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Trope Talk: The One-Sided Love Triangle
Not all love triangles are created equal.
You either love them or hate them. Love triangles are a polarizing trope. To some, love triangles can add drama to a story. However, others find them annoying and prevent the couple they are rooting for to get together. Furthermore, it can lead the audience to develop hatred for the third person in the love triangle.
The problem with love triangles is if there is a couple the audience is supposed to root for, it can be hard with the third person lingering over the romance. The type of love triangle I am talking about implies one person in the triangle loves their two suitors equally. On the other hand, what if that one person does not return the feelings of one of those suitors? This is what we call a one-sided love triangle.
What is a Love Triangle?
A love triangle is defined as a situation in which two people vie for the love of a third. In other words, two people are in love with or compete for the affection of the same person. This definition does not take into consideration the level of affection one person feels about one’s two suitors. The definition is general. Two people compete for the affection of one person.
Let’s dissect the term love by itself. Love is a strong affection for one person. Therefore, a love triangle should be the strong affection one person feels for two people. An example of this type of love triangle exists in the anime Inuyasha. The titled character is in a love triangle with two women: Kagome and Kikyo. He had a relationship with Kikyo in the past and develops a romance with Kagome as she travels to the feudal era. Kikyo dies and she is reincarnated as Kagome. When Kikyo is resurrected, Inuyasha struggles with the romantic feelings he has for both women. This is an example of a love triangle in which one person feels equal love for both suitors. We will refer to this as an equalateral love triangle
However, the vague definition of a love triangle implies the desired party does not always have equal love for both suitors. There are those cases in…
