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The Gabbers  JMC"JMC is fascinated by the politics of romance reading and writing, and by the genre’s position in the publishing and media worlds." read more...
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The Trouble with Triangles
« 02/21/2010 Grab Bag Winner | Home | Well I think I’m going out of my head… »  Why do I love romance? I love the Happy Every After. I love knowing that the Hero and Heroine will overcome their many obstacles and be together come the final page… Knowing this, I put myself in the hands of my preferred storytellers and allow myself to be led through all sorts of emotional upheavals, traumas and tribulations. So what happens when one of these fundamentals don’t happen? I’m thinking about the hero. Anyone else think – as I most vehemently do! – that Jo March (Little Women) ought to have married her friend Laurie? Why did she end up with the old German professor? What about Alanna and Jon? (Song of the Lioness Quartet). I could name dozens of instances when the romance reader in me has flinched at the ending of an otherwise great read. In the same way, I’m wary of series that have at their heart the dreaded love triangle. I’m rooting for a central couple, therefore I really need to know who that couple is. Definitively. So, not for me the Stephanie Plum series, or even the Gardella Chronicles (though I hear it’s a superb series) and no, thank you, but I’ll pass on Anita Blake. Megan Hart’s Tempted? I love Megan Hart, but I need to know who the hero is. I’m not talking about books in which the heroine has to choose between two guys, but you totally know who she’ll end up with (it’s the one who turns her on the most). I’m talking about the ones where each potential hero gets equal billing and it’s a full-on 50-50. Not even the author knows for sure (the tease). I don’t want to sound dogmatic, but I can’t bear to be disappointed in a romance. For me, the central couple is the whole point, and when it’s not clear who that couple I can’t enjoy myself. Does anyone feel the same way? Or can you recommend a love triangle that will totally change my romantic world view? How about your worst romantic coupling – even worse than Jo and the elderly Prof. Bhaer? This entry was posted by Meriam on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 6:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 20 Responses to “The Trouble with Triangles”Leave a Comment |
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February 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
How about a love triangle of when your spouse is on deaths door and he/she wants to make sure you continue living your life to the fullest and make sure you will be taken care of after they are gone? They arrange for you to meet and fall in love with the perfect someone that they have picked out for you. Knowing that they have found this special someone, they are at peace on.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:23 pm
Re Lynn’s comment, I have seen this in a few books and one movie I think, titles escape me.
I really cannot think of any bad triangles.
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:31 am
I tend to like triangles. But I loathe Little Women for a whole separate set of reasons beginning with the way it punishes Jo for being unconventional and tomboyish. I’ll veheme along with you: Laurie and Jo should have married, not Laurie and drippy-twit Amy.
Having got that out of my system… I don’t see Little Women as really posing any triangles, and I don’t think it would bother me if it did. It’s awful enough without extra embellishments
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:52 am
That was one of the reasons I didn’t like Little Women, they should have been together. Also Gone With The Wind. How in the world could Scarlett have wanted that wimpy Ashley when Rhett was available. She had obviously lost her mind. To me there was no comparison between the two. The fact that they didn’t end up together to me was a total bummer.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:47 am
I tend not to like triangles for the reasons you stated. Rooting for the wrong hero. I only read books in which I know who the heroine will end up choosing.
I loved that Alanna and Jon never got their HEA. Never liked them two together. Jon and Thayet are the coolest royal couple.
February 23rd, 2010 at 3:37 pm
One of my favorite love triangles involves the characters in Colleen Gleason’s Gardella Vampire Chronicles.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:34 pm
I like to know who the hero is and root for him. In Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy I thought Hardy was the hero for a while and was surprised that Liberty didn’t end up with him.
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:54 pm
I am not fond of a triangle. I like to have a clear cut hero. It make sthe reading better for me
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:50 pm
I like Lynn R’s suggestion. In that type of triangle, you have an emotional attachment to both. It often ends up bittersweet, but love endures.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:05 am
I don’t care for romantic triangles, they make my head spin!
February 24th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed when Alanna and Jon split.
