One word for love triangle

One of the reasons why the love triangle relationship occurs lies in certain male traits, such as polygamy. Some men simply want to try sex with someone else. Such desire often appears if the husband had few sexual partners before his wife (and maybe she’s even the only one).

What is considered a love triangle?

A love triangle is a relationship in which three people are each in love with at least one other person in the relationship.

Are love triangles common?

While a love triangle may begin with a casual, short term affair between these two people, the term generally refers to a more complex relationship. A love triangle is one of the more complicated psychological relationship issues, and yet it’s also one of the most common.

What is the love triangle in Twelfth Night?

The main love triangle of Twelfth Night is between the characters Viola, Countess Olivia, and Count Orsino. In the kingdom of Illyria, where the play is set, Count Orsino has been pursuing Countess Olivia for some time.

What is a love triangle with 4 people?

Love rectangle, also known as a quadrangle, is a somewhat inane term to define a romantic relationship that involves four people. It is comparable to the typically three-sided love triangle.

How do love squares work?

A love square is when four characters in a story become romantically involved with each other. Think of it as a love triangle, but with four people. Each person in the love square should connect to the other three. Love squares are also called love quadrangles, love rectangles, or love boxes.

Is there a love triangle in run on Kdrama?

Bride of Habaek has a love triangle with the villain. Run On has 2 different couples.

What’s another word for love triangle?

A love triangle (also called a romantic love triangle or a romance triangle or an eternal triangle) is usually a romantic relationship involving three people.

What is the eternal triangle?

eternal triangle (plural eternal triangles) (idiomatic) A relationship involving three persons (usually two women and one man or two men and one woman) among whom there are conflicting and competing attachments of a romantic or emotional nature.

What is a synonym for Triangle?

In this page you can discover 20 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for triangle, like: pyramid, pyriform, deltoid, triangular, set-square, trigon, deltoidal, trigonal, triangulum, trilateral and pyramidal.

What is a tryst?

1 : an agreement (as between lovers) to meet. 2 : an appointed meeting or meeting place. tryst. verb. trysted; trysting; trysts.

By Rachel Leitch

Was Little Women the first example of a ship war?

Quick definition (in case you’re like me and didn’t know): A ship war is when fans of a movie or book are divided on their opinions of which character should end up with the love interest.

No matter who it is, whether or not they’re all that deep into the classics at all, if they’ve read Little Women, they likely have an opinion on who should have ended up with Laurie.

Jo and Laurie. Amy and Laurie. Meg or Beth and Laurie. Or even no one and Laurie.

For the record, I am Jo and Laurie all the way. They just had such a deep relationship and understanding of each other.

But I’m not trying to restart the ship war here. No matter what side of the Laurie war you land on, hopefully we can lay down our arms and look a little closer.

Because underneath the ship war lies a very successful love triangle.

Love triangles have gotten a bad rap. In general, they’ve been tired out and used as fallbacks when there’s nothing else to do with the plot and characters. As a result, a lot of generic, boring triangles lurk out there, leading some readers and writers to steer clear of them entirely.

And yet one of the most successful and well-known romances of all time was built on a love triangle.

Sure, love triangles weren’t as tired out back then as they are now. But Louisa May Alcott knew some secrets to creating a love triangle that works and draws readers in with or without their consent.

Maybe we can learn a few tips from her and revitalize this beloved trope along the way.

What is a love triangle?

A love triangle is a trope (which is just a cool word for a certain element frequently used in stories) where two people love the same person, and the recipient has to decide between the two. (Two boys like the same girl, two girls like the same boy, etc.)

Now, the thing is, tropes are not like clichés. There is nothing wrong with a trope. People love tropes. That’s how they become tropes—they get used over and over again in different books until it’s a staple plot go-to.

Love triangles were obviously received very well. And they do come with some benefits.

Pros of a love triangle include:

What ship wars do you feel strongly about? And what’s your opinion on the Little Women triangle? Let me know in the comments below!

But love triangles quickly fell out of love with the general public due to some sloppy executions and tired repetition.

 Cons of love triangles include:

And yet Little Women remains a classic today, with a still-active ship war, and comes away with all the pros. How do we write love triangles like that—a love triangle that might just convince readers to like them again? I have three ideas. And then we can debate Laurie ships until our faces turn blue.

1. All the characters in the triangle were equally developed

While some people naturally like Jo more (me), and some naturally like Amy more, they were both well-developed and likable characters.

