'Falling in love with love is falling for make believe': ideologies of romance in post-Enlightenment culture

European fiction of the post-Enlightenment 19th- and 20th-centuries has portrayed romantic love as impossible and tragic, although romantic love has become an accepted part of the normative discourse of modern Western culture. The works of Jane Austen, for example, present a powerful criticism of romantic love and a preference for rational discourse about relationships. Romantic love has not been liberating for women, but instead ensnares women with false expectations and oppressive demands.