Whether it’s romantic love, family love, or the bonds of friendship, dystopian YA novels inevitably provide us a peek into the future of love relationships - at least in a fictional sense. Just as the courtly love and arranged marriages of Elizabethan England differ from modern America’s love of self-fulfillment over family obligations, love will evolve to fit the needs of a future world. These YA authors give us their ideas on what love’s future might look like.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Debut author Carrie Ryan chose to go backwards in the evolution of love - back to a time when women played a subordinate role in their love relationships. This fits with the rest of her dystopian society. After the Unconsecrated destroyed everything, humans are rebuilding - going back to a simpler time. The reversion in love relationships makes perfect sense in this context.
In The Forest of Hands and Teeth, the main character, Mary, is thrust into a life of religious service within the Sisterhood when no one speaks for her. This is reminiscent of medieval Europe when unmarried women entered convents. Mary’s destiny within her village is determined by the men in her life. Her choices include: 1) Living with a male family member; 2) Marrying (if asked); 3) Joining the Sisterhood; or 4) Striking out into a forest filled with the Unconsecrated (zombies). Her only option that allows her to be independent of a man while remaining part of society is becoming dependent on the Sisterhood.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
YA author Lauren Oliver makes love a disease in the dystopian society of her second novel, Delirium. The dystopian society in Delirium values order above all, and love is viewed as not just a disruptive/destructive influence, but as a medical disorder. In this world, both men and women receive medical treatment to prevent the manifestation of love symptoms - a medical procedure that eradicates the emotional aspects of love. Family relationships emerge through clinical testing that pairs individuals by their status and social compatibility.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The social expectations surrounding romantic love are not fully developed in Roth’s Divergent. In this future world, family bonds play the central role. Society is divided into factions and members choose their faction at the age of sixteen. If they leave the faction to which they were born, they give up their family bonds for the sake of independence and/or self-fulfillment. Roth explores that coming-of-age dilemma many teens face: Do I want the same things my parents want?
Love is a universal theme. Whether historical, contemporary or utopian/dystopian, authors must establish the cultural norms of love relationships in their novels. While those writing about future events have the leeway to create those norms, they still must fit into the world they create as demonstrated so effectively by the authors above.
Jennifer Groepl - Living the good life in beautiful Cape Coral, Florida, Jennifer Groepl is currently working on her YA fiction projects. An intrinsically ...
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