Both had their strengths (Jo’s creativity, outgoingness, and unique view of the world; Amy’s artistic leanings and desire to be unselfish) and their weaknesses (Jo’s quick temper and impulsiveness, Amy’s tendency to focus on herself. The ice scene, anyone?). We knew what they wanted, what they needed, what lies they were believing, and what their goals were.

Jo didn’t miss out on all her character development just because Amy was going to end up with Laurie, or vice versa. Neither Jo or Amy suddenly became an evil jerk so that we didn’t feel as bad about her being let down.

Both of their relationships with Laurie were well-developed as well. My own ship case rests on Jo and Laurie’s relationship. Ever since they met as kids, they understood the others’ idiosyncrasies and showed up for each other.

While it really gets more underway once Amy leaves for Europe, there are hints of their relationship early in the book. Then, once they get to Europe, Amy helps bring Laurie out of his depression (which is pretty sweet in its own right).

Plus, Laurie is well-developed! He’s not just there for the girls to fight over him. He has thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs of his own.

These well-developed characters are the key to the other two elements (emotion and surprise, as we’ll talk about below).

Once you know how a character operates, you know how they will react to certain situations.

 And once you know how they could react, you’re free to explore all the different twists and turns that could be a part of that package.

Having all these well-developed characters in constant conflict with each other naturally sparks genuine emotion. You don’t have to spray the page with buckets of tears. Your reader will naturally feel with your characters, because they’ve grown to like them and want to see them happy with the person of their choice. They will naturally care deeply about your characters, and you’ll see them start to take sides.

For more on developing your characters, you might consider checking out this article I wrote for Kingdom Pen a while back:

So before you do anything else in your love triangle, you need to know your characters. What next?

2. The ending was surprising

(and so was the path that got there)

We had no idea which way it was going to go. It seemed only natural that Jo would end up with Laurie. But then there was that (HEARTBREAKING) scene where she turns him down. And, if you were anything like me, you sat there stunned wondering, “Well, what now?”

Amy, that’s what.

The ending was hard and sweet and messy and satisfying all at once. The characters were surprised, so we were surprised.

Equally developed characters help with this. They give you boundaries. You know Character A could react Option 1, but would never react Option 2.

But within those parameters, there’s about a dozen different ways those reactions could play out.

Jo could accept Laurie’s proposal. She could turn him down. She could fall for Professor Baher. Or she could make a new life for herself in New York. She could decide to stay home and never leave again. She could regret her decision and contact Laurie again. She could remain a spinster. We just didn’t know!

When you add in the opposite character in the conflict and the dozen different ways they could react, you’ve got endless possibilities for twists and turns. (Go ahead, think about all the options that Amy presented. Or Laurie, for that matter.)

Jo turning Laurie down was shocking enough. But then came the added surprise of Amy falling for Laurie. And then, even when Jo regretted her actions (somewhat) and we thought they might have another chance, then it was too late.

And then there’s Professor Baher. (Who, even as a strong Jo and Laurie person, if Jo couldn’t have Laurie, I’m pretty happy with Fredreich.) Who actually creates another triangle when you think about it.

All of these things came naturally out of the character development. They were all things that felt natural to the character. Jo didn’t suddenly do something crazy and out of character after she turned down Laurie. Professor Baher was naturally the type of person she’d connect with. Amy didn’t snap. She naturally cared about Laurie and wanted to help.

But we didn’t see any of them coming. They were possible. We just didn’t know which possibility was going to become reality.

There are so many ways to go. Follow the path of your character’s emotions and see what you find. Don’t be afraid to try new, maybe hard and messy things. If your love triangle ties up with no one different than they were when they started, then you might need to give it a suspicious eye.

A couple ideas on how to end your love triangle:

Different, but still good: Does your love triangle always have to end sadly? No! (In fact, tragic love triangles are becoming overdone as well.) Sure, there will be sadness along the way. But ultimately, the Little Women triangle ends happily—both girls with someone they truly love and who truly loves them. Maybe the losing character meets someone else they truly love. Maybe they stay single, but find a job they love or fulfill a dream. Maybe the losing character remains friends with the love interest.

Tragic: While you do have to be careful with this one—killing off the other member in the triangle can be awfully convenient—it can work. Tragedy doesn’t have to mean physical death. What about the death of a dream? Of a relationship? Of something else that everyone in the triangle values? What if they choose one partner, but come to regret it and can’t go back and fix it?

