The why in other words.
Am I making any sense? Perhaps I should have gone back to bed....
LOL! I must be the only idiot reading on and waiting for you to tie "Emma" and POTC into your Declaration and Recognition theory. When I got to the last hottie (I'm sorry I don't recognize him), I finally figured out they were just random hotties put there to entice! It's way too early for me too! I think I'm going back to bed.
BTW - awesome analysis, especially with the use of P&P!
Q, your Scotch is in the mail, as they say! Glad you enjoyed it. I really felt I was back in one of my college English classes. (I totally would have been docked for the hotties with a red-inked notation of "Too colloquial!"--which is what I constantly got on my papers.)
Tiff, the meadows are a complete euphemism. By meadow scene I mean: Hot, passionate, sweaty, feel-good, and Catholic confessional sex.
Maggie: well, of course, there's no thinking...that was the point! I just wanted you to think I made a point because you're too distracted by my hotties.
Marnee & Terri: Too early? Ah, you guys are posting at 7 am. No wonder. (We've really need to cut off our rum consumption at 2 a.m. at the latest, you know?)
Terri: I don't know. It's possible. But you're someone who likes to make declarations. I, myself, apart from the occasional soapbox speech of "A Line Drawn in the Sand"--don't make declarations simply because then you have to back them up. Almost immediately. I like to have private, quiet agendas, that no one or very, very few people know about--then accomplish it. I like to think people have two agendas. The one they tell everyone; and the one they tell no one because they don't want to be judged for it.
I think the Declaration isn't so much a "declaration" of agenda...it's just that point where the character had made his personality known to everyone around him, but he's still unaware of it. It's the declaration of the flaw.
These are "labels" for Romance Novels (and the most obvious adaptation was for P&P). I suspect your "declaration" you're talking about takes place in the first few chapters, since characters have an agenda from the opening hook, which usually later changes. I'm not sure how that declaration plays into this set of labels.
This made me laugh. Tomorrow I'm talking about secrecy, truth and trust, which goes into the declaration and recognition at the end of the novel. Wow. I didn't think talking about nothing to blog about would put us on the same wavelength. LOL
Now I've gotta go edit my blog for tomorrow to make it not like this one. LOL
And I'm all for meadow scenes at the end of books. Or in the middle. Or the whole damn book.
Irish, *LOL* I feel rather bad I didn't tie POTC into the post. I mean, seriously, it's ME for crying out loud. I should have had a POTC reference somewhere. (*makes note to buy Emma since it's been way too long since she's seen it and it does have Jeremy in it*) You're not an idiot: you're OPTIMISTIC.
Sin, it's spooky when we're on the same wavelength.
And I could use a Meadow Scene RIGHT NOW. For the next three or four days really.
Wait, I think I get it now. By Declaration you mean Revelation. Or rather the person who put that class together meant it. Revelation makes more sense to me. He/she reveals the flaw but doesn't know so they can't really *declare* it. See, it's just my too logical mind getting in the way.
*I* didn't take the class. The lady who teaches the class might have something else entirely in mind for her labels. But considering how the book falls out, I think the Declaration occurs around the time Darcy makes his proposal...and he makes his DECLARATION for Elizabeth. What is declared, instead, is that he's an ass...which he'll then have to spend the second half of the book overcoming.
Great blog, Hellion!
It sounds to me as if the course you found is based on A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ROMANCE NOVEL, Pam Regis's 2004 book that links the romance novels we read with canonical works from Richardson through Forster. The following is a quote from Regis:
In one or more scenes, romance novels always depict the following: the initial state of society in which heroine and hero must court, the meeting between heroine and hero, the barrier to the union of heroine and hero, the attraction between the heroine and hero, the declaration of love between heroine and hero, the point of ritual death, the recognition by heroine and hero of the means to overcome the barrier, and the betrothal. These elements are essential. (30)
She concludes: "Heroines in twentieth-century romance novels…are intelligent and strong. They have to be. They have to tame the hero. They have to heal him. Or they have to do both" (206).
I highly recommend the book.
I agree with Q's assessment of your analysis, Hellion. I had an urge to shout "Amen, sister!" when you were talking about the flaws. :) But I do have one question. Do you think Lydia loved Wickham?
So he declared he wanted her in the worst way which *revealed* he's an ass. Just sayin'.....
Janga - I don't think so. Lydia was too flighty to love anyone but herself.
Hellion, thank you! I was at a point in my polish and new there was something wrong. Now I know what it is.
