History Main / WhyCantIHateYou

* ''APossibleEncounterForAPhantom'': As much as she wants to remain resentful of Kim, Sam finds herself struggling to dislike her romantic rival after witnessing her standing up against Dash and Pauline.

* In the ''Franchise/Ben10'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4267279/1/Hero-High-Sphinx-Academy Hero High: Sphinx Academy]]'', the biggest problem Gwen Tennyson has throughout the story is she can't bring herself to hate the BigBad who was her boyfriend in the previous story [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3875254/1/Hero-High-Earth-style Hero High: Earth Style]]. She knows he plans horrible things for humanity, even though [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans it is to ultimately save humanity in the long run]], and that they are currently fighting against him to stop it, but due to how he was genuinely nice to her, cared about her, and was pretty much the only person outside of her family that appreciated her for her intelligence instead of shunned her for it, she just can't bring herself to truly hate him. [[spoiler:This even causes her to go to his side for a short time and in the DistantFinale accept his marriage proposal]].

->''"I couldn't ever bring myself to hate you as I'd like"''
-->-- '''Music/TheStoneRoses''', "I Am the Resurrection"

---> '''Tamama:''' Stop making it so hard for me to hate you!

* The titular character of ''ComicStrip/BigNate'' has both a romantic and non-romantic version of this with the Belarusian exchange student Artur. Nate's disdain for Artur comes from three main sources: Artur is dating Jenny (whom Nate has crushed on for years, though recently has moved on), [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Artur is a better chessplayer than Nate]] (beforehand, Nate was pretty much the best in his school, even beating his more intelligent friend Francis) and [[BornLucky Artur's good luck]] compared to [[ButtMonkey Nate's]] [[CosmicPlaything bad luck.]] Despite all of this, Artur is just so sweet and nice, that Nate can't find it in himself to hate Artur. In fact, Artur has a high opinion of Nate and values his judgment a great deal which makes Nate even more unable to hate Artur. Ultimately, Nate has Artur's back and considers him his friend.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Drakigo}}'' Kimberly realizes that she can't bring herself to hate Shego [[spoiler:even with the knowledge that Shego is the vampire that killed Monique]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ResurrectedMemories'': [[spoiler: Part of the reason Sam is so stressed over her jealousy of Danny and "Amberline's" relationship, aside from some residual feelings for Danny, is because Sam had come to genuinely like Amberline as her friend and feels a combination of betrayal and guilt over her feelings because of it. However, she does find a genuine reason when she learns that Amberline is actually none other than Ember.]]
* ''[[Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton Danny and Kara]]'': [[spoiler:In Chapter 12, Jimmy Olsen wanted Kara's boyfriend Danny to be a jerk so he'd have an excuse to hate him]].

* Ben Stiller's character feels this way about Owen Wilson's character, his fiancée's ex-boyfriend, in ''Film/MeetTheParents''.

* ''Film/PlanB'' takes this trope to its logical extreme with Bruno's attempts to sabotage Pablo's relationship with his ex Laura going awry when he finds himself liking Pablo as not only a best friend, [[QueerRomance but a love interest too]].
* In ''Film/LegallyBlonde'', protagonist Elle Woods' ex-boyfriend Warner quickly became engaged to someone else. The fiancée, Vivian, feels that she ought to hate cute and bubbly Elle, and acts the part at first until Elle impresses her, and they bond. Meanwhile, Warner's disrespect for Elle ends up disgusting Vivian, and by the end of the film, they've broken up and Vivian and Elle are stated to be best friends.

