Sometimes, creators decide to take their love triangles to new extremes that are particularly cruel to their readers or viewers: everyone is in love with someone else, false hopes and hook-ups-best-forgotten abound and, in short, all love is unrequited. Notably, this is distinct from the No Marriage Rule, the trope where a couple simply can't stay a couple. In that trope, there is mutual love and a chance of a happy ending, but when all love is unrequited, happy endings seem nearly impossible.
The beginnings of this trope can be seen in multiple Shakespearean comedies. "Twelfth Night" (1602) provides the best example. Viola, disguised as the boy Cesario, is in love with Duke Orsino, who's in love with the countess Olivia, who's in love with Viola-as-Cesario. Luckily, Viola's twin brother Sebastian swoops in to save the day and marry Olivia, saving this story from an unhappy ending.
Unrequited love can also be found in Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" (1862). Fantine is abandoned by her bourgeois lover, Enjolras is too concerned with the revolution for even a platonic friendship and Eponine hopelessly pines after Marius, even disguising herself as a boy to join him on the barricades to earn extra unrequited love points. Substitute bisexuality for cross-dressing, add a lot more angst and you've got the modern-day trope.
A prime example of this trope today is "Doctor Who" (1963-1989, 2005-present) in the Russell T. Davies era. (Davies has been the show's executive producer since 2005.) I'm not going to attempt to explain the intricate mythology of "Doctor Who," but here are the basics for those who have somehow managed to escape being exposed to it: The Doctor, a Timelord with two hearts, travels through space and time in a TARDIS (a time machine that looks like a police box) with a (usually) young and attractive female companion.
In the 2005 reboot, the Doctor's companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) was in love with the Doctor (David Tennant). Her on-and-off boyfriend Mickey (Noel Clarke) was hopelessly in love with her, the Doctor's feelings for Rose varied from episode to episode and Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), a dashing time traveler, flirted with everyone. Of course, as a science fiction show, the writers were able to invent even more ways of keeping couples apart, even when love was finally requited. Deadly danger, parallel universes, thousand-year age differences: if it could devastate the fans, the writers used it.
Why do books and shows and movies use unrequited love? And what kinds of works tend to use it? Often, if the love story isn't the main focus, it's easier for the writers to add just a dash of unrequited love to fulfill the romance requirement. I've certainly read a lot of fantasies where the romance overpowers every other element: the main characters spend more time gazing into each other's eyes than defeating the evil villain. I would certainly be willing to exchange a few overly detailed romantic arcs for a better-developed plot. Important as love may be, no creative work should focus solely on it. Even "Les Miserables" is a vast social panorama and the story of a failed revolution - the romance is simply an added attraction.
Moreover, maybe we need unrequited love to remind us that a happy ending isn't always possible. After all, sometimes characters move on from their unrequited loves, finding someone else to love and finding new strength in themselves. Sometimes we need to get our hearts broken a little to put them back together again. And when we find a love that is reciprocated, after hours spent chasing one that was unrequited, the victory seems so much sweeter.
Natalie Girshman is a sophomore majoring in history and drama. She can be reached at Natalie.Girshman@tufts.edu.