The hotties were a lovely morning treat.
BTW, I have a confession to make *shifts from one foot to the other, looking at the ground* I've never seen P&P, nor have I read it. Hey, don't whip me!
Renee
So it's the BARRIER and the RECOGNITION that flip sides of the same coin, then! (See, I clearly would have benefited from the class. *LOL*)
That leads me to question: Is it normal for "love declarations" to happen so 'soon' in the book? I guess they'd have to happen about that soon, because the love has to be 'rejected' first, then everyone has to work to be worthy of the love and offer it a second time. But it doesn't seem like actual declarations of love happen that soon. I think the characters might declare it to themselves, but they don't ADMIT it aloud. Do you guys think that's true?
Janga, no, I don't think Lydia loved Wickham. I think she loved, at best, herself--which is basically who Wickham loved most of all (at least they had that in common!). I think she loved his attention; and the fact that her doing this would make EVERYONE make a fuss about her. Attention seeking little git.
But I admit: I haven't read the book. (I know, I know, how did I get around that? I might have read it/skimmed it when I was in high school for a paper, but I honestly don't remember Lydia much in it.) The book might put a different spin on Lydia than the movies do.
Don't worry, Renee. I haven't read any of the books. But you so need to watch the movie. *sigh*
And I agree that the characters (in my books anyway) make the declaration of love to themselves but are very reluctant to admit it out loud. They often don't have any idea they are in love until something makes it abundantly clear. Then they have to deal with it before they can tell the other.
In Hellion's Haven, Gavin knows early on that he loves Fiona. He knows it, his mother knows it, and his confidant knows it. He however fails to tell her. Soon after she decides that she'll stay and be his mistress for as long as he'll have her, things go really haywire. And then she finds out he lied to her and it was a big lie, at least to her. Thinking she can't trust him or that he doesn't trust her enough to tell her the truth, she goes home where she is finally needed by her family, the one thing he believes she wanted more than anything so he lets her go without a fight and without ever telling her he loves her.
I've some awesome lines in their black moment. At least I hope. ;)
Renee
Renee, I'm sure they're very awesome lines! Black moments do produce some of the best lines, don't they? But I like the proof that EVERYONE but the one who needs to hear it knows it. *LOL*
P.S. These are my favorite hotties too. (Actually they're my favorite of the hotties I have pictures of! I have some hotties on my secret list that I don't have pics of. *pouts*)
Renee - seriously, stop teasing me. You know I want to read this. When can I get my signed copy? LOL!
HaHa! I have another 100 pages to polish before it goes to cps. Then maybe I can send out queries.
Renee-who's totally procrastinating right now. I'm afraid of failure-or maybe I'm afraid of success and deliberately sabotage myself. hmmm that's something to think on.
Renee, Renee, Renee--when you become a NYT's bestseller, you're going to laugh yourself sick at the notion you once feared success. Now POLISH, woman, POLISH! Terri's an impatient woman! The last thing you want is her riding your ass to finish it, you know...
All right!!!! I'm moving.
Renee
When did I become the pirate with the whip? LOL!
*cracks whip*
I could get used to this.....
I'm sorry what was this post about? Don't you know how easily I get distracted?
As for my characters - they are reluctant to admit, even to themselves, that they have fallen in love; thereby, leaving themselves vulnerable and open to having their hearts riped out again. The recognition comes almost too late to salvage anything - almost.
Hellion, this is a fabulous blog post. I'm going to save it in a file. :-D
I've read P&P and seen all the movies. IMHO, Lydia was attracted to shiny brass and wanted a handsome warrior on her arm to impress those around her, and was willing to do whatever it took to get one. Wickham loved women and adoration but he got caught and suffered for it ever afterward. (Given Lydia's penchant for upsurdity, is it possible to feel sorry for him?)
I think the declaration is crossing the threshold. Our characters must cross the threshold and take the journey that will lead to recognition/resolution. By proclaiming his love for Elizabeth, Darcy was stepping out of himself, reaching out when he'd never needed to do so before, of course he had a lot to learn. In order to regain any respect in Elizabeth's eyes, he had to take the journey, write the note explaining his actions, mend the rift he'd created between Jane and Bingley and out of love he softened the blow of Lydia's actions to Elizabeth and her family. So in the end, he went above and beyond to prove himself worthy of Elizabeth's ideal.
Sigh. What a man!! :-D
Kathy - nice analysis. And spot on. The character has to do something to set the journey into motion. And that can get tricky because if the character doesn't do what we want or need them to do, then they end up on a different journey. Definite opportunity for chaos there.