Platonic: If you’ve invested this much page time in purposely creating a love triangle, approach this one with caution. However, I did once accidentally create a ship war that ended with all my characters being friends. This worked because I had planned for them all to be friends from the beginning. I hadn’t written it as a love triangle, readers just read it that way. So the friendships still seemed natural to the story and still left my readers feeling satisfied by the end of the story. If I had been planning for a love triangle all along, it probably wouldn’t have flown.

Now, onto the third and final element of a love triangle that works.

3. It was emotional, but not overdramatic

The whole book wasn’t about Jo and Amy fawning over Laurie, hissing and clawing at each other, and agonizing over what decision to make. Did it happen? Yeah.

But they also had lives. They had families. They had other relationships. Life went on. And the triangle was just part of life.

If you’re writing purely a romance novel, you may have the luxury of making your triangle the main plot of your novel. And if you are, kudos, because sometimes I struggle with just a side-plot romance. I can’t imagine doing a WHOLE book.

But most other genres, your triangle will have to be a side plot. Which means you can’t let it get too greedy.

I’ve already touched on some ways to do that above.

Delve deep into your character’s relationship with their family—family members are untapped potential in fiction.

Give each character strong friends—both ones who are the same gender they are and ones who are the opposite gender.

Give them something else to do in the book besides crush on your love interest. If the only reason they’re in the plot is as part of a triangle, then they need to either find a role or perhaps find a place in another story.

But what about when it comes to those scenes? Jo and Laurie breaking up and such? (Although is it a break up if they were never really dating?) Love triangles do tend to be quite the emotional deal.

The key is to not be over-emotional.

I personally believe the power of these scenes was that it didn’t run the gamut of all the emotions. It chose one and camped there for a little while. Like I mentioned above, if you’ve got developed characters and a twist-and-turn plot, your readers will naturally be invested.

The best thing to do is to try and crawl into your character’s head. What will they feel? What will they see? What will they do? Jo reacted differently to Laurie’s proposal because of what she believed about herself and the world. If Amy, Meg, or Beth had been put into that situation, it would have gone much differently, because they see the world differently. Laurie reacted differently to Jo’s refusal because he didn’t see things the same way she did.

Make sure both your characters in the scene have those motivations fully fleshed out. What makes these scenes so emotional is we see where the other character is coming from. We see both perspectives at once, even if both characters aren’t telling us at once. And that’s what makes it hurt.

So just find those conflicting desires and then play on them. See what happens.

Another secret to avoiding melodrama is subtext. Most melodramatic scenes are blatant and obvious, painfully so. The characters state exactly how they feel. (Or they cry buckets of tears and it’s obvious how they feel.) 

Subtext is a remarkably easy way to fix this. Consider stirring subtext into: 

This adds depth (it shows a side to your character that readers haven’t seen before), believability (do we ever say everything we’re really feeling?), and, of course, it helps keep it from being melodramatic. 

With this advice, you should be all set to create a ship war of your own and have readers storming your house demanding answers. That’s what every author wants, don’t they?

Who knows? Maybe we’ll bring the love triangle back into vogue.

Not to be confused with Triangular theory of love or Ménage à trois.

For other uses, see Love triangle (disambiguation).

A love triangle (also called a romantic love triangle or a romance triangle or an eternal triangle) is usually a romantic relationship involving three or more people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two.
The 1994 book Beliefs, Reasoning, and Decision Making states, «Although the romantic love triangle is formally identical to the friendship triad, as many have noted their actual implications are quite different….Romantic love is typically viewed as an exclusive relationship, whereas friendship is not.»^[1] Statistics suggest that, in Western society, «willingly or not, most adults have been involved in a love triangle».^[2]

Types of love triangle

Two main forms of love triangle have been distinguished: «there is the rivalrous triangle, where the lover is competing with a rival for the love of the beloved, and the split-object triangle, where a lover has split their attention between two love objects».^[3]

History and definitions

The term «love triangle» generally connotes an arrangement unsuitable to one or more of the people involved. One person typically ends up feeling betrayed at some point (e.g., «Person A is jealous of Person C who is having a relationship with Person B who, in Person A’s eyes, is ‘his/her’ person.»).^[4] A similar arrangement that is agreed upon by all parties is sometimes called a triad, which is a type of polyamory even though polyamory usually implies sexual relations. Within the context of monogamy, love triangles are inherently unstable, with unrequited love and jealousy as common themes. In most cases, the jealous or rejected first party ends a friendship—and sometimes even starts a fight with—the second party over the third-party love interest. Though rare, love triangles have been known to lead to murder or suicide committed by the actual or perceived rejected lover.

