How Candlelight Brings Out the Romance in Your Characters

What is it about candlelight that makes a candlelight dinner so romantic?

First of all, did you know that when someone finds another person attractive, their pupils dilate and the other person finds that attractive as well. Studies have shown that men who viewed a photo of a woman with larger than normal pupils didn’t later recall her dilated pupils, but described her as “more feminine,” “soft,” and “pretty,” whereas, they described the woman with small pupils as “hard,” “selfish,” and “cold.” However, women who preferred “nice guys” were drawn to men with medium sized pupils and women who preferred “bad boys” were attracted to the men with larger pupils. No matter what size pupils you’re subconsciously attracted to, candlelight can help because low lighting, like candlelight, causes pupils to dilate and can duplicate those attraction signals.

Candlelight also reduces stress and helps us relax, making it easier to drop into a romantic mood because you aren’t feeling tense or rushed. Candlelight casts a glow in a small area, so even in a restaurant, if you are seated in a room lit only by candles on the tables, you feel as though you are in your own little private space.

The man in your romance novel can create a perfect romantic scene, whether it’s a candlelit dinner, picnic, or movie night.

Long, slender, taper candles on the dinner table between him and his leading lady. Placing scented candles around the living room and choosing a romantic movie for the two of them to watch as they snuggle up to each other on the sofa, or if you’re writing about a married couple having problems and he’s trying to rekindle the romantic feelings they had for each other in the past, he could fill a couple crystal bowls with water and add a floating candle to each and set them in the bathroom near the tub and run a bubble bath for her, then he can prepare dinner that will be eaten by candlelight in the dining room. He could follow the candlelight dinner with a couple scented candles burning in a room with open floor space, play their favorite love songs, and ask her to dance.

Scented candles can also add something to the scene as we are all sensitive to smells, and certain smells can trigger memories, like an ocean breeze scented candle reminding her of that romantic evening walk along the beach on their honeymoon.

The next time you need to add a romantic scene to your romance novel, or your fantasy or other genre novel needs a little something, remember all the things that candles can add to a scene or to a romance through their light or their scent.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

Website: kellyfbarr.com