Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: Difference between revisions

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* This is done rather wonderfully in ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'' where Tristran gets home, finds the girl he went on the adventure for in the first place {{spoiler|wants to marry someone else}} and promptly informs her his heart's desire is for her {{spoiler|to have the happiest marriage anyone ever had}} before going to find his star.
* This is done rather wonderfully in ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'' where Tristran gets home, finds the girl he went on the adventure for in the first place {{spoiler|wants to marry someone else}} and promptly informs her his heart's desire is for her {{spoiler|to have the happiest marriage anyone ever had}} before going to find his star.
* Ken Follett's two Kingsbridge historical fiction novels both feature a main couple (Jack and Aliena and ''The Pillars of the Earth'', Merthin and Caris in ''World Without End'') who, for various plot contrivances, can't be together in a practical and/or legal (it's 12th or 14th century England) sense for very extended periods of time. As a result, various stopgap love interests are employed, but have to be disposed of when it's time for the main couple to possibly have a shot (which, particularly in ''World Without End'', happens several times before they actually succeed). For example, after Caris is forced into becoming a nun, Merthin leaves for Florence, marries, and has a daughter; then the Black Death kills his wife, and he returns to England, has an affair with a barmaid, who ''also'' dies of the Black Death, gets back together with Caris for a while, but circumstances force another breakup, and he has an affair with Lady Philippa, his brother's wife (loveless forced marriage), but Philippa gets pregnant by him and has to pretend the child is his brother's, and her departure coincides with Caris finally getting out of the nunnery.
* Ken Follett's two Kingsbridge historical fiction novels both feature a main couple (Jack and Aliena and ''The Pillars of the Earth'', Merthin and Caris in ''World Without End'') who, for various plot contrivances, can't be together in a practical and/or legal (it's 12th or 14th century England) sense for very extended periods of time. As a result, various stopgap love interests are employed, but have to be disposed of when it's time for the main couple to possibly have a shot (which, particularly in ''World Without End'', happens several times before they actually succeed). For example, after Caris is forced into becoming a nun, Merthin leaves for Florence, marries, and has a daughter; then the Black Death kills his wife, and he returns to England, has an affair with a barmaid, who ''also'' dies of the Black Death, gets back together with Caris for a while, but circumstances force another breakup, and he has an affair with Lady Philippa, his brother's wife (loveless forced marriage), but Philippa gets pregnant by him and has to pretend the child is his brother's, and her departure coincides with Caris finally getting out of the nunnery.
** Also seen in Follett's ''A Dangerous Fortune'', where [[Romantic False Lead]] Nora [[Took a Level In Jerkass|takes a rather severe level in jerkass]] after her husband Hugh loses his fortune (though he's still comfortably middle class), abandoning him and their three kids. There was a bit of foreshadowing of this as Hugh's true love interest Maisie was suspicious from the start that she was a heartless golddigger, but it's still pretty jarring as there was a period where we were meant to sympathize with her being manipulated into causing a scene at a high society party, and root for her fixing the problem it caused.
** Also seen in Follett's ''A Dangerous Fortune'', where [[Romantic False Lead]] Nora [[Took a Level in Jerkass|takes a rather severe level in jerkass]] after her husband Hugh loses his fortune (though he's still comfortably middle class), abandoning him and their three kids. There was a bit of foreshadowing of this as Hugh's true love interest Maisie was suspicious from the start that she was a heartless golddigger, but it's still pretty jarring as there was a period where we were meant to sympathize with her being manipulated into causing a scene at a high society party, and root for her fixing the problem it caused.
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]' ''[[John Carter of Mars|Gods of Mars]]'' and ''Warlord of Mars'', Thuvia falls in love with John Carter. At the end, when he is reunited with his wife, they get to watch as Thuvia and their son are flirting (though they get a book of their own before they actually get to marry).
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]' ''[[John Carter of Mars|Gods of Mars]]'' and ''Warlord of Mars'', Thuvia falls in love with John Carter. At the end, when he is reunited with his wife, they get to watch as Thuvia and their son are flirting (though they get a book of their own before they actually get to marry).
** At the end of ''The Chessmen of Mars'', Tara learns, greatly to her relief, that her betrothed, believing her dead, had fallen in love and married, thus [[I Gave My Word|freeing her from her word]] and letting her marry the hero.
** At the end of ''The Chessmen of Mars'', Tara learns, greatly to her relief, that her betrothed, believing her dead, had fallen in love and married, thus [[I Gave My Word|freeing her from her word]] and letting her marry the hero.
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