Psychoanalysis has explored «the theme of erotic love triangles and their roots in the Oedipal triangle».^[5] Experience suggests that «a repeated pattern of forming or being caught in love triangle can be much dissolved by beginning to analyse the patterns of the childhood relationship to each parent in turn and to both parents as a couple».^[5] In such instances, «you find men who are attracted only by married woman but who can’t sustain the relationship if it threatens to become more than an affair. They need the husband to protect them from a full relationship…as women who repeatedly get involved with married men need the wives».^[6]

Common themes

Template:Or-section
A common love triangle is one in which the hero or heroine is torn between two suitors of radically contrasting personalities; one of a girl next door or nice guy type, and the other as a physically attractive but potentially hazardous person. Alternatively, the hero or heroine has a choice between a seemingly perfect lover and an imperfect but endearing person. In this case, the «too-good-to-be-true» person is often revealed to have a significant flaw, such as hidden insensitivity or lecherousness, causing the other person to become the more desirable partner.

Eternal triangle

For other uses, see Eternal triangle (disambiguation).

«In geometric terms, the eternal triangle can be represented as comprising three points – a jealous mate (A) in a relationship with an unfaithful partner (B) who has a lover (C)…A feels abandoned, B is between two mates, and C is a catalyst for crisis in the union A-B».^[7]

It has been suggested that «a collusive network is always needed to keep the triangle eternal».^[8] This may take a tragic form – «I saw no prospect of its ending except with death – the death of one of three people»^[9] – or alternately a comic one: «A man at the funeral of a friend’s wife, with whom he has been carrying on an affair, breaks into tears and finally becomes hysterical, while the husband remains impassive. ‘Calm yourself,’ says the husband, ‘I’ll be marrying again’.»^[10]

It has been suggested that if men «share a sense of brotherhood and they allow a woman into their relationship, an isosceles triangle is created» automatically, as «in Truffaut‘s film Jules et Jim«.^[11] René Girard has explored the role of envy and mimetic desire in such relationships, arguing that often the situation «subordinates a desired something to the someone who enjoys a privileged relationship with it».^[12] In such cases, ‘it cannot be fair to blame the quarrel of the mimetic twins on a woman….She is their common scapegoat’.^[13]

Marital breakup

When a love triangle results in the breakup of a marriage, it may often be followed by what has been called «the imposition of a ‘defilement taboo’…the emotional demand imposed by a jealous ex-mate…to eschew any friendly or supportive contact with the rival in the triangle».^[14] The result is often to leave children gripped by «shadows from the past…they often take sides. Their loyalties are torn», and – except in the best of cases – «the one left ‘injured’ can easily sway the feelings of the children against acknowledging this new relationship».^[15]

As to gender responsibility, evidence would seem to indicate that in late modernity both sexes may equally well play the part of the «Other Person» – that «men and women love with equivalent passion as well as folly»^[8] and that certainly there is nothing to «suggest that a man is better able to control himself in a love triangle than a woman».^[16] Stereotypically, the person at the center of a rivalrous love triangle is a woman, whereas for a split-object love triangle it is a man, due to the same reasons that polygyny is far more common than polyandry.

Those who find themselves tempted to become the Other Man may, however, still find a cynic’s advice from the 1930s pertinent on «the emotional position of the adulterer, and why to avoid it…Did I know what a mug’s game was? – No. – ‘A mug’s game,’ he told me, ‘is breaking your back at midnight, trying to make another man’s wife come«.^[17]

In entertainment

Love triangles are a popular theme in entertainment, especially romantic fiction, including opera, romance novels, soap operas, romantic comedies, manga, tabloid talk shows, and popular music.

Fiction

Eric Berne termed that conflictual aspect of the love triangle «Let’s You and Him Fight»; and considered «the psychology is essentially feminine. Because of its dramatic qualities, LYAHF is the basis of much of the world’s literature, both good and bad».^[18]

Young adult literature has seen a rise in the popularity of the love triangle story structure (such as Twilight or The Selection). But the love triangle story structure has been around since before early classic writers like William Shakespeare and Alexandre Dumas. Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet featured a love triangle between Juliet, Romeo, and Paris. Although more subtle, Dumas’s classics The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers also feature love triangles strong enough to seek revenge and start a war.