* In the book ''Literature/AvalonHigh'', main protagonist Elaine can't bring herself to hate [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders Jennifer]], even though she cheated on her boyfriend, who happens to be Elaine's crush and wanted the best for Will. Same with Will himself. He realized his best friend and girlfriend loved each other and couldn't blame either of them. [[spoiler: It helps that the characters are actually the reincarnations of King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot.]]
* ''Literature/SpellmanFiles'' has this go on with Maggie. Isabel (and her sister Rae to some extent) don't really want her to settle down with Henry, but both Spellmans can't help but like Maggie. [[spoiler: Luckily for them, Maggie breaks up with Henry and becomes their future sister-in-law instead.]]
* Discussed in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', when Navani tells Dalinar that she really tried to hate his (now deceased) wife, but couldn't because she was too nice.
* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' trilogy, Gale admits to Katniss that he has a hard time hating Peeta because Peeta's so likeable, despite being a competitor for Katniss's affections.
* In ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', it's revealed Nico di Angelo feels this way about Annabeth due to [[spoiler: his own crush on her boyfriend, [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Percy]]]], as despite being his [[spoiler: romantic rival]], she's also one of the few people who's consistently nice to him.

* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'': Earl is and always has been on friendly terms with Darnell (aka "Crab Man"), the man who cuckolded him and stole his wife.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In one episode, Riley returns to Sunnydale after his breakup with Buffy and reveals that he's now married. Willow decides that since it would be petty for Buffy to hate his wife Samantha, she'll do it for her. In the end, neither girl can hate her, because she's so cool and they're so perfect together.
* In series 2 of ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' [[AscendedExtra Jackie]] turns up at CID claiming to be [[TheBabyTrap pregnant with Gene's baby]] and Alex can only [[GreenEyedMonster look on in horror as he proposes to Jackie.]] However Alex and Jackie bond over the episode and besides, why on earth would Alex be affected by it? I mean [[GreenEyedEpiphany it's not like she's got any feelings whatsoever]] [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial for this glorified imaginary construct.]] [[spoiler: It all gets better when Jackie reveals [[ManipulativeBastard she lied to get Gene to help her]] and was [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim insulted he believed she would sleep with him.]]]]
* On ''Series/SisterSister,'' Lisa meets the woman who is apparently keeping Ray from getting together with her, and admits that she's conflicted about whether or not she should be angry at the woman or invite her into the house for a snack. It probably helps that the woman pulls an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy. Made weirder because "the other woman" turned out to be [[spoiler:Ray's ''[[YouLookLikeYouveSeenAGhost dead]]'' wife, whom he felt reluctant to move on from]].
* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': Mary's relationship with her romantic rival Lavinia is a textbook example. It helps that Lavinia is [[TheCutie an absolute sweetheart]] to the point where Mary finds it impossible to plot against her. This causes no end of consternation in Violet and Rosamund, who ARE quite prepared to ruin Lavinia for Mary's sake and miffed at Mary's unwillingness to play along.

* While there is no love triangle involved, in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', when it comes to light that [[spoiler: you're Revan]], a talk with Carth reveals that he "tried to hate you, but couldn't." It's especially good to hear if you're a female PC seeking a romance sub-plot with him. He gives this exact same speech to a [[HoYay male]] Revan.
* On Red's route in ''VisualNovel/{{Nameless}}'', a series of misunderstandings leads to Red believing that the protagonist (who he has a crush on) is in love with Tei (who he idolizes). He tearfully blurts out that he still likes Tei before running out of the room, which leads to the protagonist and her other housemates getting confused and [[MistakenForGay wondering if he was trying to make a love confession to Tei]].

-->'''Justin:''' ''[thinking as Sarah helps with Justin's now-long hair]'' How dare you be someone I can't dislike...

* In ''Webcomic/AMomentOfPeace'', Ito feels this way toward Crux on first meeting. Crux is [[AllLoveIsUnrequited the unrequited crush of his unrequited crush.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''

* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Heloise begins dating Peep to [[OperationJealousy make Jimmy jealous]]. It works, but to her surprise, Jimmy and Peep hit it off quite well on non-Heloise topics.
* Even after [[spoiler: Marco and Jackie]] start dating on ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', [[spoiler:Star]] still tries to be good friends with [[spoiler:Jackie]], even trying to make sure [[spoiler:Jackie]] doesn't feel left out when invited to a concert with her and [[spoiler:Marco]].

