Abstract
This article investigates a paradox in popular romance novels. On the one hand, the plot of the typical popular novel of any genre consists of a series of actions, most of which are initiated by the main character. On the other hand, the ideal heroine in a romance is passive and therefore should be initiating few actions of any sort. An analysis of the climax of a novel by Barbara Cartland, an extremely popular and prolific romance writer, shows that she uses a series of stylistic strategies to resolve this paradox. Some of these strategies up-grade the apparent activity of the heroine, while others down-grade the actions of her opponents. In addition, the events of the climax as a whole are inflated by placing many of them in non-real contexts, such as dreams, threats, or memories.
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