Love triangles can either be relatively balanced, in which the two candidates each have a fair chance of ending up with the protagonist, or they can be lopsided, in which the hero or heroine has an obvious romantic interest in one of the candidates, and considers the other candidate as «just a friend«, but withholds a confession to avoid hurting feelings. An example of this is in the Broadway hit musical Wicked, in which dim-witted Fiyero first displays affection for Glinda the Good Witch, but then falls for Elphaba, the supposedly Wicked Witch. But in this latter case, to provide necessary tension and drama, the second platonic candidate is also very often the hero or heroine’s long-term boyfriend or girlfriend.[citation needed]

A less permanent love triangle occurs when a former lover of the main character makes an unexpected appearance to win back the character’s heart, provoking feelings of jealousy from the main character’s steady partner. However, this situation is usually not considered an actual love triangle since there is little possibility of the main character breaking up with a longtime partner to pursue a just-introduced character, and it is often used as only a test of the true depth of the main character’s devotion to their partner. In these cases, the long-term partner has usually been guilty of neglect toward the main character and in the end the relationship remains intact with the long-term partner having learned some valuable lesson.

Television

Usually, a love triangle will end with the hero or heroine confiding their feelings in the suitor they feel is most virtuous or has the most interest in them. (As in Twilight.) The other suitor usually steps aside to allow the couple to be happy, or comes to terms with their feelings, often claiming they could not love the main character as much. Sometimes they are written out of the love equation entirely by falling in love with someone else, or being killed off or otherwise eliminated. While love triangles can be accused of being clichéd, if done well, they provide insight into the complexity of love and what is best to pursue in a romantic relationship.

In television shows, a love triangle is often prolonged, delaying final declarations of love between the pursued character and suitors that may prematurely end this dynamic or displease fans. Some examples of these include 90210, Friends, The O.C., How I Met Your Mother, The Vampire Diaries and Grey’s Anatomy. Love triangles also featured prominently on soap operas, and can span more than a decade, as famously shown by Taylor Hamilton, Ridge Forrester and Brooke Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful. Another famous soap opera love triangle was the one that occurred on General Hospital between Luke Spencer, Laura Spencer, and Scotty Baldwin. Similarly, romance films also sustain this set-up until near the film’s end, although they tend to establish a more clear-cut conclusion to the romantic entanglements than in long-running TV shows.[citation needed]

Popular music

The love triangle has been a recurring subject in many popular songs through the years. These «love triangle songs» include, but are not limited to:

• «You Ain’t Woman Enough» by Loretta Lynn
• «Fist City» by Loretta Lynn
• «The Girl Is Mine» by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
• «The Boy is Mine» by Brandy and Monica
• «Make No Mistake, She’s Mine» by Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap
• «Does He Love You» by Reba McEntire and Linda Davis
• «Bizarre Love Triangle» by New Order
• «El Paso» by Marty Robbins
• «Jolene» by Dolly Parton
• «She’s All I Got» by Johnny Paycheck
• «The Girl of My Best Friend» by Elvis Presley
• «U.S. Male» by Elvis Presley
• «Torn Between Two Lovers» by Mary MacGregor
• «Don’t Go Out» by T. Graham Brown and Tanya Tucker
• «My Toot Toot» by Rockin’ Sidney
• «Against All Odds» by Phil Collins
• «Hey, Joe» by Carl Smith
• «Tell Her No» by The Zombies
• «Tennessee Waltz» by Patti Page
• «Jessie’s Girl» by Rick Springfield
• «He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)» by Jerry Butler

Bob Dylan provides a violent outcome to «the sexual intrigues of Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, in their various ménage à trois manifestations».^[19]

Real life

• The Bloomsbury Group often produced some unusual forms of love triangles, as with that involving Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and the latter’s lover, David Garnett.^[20]
• Warned off a love triangle by one of his prospective partners, Einstein conceded to her that «You have more respect for the difficulties of triangular geometry than I, old mathematicus, have.»^[21]

Ménage à trois

A love triangle should not be confused with a ménage à trois, a three-way relationship in which either all members are romantically involved with each other, or one member has relations with two others who are reconciled to the situation instead of being in conflict. Ménage à trois is French and directly translates to «household for three» meaning it is usually composed of a «married couple and a lover…who live together while sharing sexual relations». This differs from a love triangle because each participant is equally motivated purely by sexual desires. The ménage à trois may be considered a subset of ‘The Sandwich…a straight three-handed operation…which may be operated with any assortment of sexes: three men, three women, two men and a woman («Ménage à trois«), or two women and a man («The Tourist Sandwich»)’.^[22]

There is also the possibility of ‘a ménage à trois powered by the passion of hatred’.^[23]Template:Elaboration needed

See also

• Adultery
• Affair
• Tennessee Waltz
• Threesome
• Triangulation (psychology)

References

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External links

• How to Cope in a Love Triangle

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