Trust & Obey

There are so many different couples that come to mind when I think of romance novels like Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice, Tris and Tobias from Divergent series, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre, or Aragorn and Arwen of The Lord of The Rings. The love that flows through the pages makes women, young and old, ooh and ahh as the romance unfolds before our eyes. So what happens when there isn’t just one love interest but two? Does this create a better romance or ruin the classic love story that so many cherish?

A classic example of a love triangle is the Twilight books and films. I never watched or read Twilight but my mom got into them and was later weirded out by the obsessiveness of fans. To add to that, she was also uncomfortable with how creepy Bella and Edward’s relationship was. My mom didn’t end up finishing the movies. Finally, was the love triangle between Edward, the vampire, Bella, the human, and Jacob, the werewolf. There’s the constant question of who will she pick? The same is true with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale from The Hunger Games novels and movies. This one I would say has been viewed as less weird and is a love story many adore as time has continued to move along. I really liked the dynamic of Katniss having to decide between an emotional, loving guy or a protective, manly guy. I won’t say who she picked, but I will say I didn’t like who she picked at first. After watching the movies a second time, though, I realized I probably would’ve done the same.

The point of a love triangle is to create more drama in a novel and cause girls to dream of being sought after by not one, but two guys. In theory, who wouldn’t want two people vying for your attention? Well, in the real world, it causes some serious messiness and unwanted issues. I don’t think it’s nearly as romantic or exciting as novels and movies play it out to be. I have found it only causes hurt for the person not picked and makes the person who chose feel like a total jerk. By the time it’s all said and done only one person is happy and they probably aren’t either because they have to deal with the person feeling bad for the person they didn’t pick! There’s really no winning in a love triangle. I’d love to say that it ends all with a happy ending but I’m afraid that that is usually not the case.

Am I saying love triangles are evil? No way! I am saying, though, that I think it creates unrealistic expectations for people and kind of sends the message that if you are REALLY desirable then you will be wanted by multiple people, not just one. This doesn’t work though because it’s more than likely that you are planning to only marry one person! I think it’s fun to read about but at the end of the day, it’s important to understand that this is unrealistic. If you don’t have many people in love with you it doesn’t matter because you really only need one!

What’s your favorite romance? Mine would have to be from The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers. Let me know what yours is in the comments!