The Case of the Love Triangle

The scene that started it all... One of the best examples of love triangle tension EVER!!

            As my friends and I were brainstorming throughout the day, we had so much fun coming up with examples of love triangles. Recently I have mentioned a lot about them in my blogs and I decided it was time they had a blog of their own. Especially since they have become so popular in young adult novels (thank you, Stephanie Meyer!!)

Two blogs* I have read about love triangles in YA novels focused on “gender stereotype” and how they always involve a girl deciding between two boys, and not the other way around. However, my opinion is a little different, so I will focus on two main questions:

1)   Why are love triangles so popular?

Is it a coincidence that Blair wears the same outfit
when she is meeting her two men? I don't think so!!

If you look at my list below, you will definitely agree that love triangles are popular not only in books but in all kinds of media, from medieval (Camelot!) to current hot stuff (Gossip Girl!) But why do people like them so much?  In my opinion, it is as simple as this: they are just more INTERESTING!! As much as I adore “Chair” (aka Chuck and Blair, for all you non Gossip Girl fans) would anyone keep watching Gossip Girl if everything was all perfect and dandy all the time? NO!! People keep watching for the drama, and the best way to add drama is to add another love interest, of course!! In the words of a fancy English scholar** that my sister tried to explain to me, “everybody wants to read about triangular love, not linear love.”

2)   Why do the love triangles always include two girls and one boy in young adult novels?

While some argue that this has to do with gender stereotype, but my personal opinion is that it has more to do with the novels’ target audience. Let’s face it, your typical supernatural romance is usually written with a teenage girl in mind. (Most authors give up on teenage boys, since the majority of teenage boys do not read, and if they do read, they read Vince Flynn Spy Books like my brother.) To make the books more appealing to girls, the author will naturally add another “hot guy” into the mix. Furthermore, I don’t think girls would really like to read about a boy choosing over two girls because a) we don’t like to read about how jealous and catty our fellow girls can be, because then it would be like admitting an ugly truth that WE might have acted the same way and b) it DOES play to the gender stereotype and we would probably label that boy as a pimp, pander, etc.

BUT, if you go beyond the world of teen literature, you can find many more examples of love triangles with one guy and two girls, because different types of media are targeted to a more varied audience. (I highlighted the ones below that have one boy and two girls.)

So, whether you read YA fiction or not, you have to agree that a good love triangle makes any love story more interesting. Can you think of any more love triangles? What are your thoughts?

Books

Bella/ Edward/ Jacob (Twilight)

Katniss/ Peeta/ Gale (Hunger Games)

Laurel/ Tamani/ David (Wings)

Meghan/ Puck/ Ash (Iron King)

Fire/ Brigan/ Archer (Fire)

Henry/ Penelope/ Diana (The Luxe)

Darcy/ Elizabeth/ Caroline (Pride and Prejudice)

Guinevere/ Lancelot/ Arthur (Tales of Camelot)

Ian/ Spencer/ Melissa (Pretty Little Liars)

Cassia/ Xander/ Ky (Matched)

Tally/ Zane/ David (Uglies)

Hermione/ Ron/ Viktor (Harry Potter)

Ron/ Hermione/ Lavender (Harry Potter)

Henry/ Anne/ Mary (The Other Boelyn Girl)

Savannah/ Tim/ John (Dear John)

Scarlett/ Ashley/ Rhett (Gone With the Wind)

The tension between Viktor, Hermione, and Ron is in full swing at the Yule Ball...
(Watch it all explode below.)

T.V

Serena/ Dan/ Nate (Gossip Girl)

Blair/ Chuck/ Nate (Gossip Girl)

Dan/ Vanessa/ Olivia (Gossip Girl)

Rachel, Ross, and Emily

Finn/ Rachel/ Santana (Glee)

Emma/ Mr. Shuster/ Carl (Glee)

Hannah/ Jake/ Jesse (Hannah Montana)

Casey/ Cappie/ Evan (Greek)

Cappie/ Casey/ Rebecca (Greek)

Dan/ Marty/ Savannah (Hellcats)

Ross/ Rachel/ Emily (Friends)

Carrie/ Big/ Aidan (Sex and The City)

Barbara/ Cody/ Bob (Suite Life of Zach and Cody)

Movies

Allie/ Lon/ Noah (The Notebook)

Andie/ Ducky/ Blaine (Pretty in Pink)

Mr. Knightley/ Emma/ Harriet (Emma)

Rose/ Jack/ Cal (The Titanic)

Sebastian/ Annette/ Catherine (Cruel Intentions)

REAL LIFE

Brad/ Angelina/ Jennifer

Aaron Carter/ Hillary Duff/ Lindsay Lohan (I did NOT make that up)

                         

 *To read the two blogs I referenced, click here and here. I think they are good blogs and they have a lot of followers.

** To read this article I referenced, click here. René Girard, the author, is a well-respected English scholar. Most English majors have read him for a class, like at Princeton. :)