Ahh, Lynn’s comment made me think of the movie P.S. I Love You. I never read the book so I don’t know how similar it is to the book.
February 24th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
I totally agree about needing to know who the hero is… I just don’t want to invest in the ‘wrong’ hero. Then I’ll be sad and pissed.
RfP – apparently Alcott didn’t want Jo to end up with anyone, because she was supposed to be a ‘literary spinster’. I found this on TV tropes.org
According to the Introduction to the Penguin Classics edition of the book, Louisa May Alcott wrote to a friend, Alf Whitman, “Jo should have remained a literary spinster, but so many enthusiastic young ladies wrote to me clamorously demanding that she marry Laurie, or somebody, that I didn’t dare refuse & out of perversity went & made a funny match for her. I expect vials of wrath to be poured out upon my head, but rather enjoy the prospect.”
Linda, I’m in complete agreement about Rhett Butler. Despite not really loving the book, I think Rhett is one of the best heroes ever created.
I’m so glad others have read The Lioness Quartet. I loved those books. Even if I thought – and always will – George all wrong for Alanna….
February 24th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
I really cannot think of any triangles. But I definitely agree – why would Scarlette choose Ashley over Rhett.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
For the life of me, I cannot really think of a bad coupling. I do enjoy the hea. And it usually obvious who is winding up with who.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I just put a comment on another web page about hating triangles and a friend link this article.
I just had commented that I was going to read the end of Daisy Bellamy story by Susan Wiggs first. If I didn’t like who she ended up with then I wasn’t going to read the book.
Maybe it is me, but it seems that there are a lot of triangles out there.
Charlaine Harris vampire books Bill or Eric
Suzanne Brockmann Decker or Dave
Susan Wiggs Logan Or Julian
Janet Evanovich Ranger or Joe
and that is just the ones I know off the top of my head.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Yes, you see? I just can’t bear the thought of rooting for one guy over countless books and then either he a) dies heroically or b) ends up the sad, dejected loser in love…
In romance, some things should be black and white. There are more than enough triangles and sinking ’ships on TV.
February 27th, 2010 at 10:51 am
I dont think I have ever read a book with 2 females in the mix for the triangle but have with 2 males. Sometimes the 3rd person is a deceased person which is hard.
Serendipity by Fern Michaels comes to mind – Ross and Woo I think were the heroes and Ross’s ex wife (Jocelyn or something like that, sorry) was the heroine. Come to think of it, I dont think she wound up with either of them. Kick in the head, huh? LOL.
February 27th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Rhett definitely deserved someone better than Scarlett, but she was under his skin with a permanent hold on his heart. I understand that all too well…can’t live with ‘em, and you just can’t kill ‘em!
I personally prefer one hero and one heroine discovering who they are themselves as they get to know each other. However, a triangle can be very effective if the characters are well-developed and “the element of three” is essential to the fleshing out of the story line. As we all know, the attractive loser often gets their own book!
February 28th, 2010 at 9:37 am
Have you noticed how romance books trends shift over the years? The last time I saw an Older Gent / Barely Legal pairing was the 1970’s. It works for Georgette Heyer novels, but “contemporary” ones with clumsy colt Deanna and stern, steadying hand Marcus are cringy.
The whole love triangle thing is right up there with “Evil Twins” and “I Can’t Remember Anything” in the overused plot device playbook. It seems to me that if you clearly favor Guy over Man, despite Man’s appeal, you are toying with them both and cheapening yourself if you string Man along. Much as I like Stephanie Plum, this is my least favorite element of the series. The 50-50 attraction is just as bad. If you really, really can’t figure out which one you like better, you ought to stay single while you figure it out. Ending up with either of them comes off as ‘high score gets the trophy’. No thanks.
March 1st, 2010 at 7:46 pm
I too love to read, and triangles really make a book sing! I don’t like books that make it too obvious whom the lady will wind up with, and I like also that some are prone to differences attract. Throw in a little mystery with it and I could go through a box of chocolates before the book is finished!