Santa, exactly, who needs a post with all these hunky, hunky men hanging out?
And my characters are like yours. Admitting to vulnerability is like pulling teeth...not going to happen.
*clapping* Here, here. That's a great analysis! I agree: the declaration is a crossing the threshold moment, making yourself vulnerable and no going back once it's out there!
And no, I'm not going to feel sorry for Wickham. *LOL*
*reading Terri's post* Chaos theory? Q would be so proud!
I liked the way this organized the structure of the novel. Janga, I liked what you said too. I might check out the book you referenced.
I loved P&P. I've read it a bunch of times now.
I think that Lydia loves the idea of being in love, especially how she feels when she's in love. And I think she likes Wickham's attention. I always feel as if she's nervous he doesn't love her as much.
And I guess we just have to wonder what being in love is. Maybe that is the best Lydia's selfish personality can allow. Maybe she loves him the best she can. Would it be enough for me? I don't know.
Let me make that, it wouldn't be enough for me.
Frankly, I can't imagine knowing always my hubby only married me because someone made him. Ouch, ya know?
Marnee, does Lydia ever think of it that way? I mean, maybe eventually she'll wise up and realize, "Oh, he only would have married me if they held him at gunpoint"--but she always struck me as someone who never NOT got her way--and in this, she got her way. She wanted Wickham; she got him. For her, this adventure was a success--and her self-esteem will never deflate with the thought: "Oh, maybe it wouldn't have worked out."
But I probably got a very two-deminsional feed off Lydia. She never seems insecure or self-doubting of her worth.
I haven't read the book, but it seems to me Lydia saw Wickham as more of a possession. He was something to *have* not a person to love. And we have to remember that back then, once she had him, he was hers no matter what. I mean, they might have been divorcing then - I'm not up on the history of divorce other than my own - but if they were it wasn't at all common and very unlikely.
Neither of them would have had the FUNDS to buy the divorce they wanted. And they probably wouldn't have cared enough to pursue it. They could go about their merry ways and have all the affairs they wanted.
I believe there are a couple of points where she acts possessive of him, like when he's talking to Lizzie, almost as if she's jealous and insecure.
She does spend most of the visit she pays her family just flaunting her new married status, but I also thought there were moments in there that he doesn't act the way she'd prefer (as the perfect husband to prove her the luckiest married gal out there) and those times she seems to be vulnerable, as if she's not as certain of his feelings as she'd like to be.
I'll have to go dig out my book. Anyone else remember this or is it just me?
I think Marnee, you might be the only crewmember who's read the book. *LOL* So we'll go with your theories...and soft-hearted touch with her character. I'd still like to smack her. *LOL*
Oh, I still wanted to smack her.
I just think this is a great instance of the way Austen creates such well-rounded characters. Lydia is tedious, but she's tedious in that 15 year old high school girl way. She's an attention hog and a pretentious little snot, but it comes from a place of insecurity and immaturity. While it's pretty clear she had a hand in her own "downfall," undoubtedly fawning all over Wickham, she's also young and naive.
I remember being young and stupid like that. And that makes me sympathetic to her.
At least I think. It has been a few years since I've read the last time.
You ladies are on fire today!
I'd just like to add my perspective on Wickham. Who, if nothing else, begs for redemption for no other reason than the fact that he is a rake. However, Wickham is the most debauched of rouges. To say he got his just desserts in trapping himself in a marriage to Lydia would be an understatement. When would Lydia tire of him and grow disenchanted by his bright shiny buttons?
I'd have to say shortly after they went off to join his latest branch of service. Which means she would be following the drum. Frankly, I don't think either one of them has it in them to survive that kind of lifestyle. Those shiny buttons wouldn't be worth a farthing by that point.
This is such a great post for me. I named my villian Wykham and this provides so much food for thought.
I agree Marnee. I have always seen Lydia as a Regency version of the boy-crazy teenager. Yes, she is her mother's daughter--silly, shallow, and self-centered. I don't think she loves Wickham. I think she is in lust with men in uniform and incapable of making good choices, in part because she has been so poorly parented that there is nothing to balance her weaknesses. Wickham is worse IMO because he is a liar, a user, and a predator. Lydia is foolish; Wickham is evil.
I think the ending of P & P makes clear that he was a terrible husband, but Lydia, again like her mother, was able to sustain her illusions.
Just my two cents. :)
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