Guest post written by author Jane L. Rosen
Jane L. Rosen is an author and Huffington Post contributor. She lives in New York City and Fire Island with her husband and three daughters. Her first novel Nine Women, One Dress was translated into ten languages. Her second novel Eliza Starts a Rumor won the Zibby Award for Best Sophomore Novel. A Shoe Story is out now.
The love triangle is a plot device for the ages—it’s literally in the Bible. When Jacob was tricked by his father-in-law into marrying Leah, his true love’s sister, the love triangle was born, and it has been well represented in literature ever since. Shakespeare used it in Romeo and Juliet, Edmond Rostand in Cyrano de Bergerac, F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby and Alexandre Dumas in The Three Musketeers. Two of Jane Austen’s most famous protagonists, Emma and Elizabeth Bennett, fell victim to the three-sided trope, as did Emily Brontë’s Catherine in Wuthering Heights.
The love triangle usually inspires readers to take sides, rooting for one suitor over the other. Character preferences on paper can go a long way towards determining one’s own love trajectories IRL. Are you a romantic to the point of blindness, or do you analyze a relationship based on practical criteria? Are you attracted to the bad boy or girl (think Scarlett Rhett Butler) or are you looking for the preeminent good guy (think Ashley Wilkes)? Do you go for the underdog or the top dog, the saint or the sinner? Does your happily ever after come from the right side or the wrong side of the tracks? Whichever the case, who you root for in fictional love triangle scenarios may say a lot about your romantic aspirations.
Check out a few examples of the modern-day love triangle and see where you stand.
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
One of the best examples of the band boy/good guy love triangle, and for me the hardest one to choose between, can be found on the pages of Bridget Jones’s Diary. Who will Bridget, the kooky, pessimistic optimist, choose—Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy? Personally, I would have found it hard to pass up Daniel Cleaver. I know he may not be husband material, but that combo of smart, sexy and funny is irresistible.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Let’s be clear that I’m talking about the book here, not the movie. One look at the chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in the film version makes it impossible to turn away, let alone root for the other guy. But did Allie make the right choice in picking Noah over Lon in the novel? Their relationship may have been sexier, but it was alarmingly dramatic and toxic. Remember, at the beginning of the story, how Noah threatened to jump from the Ferris wheel if Allie didn’t run off with him? That seems like quite the red flag, if you ask me. In contrast, Lon and Allie’s relationship was based on mutual respect and admiration. Unpopular opinion, I’m sure, but I am team Lon.
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
Lucy and Gabe met at Columbia and broke up to pursue their individual dreams. From there, they both fell into that curse of their first loves poisoning every relationship that followed. Lucy married Darren, a truly great husband, dad and friend, yet she was still hung up on Gabe. It’s a common conundrum, safe and stable versus daring and exciting, but in this case, I really felt for Darren. It wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t Gabe.
One Day In December by Josie Silver
This one surprised me, in a good way, with an ending I didn’t predict. I loved turning the pages through the decade of friendship between Laurie, Sarah and Jack and wondering who would end up with whom. I think things turned out just as they should have for these three. And I think most people would agree.
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
No one does the triangular trope better than the Gossip Girl books and television series, with the tally, if you include the show, surpassing ten love triangles. But it was the original three-sided conflict between Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen and Nate Archibald that started the whole thing. Both women in the book lose their virginity to Nate and, in Serena’s case, it is the catalyst for her running off to boarding school. Personally, I think Nate is a bore and not worth competing over. I would choose the Blake/Serena friendship over either romantic dalliance any day.
A Shoe Story by Jane L. Rosen
In my novel, A Shoe Story, my main character, Esme Nash, returns to New York City in search of her first love, Liam Beck. Along the way, she meets a cute law school student/bartender named Zach Bennett. So far, the readers I have spoken with are divided over Team Liam or Team Zach. I took great care when writing these two characters not to take sides—so much so, in fact, that I don’t really have a definitive favorite. Though I do think Esme ended up in the right place. Check it out and see who you think Esme should spend happily ever after with!
