Category talk:Category-Class novel pages

"Themes" may be an inappropriate way to categorize novels

Checking the date a novel was published or its author's name or the language in which it was written is so basic that no documentation would appear to be required. But once categorization of novels strays into less obvious territory, won't it be highly contentious?

Eyeballing all the current categories on the list, I see very few that relate to "themes". "Novels dealing with slavery" seems a rather easy-to-define category. Either slavery is portrayed in the novel or it is not.

But who is to say whether a particular novel has a particular "theme"?

Therefore, I nominate such categories as "Novels with a theme of wife-abuse" for speedy deletion.

Otherwise, won't we be bogged down in endless discussions of whether John's slapping Mary on p. 23 supports the assertion that the novel has a "theme wife abuse"? Maybe he just lost his temper and slapping her is quite unrelated to her relationship as his wife? SocJan 21:31, 6 August 2007 (UTC)