stories I never get to read, part 302

[deird1]

You know what's really irritating about living in the 21st century?


There are many things in fiction that I go rather nuts about. Like... spaceships that are alive. Or superheroes who don't particularly want to be.

Which - yay! I get to have plenty of stories about them! Woo!



BUT. One of those things is arranged marriages.

I love fictional arranged marriages. I go totally nuts about arranged marriage stories. Or at least I would - if there ever were any.

Sadly, I live in the 21st century. Which means that every arranged marriage story rapidly turns into an I-thought-I-had-to-marry-you-for-reason-X-but-instead-I'm-going-to-change-the-law-and-abolish-reason-X-because-marriage-should-only-be-about-love-after-all-this-is-the-21st-century story. And the arranged marriage doesn't take place, all the characters cheer... and I go home and sulk because once again my narrative kinks have been thwarted. Hmmph.


(This post has been brought to you by rewatching Princess Diaries 2 and wishing, once again, that she would stick with the nice guy she's not that interested in and have her awesome insta-wedding...)

Comments

[velvetwhip]

I think your brain is fab!


Gabrielle

[vass]

I love arranged marriages and marriage of convenience stories too. People making the best of things and being civil to each other, gradually turning into something warmer, for the win!

[lliira]

Does the arranged marriage have to be a particularly happy one? I've had a story in my head for a while now that has an arranged marriage that turns out neither spectacularly well nor particularly bad. Definitely not happy ever after. The story's about more than the arranged marriage though.

Have you read Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman?

[lirazel]

This may be my ultimate bullet-proof kink, it really might. I love ALL the arranged marriages!

You should wait till I'm published, I'll write you multiple arranged-marriage novels!

[snowpuppies]

Hmmmm...that's an interesting idea...

[trouble]

This is why I read a lot of historic fiction.

[verity]

I know this feel!

[lonespark]

What are you looking for? Short stories ok, or something else? I kind of think there must be quite a lot of such things written in, say, India. What gets published in what language and is available where is another thing, I suppose.

It's certainly a huge trope in fanfiction, but I guess that's not what you want?

[rahirah]

From the perspective of someone who does not particularly care for this trope, there seems to me to be an awful lot of them out there, particularly in fandoms which have canon magic - there always seems to be a Dire Prophecy which can only be averted by Buffy agreeing to marry/claim/boink Angel/Giles/Spike/Xander/etc...

[immer_am_lesen]

I'm with 'trouble' up there...you can't beat historic fiction for Dreadful Arranged Marriages that can turn out either wonderfully well, or dreadfully bad, but still very entertaining to read, either way. :-)

I can recommend Here Be Dragons (and subsequent novels) by Sharon Penman, the first historical fiction I read, and rather loved. :-)