This year for the A to Z Challenge, I'm investigating emotions and reactions and their use to in writing. So, I'll be talking about my first thoughts as a writer when I think about the words we use to describe emotions and my experience of their use in literature.
love, lust & loathing
love: a strong feeling of affection, tenderness, warmth, intimacy.
lust: strong sexual desire, ardour, passion..
loathing: a feeling of intense dislike or disgust.
Okay, so maybe I'm being greedy at having three emotions today, but that's because I think they appear so often together. Who of us hasn't read, or watched ye olde love triangle being played out for us, in which there is undoubtedly a good mix of all three emotions.
Male, or female, lust usually kicks these things off, a flash of eyes, a nice smile, a good body, all these can attract attention from a distance - or maybe it is the demonstration of someone's intelligence that gets the old passions flowing. I'd say this is what we call love at first sight.
Hopefully, if we're enjoying our read/watch, that gets followed by love, a developing emotion, something that blossoms with time and understanding. This kind of attachment goes deeper than the surface, making a connection between two people.
And then of course, in the classic three-way affair, there are two people in love with the same person. This is where loathing comes in, because rivalry can very quickly become dislike, may even start out that way. If anyone has been watching Poldark, or indeed has read the books, then you'll have seen this in developing, in fact, there are two mixing, the first of which definitely has its fair share of loathing Ross Poldark comes back from the American War of Independence to reclaim his sweetheart, Elizabeth, only to find her betrothed to his cousin, Francis, whom she marries. This brings tensions, since Francis is jealous and possessive whenever he sees Ross with Elizabeth.
These three emotions can be played with in many combinations, lust to bring desire and passion into a story, love to bind the characters together and loathing to tear them apart.
QUESTION: What's the best developed love-triangle you've ever read/watched?
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Those three emotions can definitely be interchangeable, especially when love is involved. Each emotion comes from a very passionate place.
ReplyDeleteAnd it can be so interesting when they do :)
DeleteNot sure about the question with the best love triangle; got to do some thinking about it :) But I do agree with what Stephanie said how those three emotions could be interchangeable indeed when it comes to love.
ReplyDeletebetty
we can go through extremes for love :)
DeleteI normally don't really tolerate love triangles in fiction very well. I feel like it's something that needs to be done carefully to successfully pull it off. The best love triangle I can think of was in Yentl, but then that's a rather unusual triangle. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's like any trope - writer beware and do it well :) Although, my sis, Tash always say, 'Why bother with a love triangle when you can have menage' ;P
DeleteThere many love triangles I could pick from, but I'm not sure which would be the best. Pulling off a good, solid love triangle is hard, but worth the time for the readers.
ReplyDeleteThat it is :)
DeleteI agree with Tasha. Screw the triangle and bring on the menage! Though I have to admit I have not seen either done "well" in my mind.
ReplyDeleteThe Anita Blake books come to mind, but only as a more notorious example, not actually a good one.
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Tim Brannan, The Other Side Blog
2015 A to Z of Vampires
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/
I have a penchant for menage as well - I haven't read Anita Blake, but Tasha has :)
DeleteThe three L's. My character like to show them all the time.
ReplyDeleteI don't like love/lust triangles. I find them annoying and unrealistic. At least I've never encountered any love triangles in real life.
I agree, it's not something common in real life and has to be done well to be convincing in literature.
DeleteWonderful L words! I think immediately of King Author, Guinevere and Lancelot.
ReplyDeleteNow that is a classic!
DeleteI generally avoid love triangles. They aren't my favorite trope.
ReplyDeleteThey're not for everyone :)
DeleteI love exploring love triangles. I'll have to write about one soon.
ReplyDeletePrecious Monsters
You do that! :D
DeleteHi Sophie .. I thought of the film Jules et Jim ... and then so many of literary and artistic sets over the years have various mixes of loves and lovers .. the Charleston set being one of them ... I'm enjoying Poldark too - though I missed on episode .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteYes, Byron comes to mind too :)
DeleteHmm. I don't know. Good love triangles - I don't know. Lots of YA fiction have them.
ReplyDeleteYes, they do, don't they....
Delete