In Defense of Romantasy

Sarah J. Maas, J.R.R. Tolkien, and whose fantasies we take seriously. Illustration by Noah Hickey/The Dispatch (Photos via Getty Images & public domain via Wikimedia Commons). Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. A few years ago, I was sitting in a young-adult Bible study when the earnest and pimply young man leading our discussion pronounced, without hesitation, that romance novels were dangerous for women. They created impossibly high expectations for husbands, he explained. How could an ordinary man compete with those brawny, idyllic heroes of romance? Want to see more of The Dispatch in Google search? Add Us as a Preferred Source LuElla D’Amico is an associate professor of English and coordinator of women’s and gender studies at the University of the Incarnate Word. She is the author of Wondrous Reading: Encountering the Catholic Faith in Children’s Literature and writes widely on faith, girlhood, pop culture, and storytelling. More We Think You’d Like