56 pages • 1 hour read
Rosie WalshGhosted
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Social Context: Technology in Romantic Relationships and the Phenomenon of “Ghosting”
The advent of technological interventions in the dating process has had significant effects on modern relationships and social interactions. The first online dating platform, Match.com, was launched in 1995. Initially stigmatized, online dating has become increasingly common, particularly with the rise of popular smartphone dating applications like Tinder and Grindr. Online dating has produced several significant benefits for its users, including the opportunity to form relationships with those with whom one is compatible but who an individual may not have met in their daily life. The process can also be more convenient and time-efficient than organic modes of meeting a potential partner. Meeting online can increase diversity among romantic partners from different racial, social, and economic backgrounds (Brown, Anna. “Couples Who Meet Online Are More Diverse Than Those Who Meet in Other Ways, Largely Because They Are Younger.” Pew Research Center, 2019). Furthermore, introverted individuals also have the opportunity to connect with prospective partners in written form rather than face-to-face.
Despite the benefits of increased choice and lower-stakes written communication, the role of technology in modern dating can also have adverse psychological and social consequences. The abundance of choice can produce a depersonalizing effect, in which there always seems to be a better potential option, and in which the people involved are thought of as faces on a screen, rather than as individuals. Opportunities for preying on potential partners through forms of “catfishing,” misrepresenting oneself, or financial scams, are also increasingly abundant through online dating platforms (Campbell, Kelly. “The Downsides of Online Dating.” Psychology Today, 2019).
The role of technology in modern dating has also affected the prevalence of the phenomenon of “ghosting,” in which an individual—usually a romantic prospect—ends a relationship by abruptly cutting off lines of communication rather than with an explicit breakup. Use of phone and messaging technology in contemporary relationships also means that written communication is prevalent, rather than conversations taking place exclusively by phone or face-to-face. Research shows that the high volume of romantic prospects on dating apps, as well as a belief in soulmates, can make someone feel that ghosting is acceptable (“Ghosting.” Psychology Today). For the individual who has been “ghosted,” it can be difficult to discern the reason that the relationship has ended.
Genre Context: Romantic Suspense
Ghosted blends elements of several genres, drawing from conventions of mystery and thriller in addition to contemporary romance. The genre of contemporary romance is typically based on a romantic relationship between a protagonist and a love interest and is set in a time period contemporaneous to its writing and publication. The focus on the role of technology in modern dating is prevalent throughout Ghosted, grounding its setting in the present social context typical of contemporary romance.
Walsh incorporates elements of the mystery and thriller genres throughout Ghosted by producing narrative suspense and emphasizing the lack of control and uncertainty that the experience of being ghosted entails. Typically, mystery and thriller are differentiated by the question of when a crime has occurred, with mystery focusing on solving a past crime and thriller building suspense regarding a potential future crime. Walsh employs elements of both in Ghosted as Sarah and her friends entertain the possibility that a dark secret from Eddie’s past has prompted his current behavior while threatening phone calls build suspense about the possibility of a future incident.
Ghosted is therefore aligned with the romantic thriller or romantic suspense genre in which a love story takes place in the context of suspense or threat. Sometimes used synonymously, romantic thrillers tend to involve protagonists who become embroiled in a sinister situation on a larger scale, and romantic suspense tends to focus on intrigue that affects the novel’s characters directly. Due to the thriller elements in Ghosted, the reader experiences the search for answers alongside its characters, which mirrors the experience of having been ghosted. Further, it facilitates suspenseful rising action and a plot twist.
