The Triangle

The Triangle

In all of my years of reading, both original works and fan fiction, there has been no single plot device that irritates me more than the dreaded love triangle. For most of my life so far, I thought it was stupid because it doesn't happen like that in real life. I have been proven wrong on that count, though it was more of a one-sided line than a triangle, what with someone liking me, but me not liking him at all in favor of someone else, who in turn didn't like me like that. So I understand that it can happen. But why on earth do so many authors feel the need to use it as a plot device?

I used to not have a problem with love triangles. If a book or fan fiction looked good, I would read it regardless of how many people were involved in the romance portion. I, however, eventually reached a point where it frustrated me. With the amount such a situation is seen in books, one would think it is a common occurrence in human life. While I can now admit that it isn't a real life impossibility, I also know that it is not nearly as common as an alien would think if he was learning our culture simply through reading fictional stories. I feel like we should be depicting human life as true as we can, unless, of course, the life we are writing about is not human.

Another problem I have with the triangle is the creativity aspect. Love triangles are a cliche. There are those who would disagree with me, and I do not particularly care. I have gotten to the point, when reading, where I see other potential prospects for the heroine and I assume there will be a damn triangle, even if it is just fabricated. Everyone is doing it. Should we just jump onto the bandwagon? I don't think so. There are so many ways to make a romance interesting without throwing in some other guy. Is this lack of originality a testament to the ever-shrinking creativity in writer's? I certainly hope not.

The next problem is characterization. I read these stories about some girl who is so very in love with this one guy. She would give anything for him. Then something unfortunate happens and she is forced into a situation, in some way or another, with another guy who is smitten with her. First of all, why are all fictional females ridiculously pretty and irresistible?  I understand that reader's don't want to read about an ugly person, as shallow as it may be, but it is really unnecessary to have everyone fall in love with your character. In reverse, it is not natural for the female to always be so fickle. Yes, there are people like that, but why is that the only side of human females represented in  literature these days?

I understand why the triangle is effective. It splits the reader, if done correctly. Either the reader has a favorite in mind and wants to see them win, or they love both and wait for the author to decide. This does keep the reader turning the pages, but at what cost? Yes, there have been times when a love triangle has kept me reading a book I would otherwise hate. But is that really the purpose of the book? I hope not. If so, it should just be sold under pointless romance with no plot. Yes, that was harsh, but as much as I feel that characters make a story what it is, plot is also necessary.

This rant really came about while I was reading a story where a woman was so in love and so happy, and the author decided to throw in a love triangle. It made me angry. So now I am letting it out. Because the plot is so good that I am willing to look past this stupid triangle because I need to know what happens in the story. And my stomach is growling. And the slightly formal tone of this post has now all-but-dissipated.