(GENRE CRITICISM) Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

THEORY

GENRE CRITICISM

-Genre criticism is a method within rhetorical criticism for analysing speeches and writing according to the symbolic artifacts they contain.

-It is a critical approach, doctrine, or technique that emphasizes, in evaluating a work, the genre or medium in which it can be placed rather than seeing it entirely as an autonomous entity.

TITLE

ELEVEN MINUTES BY PAULO COELHO

SYNOPSIS

Maria, a young girl from a remote village of Brazil, with innocent brushes with love failures at an early adolescent stage and hatred for love goes to seek her fortune in Switzerland, only to find that reality is a lot harder than she expected. After working in a nightclub as a samba dancer for a brief period, she realizes that this is not what she wants. After a heated discussion with her manager one night, she storms out and begins to look for a career in modeling. After a long unsuccessful search for a position in that field, and as she starts running out of money, she engages herself for 1000 francs for "one night" with an Arab man. Delighted with the easy money and after compromising with her soul she lands in a brothel on Rue de Berne, the heart of Geneva's red-light district...

There she befriends Nyah who gives her advice on her "new profession" and after learning the tricks of the trade from Milan, the brothel owner, she enters the job with her body and mind shutting all doors for love and keeps her heart open only for her diary. Quickly she becomes quite successful and famous and her colleagues begin to envy her. Months pass and Maria grows into a professionally groomed prostitute who not only relaxes her clients' mind, but also calms their soul by talking to them about their problems.

Her world turns upside down when she meets Ralf, a young Swiss painter, who sees her "inner light". Maria falls in love with him immediately and begins to experience what true love is (according to the author, it is a sense of being for someone without actually possessing him/her). Maria is now torn between her sexual fantasies and true love for Ralf. Eventually she decides that it is time for her to leave Geneva with her memory of Ralf, because she realizes that they are worlds apart. But before leaving, she decides to rekindle the dead sexual fire in Ralf and learns from him about the nature of Sacred Sex, sex which is mingled with true love and which involves the giving up of one's soul for the loved one.

This book explores the sacred nature of sex. "Eleven minutes" describes the duration of sex. Also, it depicts two types of prostitution: prostitution for money and sacred prostitution. There are also direct references to sadomasochism.

The story is of Maria's journey to find what true love is by letting her own life guide her. She enters a life that leads her down the path of sexual awakening and almost leads to her self-destruction when she is introduced to all sides of sexual experience. When she has given up hope to find true love, she finds her true "inner light" and her everlasting true love.

ANALYSIS

Perhaps other people would mistakenly think that this book is merely about sex and prostitution just by knowing why it's entitled Eleven Minutes. So why is that so?
It is allegedly entitled Eleven Minutes because it's the duration of sex, and the main character here is a prostitute.

However, it's also been mentioned that Maria is in search of true love, therefore, this falls to romance.

Using the Genre Criticism, the book proved that there's no thing that can't be done in the name of love. Because for true love, everything is worth it. Just like what Ralf did to Maria. 

He accepted her wholeheartedly despite of her dark past. It doesn't matter what she is and where she's from. The only thing that matters is who she is that made him fall in love with her.

Love doesn't require anything. It's only the feeling that is the most important. 

A feeling for love that is real and genuine.