Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: Difference between revisions
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One of the most common complications in the classic [[Love Triangle]] scenario. Two men (in most cases they're
Most of the time, it's going to be "go with the poor one," and the story will carry an [[Aesop]] that true love is worth more than material wealth. This makes sense if the rich suitor is a bad person or the woman is just not in love with him as she is with the poor person. When done poorly, however, the rich one often ends up as the [[Designated Villain]]. This trope overlaps considerably with [[Wrong Guy First]] and [[Disposable Fiance]], but keep in mind that the rich suitor is not ''necessarily'' wrong, first or particularly disposable.
If the suitors are also a [[Betty and Veronica]] pair, the dynamic will typically be either "[[Single Woman Seeks Good Man|poor but nice]] suitor vs. [[Rich Bitch|rich but haughty]] suitor" or "[[All Girls Want Bad Boys|poor but exciting]] suitor vs. [[Romantic Runner-Up|rich but boring]] suitor", being obviously slanted toward the poor suitor in both cases. So much, in fact, that having the rich suitor win or even be a decent, likeable person is considered by many as a ''subversion'' of this
Compare [[Gold Digger]], [[Meal Ticket]].
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* Johnny and Neil in ''[[Dirty Dancing]].'' Provided, it doesn't hurt that Johnny is incredibly attractive and an extremely good dancer, whereas Neil is more or less a [[Jerkass]] loser.
* ''[[A Knight's Tale]]'': Jocelyn must choose between Count Ademar, the nobleman, and William, the squire disguised as a knight (and only a country knight of minor nobility at that, although his money situation improves as he keeps winning tournaments). Not a straight example because she thought they were both noble, but she was still willing to love William after she found out his true heritage.
* ''[[Moulin Rouge]]'': Satine must choose between the rich Duke ([[Only One Name|that's his only name]]) and the young bohemian playwright
* ''[[Pretty in Pink]]'': Impoverished young Andie must choose between rich boy Blane and poor boy Duckie.
* ''[[Reality Bites]]'': Lelaina must choose between successful businessman Michael and slacker/philosopher/asshole Troy.
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== Literature ==
* "[http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-choice/ The Choice]" by Dorothy Parker is a poem about a woman who has a choice between a man who offers her lands and fine things and a man who charms her with his singing alone. She chooses the latter without a second
* In the book ''[[Holes]]'', during Stanley Yelnats' great-great-grandfather's story, Elya (the grandpa) is the poor one and he's up against a fat slob rich guy [[Old Man Marrying a Child|who's significantly older]]. In a subversion, Elya loses and leaves the country for America.
** He actually doesn't lose. When he and the other guy both manage to bring an identical [[Bride Price]], the girl's father decides to just let her choose which man she wants to marry. However, when she can't decide, it suddenly hits Elya that she doesn't care about him ''at all'' and he surrenders in depression.
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* Early episodes of ''[[The OC]]'' had this in the form of Ryan (poor) vs Luke (rich) competing for Marissa's love.
* The first season of the [[Reality TV]] dating show ''Average Joe'' had a plain-looking guy who owned his own company and a good-looking guy who wasn't even out of school yet as the final two choices for the girl, and she ultimately chose the latter. In a twist, her choice of the "poor suitor" was actually ''blasted'' by most viewers who felt that she chose him solely because he was better-looking than the "average Joe".
* Subverted in ''[[Frasier]]'': Niles leaves rich plastic surgeon Mel Karnofski for poor health care worker Daphne Moon, but he's already a wealthy psychiatrist so it was more about social status than wealth. Daphne herself leaves rich lawyer Donny for the equally-rich
* In ''[[Diary of a Mad Black Woman]]'', Helen has to choose between her abusive but wealthy ex-husband Charles, who is disabled by the end of the story, and Orlando, a poor factory worker. {{spoiler|At first she chooses her husband, because he is disabled, but then decides not to and chooses Orlando}}.
* ''[[Revenge (TV series)|Revenge]]'' has the main character Emily Thorne being pursued by the wealthy Daniel Grayson and the comparatively poor Jack Porter. Though in something of a twist for this trope, while Daniel is wealthy by any objective standards, Emily is even more so and could probably equal Daniel's entire net worth with the money she loses in her couch cushions.
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