Constructing the exotic other: Paradise discourse and environmental awareness in a corpus of popular romance fiction novels

Abstract

The corpus of romances compiled for Research Project FFI2014-53962-P1 can be approached from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Many of these novels, set totally or partially in the Canaries, narrate the love stories of mixed couples (Spanish hero/English-speaking heroine), thus including Spanish borrowings and codeswitching. Most authors resort to a paradise discourse based on landscape descriptions which incorporate elements from the mythological, fantastic images conjured up by poets and writers throughout history. Due to the wide readerships they enjoy, these romances perform important functions; apart from being a channel for the international diffusion of Spanish vocabulary and of a stereotyped image of the Canaries, they can also play a role as builders of a much-needed environmental awareness, by arousing reflections on the need to preserve the paradise landscapes they describe.