Chick-lit stories, a genre that has been emerging more and more in the market, has grown in popularity in the last few years. Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen and published in 18131, is one of the most iconic chick-lit stories as it established certain conventions that are still found in books with the same genre today. For example, Bridget Jones 's Diary, written by Helen Fielding and published in 1996, is also a story that carries those conventions. Indeed, in both stories, the female lead is pressured to be in a romantic relationship and will thus actively look to form one. She will start by pursuing a relationship that turns out to be a dead end and will then proceed to form a new one with the right man.

In chick-lit stories, the leading female characters are all actively searching to be in a romantic relationship with a man and will often have very low self-confidence in this matter. In Pride and Prejudice, for example, the Bennet sisters were all searching for a partner to marry to as soon as possible. As their father had recently passed away, they needed a husband that would be able to provide for them as noblewomen could not win their own bread in the past. After being invited to the Bingleys' house, Jane and Bingley feel attracted to each other, which leads them to form a romantic relationship. Jane, who was convinced that they would marry, has their relationship broken by Bingley's sister who convinces him that she was not good enough for him (Austen, p.130). Instead of putting the blame on the shameful actions of her lover’s sister who intentionally broke their relationship, Jane blames "no one but herself for Bingley’s departure" (Austen, p.130). This is a behavior on the woman's side that is frequently seen after a man leaves her.

Another example comes from Bridget, the main character in Bridget Jones’s Diary. As she is at an age that is considered past the ideal age of being married, she is eager to establish a relationship and marry the love of her life (Cooper, p.11). She wants to go and see her first love interest, Daniel, and be in a relationship with him. However, she thinks it is "inadvisable" to see him as she believes that she is "fat, have spot on chin, and desire only to sit on cushion eating chocolate and watching Xmas specials" (Cooper, p.17). From this passage, it can be determined that she does not see herself in a very favorable light and that she is not confident about herself. Another instance that indicates her insecurity about herself was with Mark, whom she meets at a party. Following an uncomfortable conversation, he proceeds to abandon her by the bookshelf.

Because of this, she imagines that everyone thinks that she is not married because she "repulses men" (Cooper, p.15) which shows her low confidence in being able to attract men. These situations allow the author to demonstrate that it is not always our fault when our romantic relationships do not go smoothly and to not put all the blame on ourselves.

No matter in what time period the story takes place, it always requires time to establish a relationship with someone. Indeed, the female and male leads often dislike each other in the beginning and misunderstand each other before corning together. In Pride and Prejudice, the male lead Darcy states that Elizabeth is "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt him" (Austen, p.129). This proves that he does not like the female lead at the time, which comes from a lack of understanding of how she genuinely is. Similarly, as she overhears him, Elizabeth does not have a good first impression of him and "ridicules him for his pretentious behavior" (Austen, p.129). Another misunderstanding is created between them as Mr. Collins tells her that "the younger Darcy has cheated him of his inheritance, forcing him into military service" (Austen, p.130), which Elizabeth concludes as the proof of his poor character. All the misunderstandings resolve at the end of the story and they end up marrying each other. This proves that we should not believe everything we hear and that we should not judge someone so quickly.

Another example that is found in Bridget Jones 's Diary is when Mark is encouraged to ask for Bridget's phone number, which he declines as he has no interest in her and holds misconceptions towards her (Cooper, p.15-16). This leads Bridget to think about why "even a man who wears bumblebee socks thinks she's horrible" (Cooper, p.16), which proves that she also holds dome prejudice against him. These situations prove that you can establish a relationship with the most unlikely people. All it takes is patience and time to obtain a better understanding of the other.

The boyfriends and/or potential boyfriends of the main character are often in a position of higher authority or status compared to the female leads. In the past, status is often measured in the wealth and prestige one's family possesses. Both male characters in Pride and Prejudice come from wealthy families whose parents have left their inheritance to them. When searching for a partner, the girls exclusively sought for wealthy men to marry. Indeed, Bingly is a bachelor and therefore possesses both authority and wealth, hence the reason why Mrs. Bennet introduces him to her daughters as potential husbands. As for Darcy, he is also said to be very wealthy (Austen, p.129) and is described as a "highborn man" (Austen, p.130) by Elizabeth, which implies that he comes from a prestigious family.

The male lead in Bridget Jones 's Diary, Mark Dacy, is a very rich man that works as a "super-dooper top-notch lawyer" (Cooper, p.12) which in today's society is a profession that is very well looked upon and that holds a lot of social status. As the main character works in publishing (Cooper, p.13), a profession that is less renowned compared to that of a lawyer, it is considered that Marc is of a higher status compared to her. In addition, Daniel, Bridget's first love interest in the story, is her boss at work (Cooper, p.24). As he is her superior, he is considered to occupy a higher status than her.

In conclusion, chick-lit stories narrate the life of women who wish to be in romantic relationships, all the while giving a further perspective on how society perceives woman's relationships. These stories will often bring to light the struggles and insecurities girls may have in a relationship, as well as the responsibilities that are expected from them. However, as feministic movements advance, some say that certain sexist expectations are now also pushed on men. Will a genre with boys at the center of a romantic relationship come to light in the future?