Abstract
Die kontrak (“The contract”) by Erla-Mari Diedericks (2023) was marketed as erotic fiction and reminiscent of Fifty shades of Grey (2011) by E.L. James. The novel was published by LAPA, a romance novel publisher. Die kontrak tells the story of Marike Labuschagne and Brett Bezuidenhout’s relationship. Marike answers an advertisement in which an anonymous person is looking for a muse and is willing to pay the sum of R200 000 for three months’ work. Over the course of the novel, it is suggested (and expressed explicitly towards the end) that Marike was hired for companionship and sex. Die kontrak appears to be a hybrid of the romantic and erotic fiction genres. This discussion analyses the first publication in the new RomanzaStoom (“Romanza Steam”) series (which is categorised as 18+/erotic texts), Die kontrak, using sexual script theory and the characteristics of erotic fiction. It will be compared with the findings of an analysis of Romanza romance novels to determine to what extent the new genre of the Romanza imprint differs from the existing Romanza texts. The purpose of the discussion below is to assess two core aspects of the novel: (1) To what extent is Die kontrak a work of romantic fiction? (2) Is the link to Fifty shades of Grey appropriate? The discussion will provide insights into the distinction between the existing romantic fiction texts and the new more erotic texts.
First, the textual analysis is performed using a text analysis framework developed from sexual script theory. Secondly, Die kontrak is compared to other romantic works of fiction and noticeable similarities and differences are highlighted. Finally, Die kontrak is compared to Fifty shades of Grey to determine the extent to which Die kontrak mirrors Fifty shades of Grey. In the initial marketing the novel is connected to Fifty shades of Grey. The purpose of the discussion is to determine the accuracy of Die kontrak classification as erotic fiction based on comparisons to romantic and erotic works of fiction. The investigation seeks to conduct narrative, content and thematic analyses in order to provide qualitative insights into Die kontrak, the first title in the RomanzaStoom-series.
When the concept of a script is applied specifically to the sexual and sexuality, it provides learned guidelines for individuals about appropriate actions, spaces, times and actions in sexual situations. It also provides the basis of where deviations and changes in norms about sexual attitudes and actions take place. The textual analysis involves discussions of past relationships, sexual experiences, sexual standards, characters’ attraction to each other, common sexual scripts and actions, and how the sexual scenarios are developed and performed.
In Die kontrak conversations about sex take place more openly. Early in the novel, the two main characters’ definitions of sex are presented. The heroine, Marike, defines sex as penetration and the hero, Brett, defines sex as orgasm.
The novel contains several comic scenes, and humour is intertwined with the dialogue. The first erotic acts between Brett and Marike are an example of this. He laughs at the flowers pasted over her nipples. Later, Marike laughs, disturbing the erotic atmosphere multiple times when Brett is trying to give her an orgasm without touching her.
In the build-up to the sexual acts in the novel, the main characters drink at least two glasses of sparkling wine (40, 49, 50, 61). Marike often notes that the sparkling wine makes her lightheaded and she is then willing to surrender herself to Brett (58–9, 97, 103, 148). Later in the novel, she admits their relationship was only sexual because of alcohol (158). The first sex scene with alternative elements occurs in chapter 15. In this chapter, Brett and Marike practice light BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism) with a blindfold and handcuffs, used for a short time, along with conventional penetration sex.
From chapter 18 (page 133), no further erotic or sexual acts take place implicitly or explicitly. The wedding night is the last time the characters in the novel have sex and then it becomes shorter and more implicit than the previous love scenes. The rest of the text (56 pages in total) focuses on the conflict introduced at this late stage and overcoming the obstacles and miscommunication that block Marike and Brett’s relationship. The elements of conflict and miscommunication are requirements of the romantic fiction script. In the case of Die kontrak, the conflict arises from the beach wedding being confirmed as genuine and binding (a shock to both the main characters and Brett’s lawyer) and the miscommunication is created when Marius (Marike’s ex-fiancé) lies to Brett when saying he and Marike are back together.
Although Die kontrak is classified and marketed as erotic fiction, it is still a work of romantic fiction published by a romantic fiction publisher. The story contains several of the expected romantic fiction tropes. The heroine falls in love with Brett almost immediately and it later becomes known that he also fell in love with her. The mock wedding that takes place is confirmed as legal and when they try to declare the marriage invalid, they confess their love for each other and decide to stay married and be together. The tension that arose from the conflict between the hiring contract, which prohibits Marike from falling in love with Brett, and the marriage contract, which is concluded and signed, as well as the binding force of the ritual, evaporates. Before this occurs, the hero and heroine are first driven apart by the conflict that has arisen. Brett and Hendrik are convinced Marike did it on purpose with the intent to get her hands on Brett’s money, and Brett’s ex-wife Alexis confronts Marike and drives her away from Brett. Later, in court, it is revealed that Marius also contributed to the conflict. The title manifests itself again at the end of the story when the main characters declare that contracts are voidable but not love (184) and both realise “the heart has made its own contract” (185) (my translation).
One of the most obvious differences between Die kontrak and Fifty shades of Grey is the absence of a contract and details about the contract’s content in Die kontrak. In Die kontrak, reference is made briefly to the appointment contract that will be drawn up, but exact wording and concrete manifestation of a contract is entirely absent. Marike is hired as personal assistant and editor, but noticeably she rarely performs any of the tasks. As already mentioned, Marike was hired for companionship and sex. The core aspect of Fifty shades of Grey – the contract Anastasia carefully reads, researches and negotiates before signing in the lead-up to her safe explorations of alternative sex – does not manifest in Die kontrak in any way. In the Fifty shades series, the contract and stipulations of Anastasia and Christian’s relationship are fully presented to the reader (pages 165–75 in Fifty shades of Grey (2011) and pages 176–86 in Grey (2015), where the text is stylised to look like a contract and presented with framed pages), but this is not the case in Die kontrak the reader is informed of Marike’s employment as muse, the payment, and that the contract stipulates that she must not fall in love with Brett, but nothing further (18).
Die kontrak demonstrates characteristics of both the romantic and erotic fiction genres and is therefore a hybrid work in nature. Die kontrak contains all the necessary elements to be described as romantic fiction, but also sufficient elements of erotic fiction to carry the erotic and 18+ markers.
It appears that Die kontrak is not a rewrite of or improvement on Fifty shades of Grey. The discussion demonstrates that there are too many deviations from the core aspects of Fifty shades of Grey and is therefore not an improvement either. Any statements that the text links to Fifty shades of Grey in unfounded.
Keywords: Die kontrak; erotic fiction; romantic fiction; sexual script theory
- The background image on this article’s featured image was created by Sebastien Gabriel and obtained from Unsplash.