The Ubiquitous Love Triangle

[rachelmanija]

Love triangles, always popular in many genres, seem to have become a near-requirement for YA fantasy and science fiction.

I usually do not like love triangles. They bring up the possibility of infidelity, which I hate in literature.

They bring up a lot of angst which I find hard to identify with - this is probably a very personal reaction, but I always think, "Having not one, but TWO attractive guys you like? What a great "problem" to have! That's like getting two fabulous job offers, or being accepted by your top two colleges!"

Plus I find it annoying that, if the heroine genuinely loves them both, no one ever even considers the possibility of polyamory, or even not choosing immediately and seeing how things shake out. (Honorable exceptions: a few books whose titles are spoilery given that this is surprising and happens at the end, but they're by Janni Simner, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Caroline Stevermer. Um. And Laurell K. Hamilton. Maybe that one should be dishonorable.)

It's also usually excruciatingly obvious who the heroine will pick, making her angst annoying and pointless - one guy is clearly evil, unworthy, or doesn't reach the heights of exquisite wonderfulness as the other.

It is very annoying when the triangle is resolved without the heroine making a meaningful choice, because one of the guys dies or turns out to be evil or falls for someone else. Total bait and switch!

Finally, the ubiquity in certain genres may be why many seem to be pasted on as an afterthought. Elements pasted on due to marketability rarely add to the artistry of a work.

One of the few that I've ever liked was in Patricia McKillip's Changeling Sea, in which there were three guys and a girl, and they all had about equal screen time and were all attractive and likable in some sense. Plus, she picked my favorite.

Talk to me about love triangles. Why do you like them? Why do you like the ones you like? Why do you dislike them? And which are your most and least favorites?

Please mark triangle-related spoilers in the header of your comment, ie, "Spoilers for Hunger Games."

Comments

Re: Spoilers for Elfquest and Song of the Lioness

[holyschist]

I think I might also add Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith, although I'm not sure "love triangle" is the best term for it, exactly. I also rather liked the eventual semi-resolution of Tiffany's romantic subplots in I Shall Wear Midnight, but again I'm not sure it's love-triangle territory.

Re: Spoilers for Elfquest and Song of the Lioness

[holyschist]

...and considering further, I think love triangles are less likely to irk me if the protagonist is emotionally into both but is forced to choose due to external factors, such as Constraints of Duty and whatnot (e.g. one love interest comes with a crown, and ze would make a lousy ruler; one love interest would require conversion and neither party is willing to give up their faith--this is why the love triangle in Ivanhoe doesn't really bother me, at least in the miniseries version, although I desperately hope Rebecca gets a Nice Jewish Boy down the line).

I had this thought yesterday that Cutter-Leetah-Rayek are almost a prototype for Twilight--where Cutter is (quite literally) a wolfboy and Rayek is the guy whose love is so creepy and intense he might wipe out Leetah's sense of self if she let him. Except of course Leetah picks Cutter, rather sensibly.

Re: Spoilers for Elfquest and Song of the Lioness

[shewhohashope]

Rebecca will never get a nice Jewish boy - since she can't have Ivanhoe, she decides to be celibate. Not that that stopped Thackeray from writing fanfic where Rowena dies and Rebecca converts to marry Ivanhoe.

Re: Spoilers for Elfquest and Song of the Lioness

[holyschist]

I did say "at least in the miniseries version," which is rather different from the book. :-) I don't recall if there's a vow of celibacy there, but I did get the distinct impression that there was the possibility of her finding someone else down the line.

Rebecca converting would kind of destroy a core element of her character, I think.