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': "No matter what he did, I think I will forgive him". Yeah, Johan is just that charming.
* Both Physis and Jomy have this reaction to Keith Anyan in the last two episodes of ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'', each separately commenting that even though Keith has been doing everything he can to exterminate their race, they can't bring themselves to hate him. In both cases, the most probable answer to Why Can't I Hate You seems to be "Because he already hates himself enough for both."

* ''[[Literature/{{Bakemonogatari}} Hanamonogatari]]'' brings us the case of [[PsychoLesbian Suruga]] and [[ConMan Kaiki]] when they meet for the first time. Considering both the person Suruga loves most and the person she admires most in the world hold massive [[ItsPersonal personal]] grudges against him, it would be reasonable enough for her to hate him too. The problem is, [[spoiler:she's the daughter of the only person Kaiki ever loved, and he would never think of conning her or her family]]. To her enormous surprise, he acts friendly toward her, and even treats her to a meal, which [[PennyPincher knowing him]] is something he would never do otherwise. Suruga actually thinks this line verbatim in the books.
* In ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess2016'', Shad has very conflicted feelings about the fact that the first person to ever take his research seriously and encourage him is Link--the guy who also has seemingly torpedoed his budding romance with Ilia. After a bout of {{Angrish}} and what appear to be the five stages of grief playing out in a single panel, his need for validation wins out over his jealousy.

* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' fan fic ''Fanfic/BlackbirdArrow'', it's PlayedForDrama. Laurel Lance notes it's so much easier to hate her younger sister Sara for her betrayal[[note]]In the story, their mother Dinah traded Laurel to the League of Assassins in exchange for Sara's freedom, and Sara stood by and let it happen[[/note]] when she was far away and a distant memory. [[spoiler:Seeing her sister again up close, however, makes it impossible to do, as it becomes obvious how much Sara suffered during her own time away as a castaway. Ultimately, she can't bring herself to wish her sister any ill-will and hopes that Sara can get the help she needs, even if that help can't come from her]].

* More "Why Don't You Hate Me?"; in the ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' series "[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/817440 Package Deal]]", Evie is initially anxious about meeting her half-sister, Snow White, considering everything her mother tried to do to Snow, but when they actually meet, Evie is touched to learn that Snow actually campaigned to have Evie not sent to the Isle of the Lost (Evie was born shortly before Grimhilde and the other villains were sent to the island) and had every intention of raising Evie herself. Later in the series, Snow and Ben draw up the necessary paperwork to make Evie Snow's legitimate heir, with the result that Evie truly becomes a princess of Snow's kingdom.

* In ''[[Fanfic/ThePartsWePlay Spectator]]'', while watching the Games, Katniss doesn't let herself forget that Cato and Clove are Prim's opponents who have to die if her sister's going to come home, but still finds it hard to ignore their genuine feelings for each other.

* Played with in interesting (and non-romantic) ways in ''Literature/TheThingsTheyCarried''. Tim, a soldier in the Vietnam War, is best friends with The Medic, Rat. Rat gets shot and transferred out of TheSquad. Soon after, Tim himself is shot and nearly loses his leg because Rat's replacement forgot to treat him for shock. Tim is rather bitter about this. Tim learns that the new medic is actually a nice guy who was simply inexperienced and cracked under the pressure of combat. Tim comments that if he could only bring himself to hate the new medic, he could also forgive him.
* ''Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming'' by Creator/RogerZelazny and Creator/RobertSheckley mixes this with an aversion of EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily--sloth, wrath, and pettiness are so rampant in the demonic community that the demon protagonist discovers he likes his angelic counterpart more than he likes most of his fellow demons. [[spoiler:Until said angel hooks up with his ex-girlfriend and converts her to the side of light, that is . . .]]
* In ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', Hank Rearden is completely prepared to hate Francisco D'Anconia for his perceived worthlessness. When they actually have a conversation, Rearden realizes that they share a LOT in common.

* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', Blake Thorburn finds himself depressed when he can't bring himself to hate Andy, a witch-hunter whose job it is to kill practitioners like him who step out of line, after they [[IHaveAFamily spend a little while humanizing themselves for the other's benefit.]]
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter,'' Harry seems determined to hate Professor Grubbly-Plank, a substitute teacher who is, annoyingly, more competent and beloved than his [[IntergenerationalFriendship close friend]] [[FluffyTamer Hagrid]].
* In ''Literature/MenAtArms'', Vimes doesn't think he should ''hate'' Carrot, but he does think he should be annoyed that Carrot has been in the city ten minutes and is known and liked by everyone, whereas he's been a Morporkian all his life and in the Watch for most of it, and is just some miserable bugger in armour to most people. He's not, though, because Carrot's "krisma" works on him too.
* ''Literature/OlgaDiesDreaming'': For all of Olga's rebelliousness to her mother's ideals and her own eager embrace of making a profit, the minute Blanca approaches Olga for a request, Olga is just moved that her mother contacted her after all this time that she goes on the mission she is assigned: [[spoiler: convince her ex-boyfriend, Dick, to sell a large number of solar panels to Los Pañuelos Negros, [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters her mother's terroristic organization or liberation group]], whatever it takes. Never mind that Olga is currently in a relationship with Matteo and broke up with Dick for a reason.]]

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', Darrin is fretting about meeting up with an old acquaintance who's [[TheAce smarter, richer, more successful and pretty much better at everything.]] Samantha playfully promises to hate him, but Darrin insists that it's impossible to hate him, [[NiceGuy he's just too nice]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has Undyne, a high ranking member of the Royal Guard who is tasked to seek and kill any human she comes across to harvest their soul for the king. If you encounter her on the neutral or pacifist path, she has the intent to kill you, but she comes up with excuses that justify her actions in the hopes that her (made up) views on humans are correct so that she won't feel guilty in killing you. Should you spare Undyne and take up Papyrus' offer in befriending Undyne, you find out that she thinks some humans are actually pretty cool according to her materials (anime) and that you remind her a lot of [[spoiler: Asgore, who she got the order from in regards to taking human souls]]. She eventually decides that hating you is no longer possible and you're actually pretty cool. Should you kill anyone after befriending her, Papyrus calls you to tell you that Undyne not only hates your guts, but she would destroy you if you ever showed up again. If you're on a no-mercy run, the encounter with Undyne is more or less the same, but since she sees how much of a cold-blooded murderer you are, she states that she used to think humans were cool until you came along and now she has a legitimate reason to hate and kill you.

-->'''[[spoiler: Aurelia]]:''' ...You know, Gwen... I feel sorry for that fiancé of yours. Because you make it really difficult for people once they realize they were wrong about you.

* In ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'', Duane, noticing for the first time the emotional vulnerability of TheFundamentalist Charlotte (who had attempted to frame a fellow student for making a bomb threat, and had slandered a lesbian student as a rapist), thinks to himself, "What is wrong with me, that I can't hate you now?"

* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'''s take on Kirito is a MisanthropeSupreme who views his fellow ''SAO'' players as "a bunch of mouth-breathing neckbeards who think LMAO is how French people laugh." Yet his time with [[ILetGwenStacyDie Sachi]] has left the little {{Jerkass}} with a TraumaButton that activates his ChronicHeroSyndrome when someone's in danger, even if they're a bunch of morons who ran into a boss fight they can't win. Or, as Kirito himself puts it during his BigDamnHeroes moment against the Gleam Eyes:
-->'''Kirito:''' Ya know something? I really. Hate. People. They're selfish, ignorant, loud, obnoxious pricks with basically no redeeming qualities whatsoever! I mean really, look at all they've achieved - genocide, global warming, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking reality TV]], and just a never-ending parade of failures and fuck-ups! They are, without question, a complete write-off of a species, and HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CARE ABOUT THEM!!
* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'', in his crossover with ''WebVideo/TheLastAngryGeek'' covering ''Film/BatmanForever'', admits that he can't bring himself to truly hate Creator/JoelSchumacher, despite making one of his [[Film/BatmanAndRobin most hated movies of all time.]] He's simply too nice and polite.

