Historical analysis often complicates the "romance" found in fiction by examining the power dynamics and lack of consent inherent in these relationships.

: Historical records show that enslavers frequently forced enslaved couples together for "breeding" purposes, a practice that fundamentally stripped them of romantic autonomy.

: These accounts, such as those by Frederick Douglass or Harriet Jacobs, often contrasted the impossibility of true romance under chattel slavery with the deep-seated familial and marital roots enslaved people fought to maintain.