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Why the Hero Pursues – The Thrill of the Chase

February 9th, 2010 | About 

It’s true. It really is all about the chase; in real life and in romance novels. In a romance, the man pursues. A heroine might take action first, hoping for results, but the action doesn’t start until the hero goes after the heroine with the intention of making her his.

In a romance, no matter what the sub-genre is, the man must be the one who initiates the romantic action and ultimately, he must end it, usually with a proposal or commitment of some type. – pg 6, A Romance by Any Other Name is Still a Romance, Catherine Lanigan

Why is this?

I can give you five reasons.

  1. It’s hot. We want to be chased. Why do you think those caveman cartoons where so popular years ago? The caveman with the biggest club wins… ;)
  2. It’s a competition between the hero and the losers who didn’t get the heroine. Is he alpha enough to win her and keep her?
  3. The heroine is the embodiment of all things inaccessible and unobtainable… like unobtainium. She is impossible to obtain. Sometimes she’s even the one who got away.
  4. How often do civilized men heroes get to hunt? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Thrill of the hunt is rare indeed.
  5. It meets social expectations. The man is expected to take the risk of rejection; it’s not expected from the woman.

The goal of the chase:

Getting something from the heroine.

Something is defined usually as a kiss, a date, sex, or marriage. Depending on the sub-genre there could be other goals on the hero’s mind: like obtaining hired help, a nanny for his kids, information leading to the bad guy, whatever… options are endless, but the top four chase goals will always remain the same.

Edit: Quite possibly the most obvious thing he wants is her heart. Duh. :P

The best part?

He won’t stop until she’s his! Perseverance and persistence—not yielding to discouragement. Yum.

Of course what makes it all work is that the hero and heroine are meant to be together. Like Bella Swan, the heroine will want to be stalked, chased, pursued to the ends of the earth and it's okay because the hero is the right guy for her.

Photo Credits: We Heart It

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4 comments ↓
#1 Samanther on 02.09.10 at 7:46 pm

maybe not stalked…… though pursued/chased – oh yes.

#2 Susan S. on 02.10.10 at 3:25 pm

1. The Rogue pursues to check off another name from available women he hasn’t… (lol.) I might venture to add unavailable women as well.
2. A poor clan laird pursues to try to find a rich lady from another clan.
3. A vampire hero pursues because he needs blood, and if she happens to be beautiful then hey, he got
twice-as-lucky!

I agree wholeheartedly with your no.1, we want to be chased and feel wanted. If he pursues it only drives the point home; we’re wanted. :)
A sorcerer pursues to bend her to his will, which of course’ revolves around… (lol.)
The shapeshifter pursues because he can scent an available woman to mate.

#3 heidenkind on 02.14.10 at 3:00 pm

Definitely want to be pursued, or at the very least he needs to take time out of his busy schedule for us! Although I would like to see more sexually aggressive women in romances, being wanted for who you are, without making the first move, is part of the fantasy.

#4 Keira on 02.27.10 at 6:11 pm

Samanther – Yes, stalking is bad. Pursuing is good. :)

Susan – I like where you’re going with that!

Heidenkind – When heroes can’t even book you into their lives there is definitely a problem. lol

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