'''Critic:''' Okay, that does sound really ni-- ''[gasps]'' NO!! I won't let the fact that you're a decent human being get in front of the fact that you make horrible crap!
* In ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'', Lizzie resents that her mother is trying to hook up her daughters with rich men and is prepared to hate Bing Lee -- the wealthy medical student her mother thinks would be a perfect husband for Jane -- on principle. Thing is, Bing really is a great match for Jane and is so nice that Lizzie can't list anything to dislike about him other than her mother liking him.
-->'''Charlotte:''' Hey everyone, Lizzie is having a bit of a crisis because her sister Jane actually likes the guy her mother wants her to marry. A guy who, it turns out, is actually pleasant, nice, and funny -- but who Lizzie had already made up her mind to hate. And Lizzie hates changing her mind.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s episode "I Remember You". When the Ice King shows up at Marceline's apartment, she seems frustrated and annoyed. Over the course of the episode it becomes clear that, despite herself, she actually cares for him. [[spoiler: It's because [[ParentalSubstitute he used to care for her when she was a little girl]], before the crown took away his memory and sanity.]] It's the realization that [[spoiler:he used the crown despite fully knowing its effects in order to protect her from danger]] that allows her to accept him back into her life.

* In ''WebOriginal/YouCouldMakeALife'', David Chapman really, ''really'' wants to hate his hockey rival Jake Lourdes who's more successful, popular, and sociable than him but an inconvenient thing called "attraction to a guy who's honestly super nice and friendly to me" keeps getting in the way of his efforts to hate him.

* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart:'' Earlier on, Ichikawa considered Yamada as someone who looked down on him and was thus the target of his so-called [[ChuuniByou “murderous” impulses…]] in addition to thinking [[CloudCuckooLander she’s just plain weird]] and sometimes snarking at her in his head. Whenever they’re in proximity he finds himself helping her out with whatever she needs without any acknowledgment of his apparent intent to end her. This comes to a head during basketball practice, [[WhatIsThisFeeling where he’s in confusion about his conflicting impression of Yamada from their interactions]] and when he’s about to retaliate at someone who threw a ball into his back, only for him to simply return it when he sees that it was Yamada. Finally, once she gets her nose broken by a stray ball, [[LoveEpiphany Ichikawa realizes that he has a crush on her]] and drops his animosity then and there.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': Towards the end of every route in the third game, ''Eternal Lovers'', [[spoiler:Lushati feels this way towards Wein, once she finds out he was never her brother and was just manipulating her for his own ends. It's implied that, despite being a Valfask in disguise, [[BecomingTheMask Wein came to genuinely care for her]], to the point he brought her back to EDEN at the cost of his own life. Lushati feels genuinely confused as to why she can't stop crying for him even after knowing the truth]].

* In Literature/TheHungerGames trilogy, Gale admits to Katniss that he has a hard time hating Peeta because Peeta's so likeable, despite being a competitor for Katniss's affections.
* In Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus, it's revealed Nico di Angelo feels this way about Annabeth due to [[spoiler: his own crush on her boyfriend, [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians Percy]]]], as despite being his [[spoiler: romantic rival]], she's also one of the few people who's consistently nice to him.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire,'' there's a low-key version between [[TheHero Harry]] and [[LovableJock Cedric]], who's not only in competition with Harry in the Triwizard Tournament but winds up dating the girl whom Harry has a crush on. The thing is, Cedric is so legitimately nice and helpful that Harry can't think of much but "that dumb pretty boy could have given me a ''better'' hint on how to win the next part of the game."

