Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/csi.4616
Analysis of the Paratextual Elements on Selected Croatian Romance Novel Covers
Monika Jurkovac
; Department of Croatology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The word paratext, first used by French literary theorist and
writer Gérard Gennete in his work Paratexts: Thresholds
of Interpretation (1997), is explained, along with its main
characteristics, at the beginning of the article. According to
Genette, the paratext is an undefined zone (threshold), that
is, a zone between the inner and the outer, without clearly
defined boundaries. Additionally, three crucial components
- material aspects, the cultural-historical dimension, and the
reader’s perception - are defined in order to better comprehend
and perceive romance novel covers, encourage their
sales, attract new readership, and preserve old readership.
The purpose of the article is to analyse certain paratextual
elements (character appearance, background, and presence
on the covers, as well as title and author analysis) using a
selection of romance book covers by Kate Mitchell (Kata
Mijić) and Inna Moore (Ina Špiček) as examples. The paper
also examines the functionality of the paratext and the
correlation of the analysed parameters in the context of
communication between the producer (publishing house)
and the consumer (reader of romance novels). The analysis
of selected romance novel covers showed the frequent use
of photographs on cover, predominance of cold and neutral colours, the dominance of exteriors and backgrounds in certain
colours, etc. The observations obtained from the analysis
lead to the expected conclusion: the covers of romance
novels are an important marketing tool and paratextual element,
since their visuality attracts attention and establishes
certain communication with the customer, which ultimately
leads to the purchase of a romance novel.
Keywords
Inna Moore; Kate Mitchell; paratext; romance novel; romance novel covers
Hrčak ID:
324978
URI
Publication date:
23.12.2024.
Visits: 0 *