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/LokiAgentOfAsgard:'' In the prologue story, the newly teenaged Loki wistfully sighs about not hating Thor anymore.
-->'''Loki:''' Oh, Thor. Why can't I remember hating you?

[[/folder]]

* ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'':

* In ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'', Emilia Justina the Hero trained all her life to slay the evil, demonic overlord whose invasion [[DoomedHometown destroyed her hometown]] and [[YouKilledMyFather killed her father]]. Thus, when she tracks him down in [[MageInManhattan Shibuya]] after he fled through a portal to escape her assault on his castle, she is very annoyed to discover him acting like a perfectly law-abiding NiceGuy. It turns out that although he was leading a demon army in a war against humanity, he ''wasn't'' doing it out of some kind of genocidal hatred, and has nothing against the humans of this world who are completely uninvolved in his centuries-old conflict. It takes a while for Emilia to come to terms with the fact that her side [[LightIsNotGood wasn't all good]].

* ''[[LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} Hanamonogatari]]'' brings us the case of [[PsychoLesbian Suruga]] and [[ConMan Kaiki]] when they meet for the first time. Considering both the person Suruga loves most and the person she admires most in the world hold massive [[ItsPersonal personal]] grudges against him, it would be reasonable enough for her to hate him too. The problem is, [[spoiler:she's the daughter of the only person Kaiki ever loved, and he would never think of conning her or her family]]. To her enormous surprise, he acts friendly toward her, and even treats her to a meal, which [[PennyPincher knowing him]] is something he would never do otherwise. Suruga actually thinks this line verbatim in the books.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* At the end of a ''Series/GoodTimes'' two-parter, the gang member that shot JJ was let free due to lack of proof he pulled the trigger. As the gangster's mother arrives outside the courtroom, he starts to gloat about getting off. [[ArmorPiercingSlap She slaps him,]] telling him that she hates him and basically disowns him on the spot, even as it's clear it hurts her as much as it does him. Devastated, he spots James and Florida and asks if James wants to hit him too. James begs off. As he leaves, James turns to Flordia asks how [[AlasPoorVillain he can feel so sorry]] for the man who shot his son.

-->--'''Music/TheStoneRoses''', "I Am the Resurrection"

* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': Maki is very upset and jealous that her friend, Kashiwagi, got together with the boy she was interested in first. However, the girls have been best friends since childhood, so she can’t bring herself to actually interfere with the relationship. [[spoiler:Later, Maki admits that Kashiwagi is the one person she could never hate, [[BrosBeforeHoes because Kashiwagi views Maki as the person she loves the most]].]]

* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'''s take on Kirito is a MisanthropeSupreme who views his fellow ''SAO'' players as "a bunch of mouth-breathing neckbeards who think LMAO is how French people laugh." Yet his time with [[ILetGwenStacyDie Sachi]] has left the little {{Jerkass}} with a TraumaButton that activates his ChronicHeroSyndrome when someone's in danger, even if they're a bunch of morons who ran into a boss fight they can't win. Or, as Kirito himself puts it during his BigDamnHeroes moment against the Gleam Eyes:
-->'''Kirito:''' Ya know something? I really. Hate. People. They're selfish, ignorant, loud, obnoxious pricks with basically no redeeming qualities whatsoever! I mean really, look at all they've achieved - genocide, global warming, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking reality TV]], and just a never-ending parade of failures and fuck-ups! They are, without question, a complete write-off of a species, and HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CARE ABOUT THEM!!

* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': Mary's relationship with her romantic rival Lavinia is a textbook example. It helps that Lavinia is [[TheCutie an absolute sweetheart]] to the point where Mary finds it impossible to plot against her. This causes no end of consternation in Violet and Rosemary, who ARE quite prepared to ruin Lavinia for Mary's sake and miffed at Mary's unwillingness to play along.