History Polyamory / Literature

-->“[[BabiesMakeEverythignBetter Kids are great. Why? Because they turn people into family.]] Put a chain between you that can’t be severed easily. The word ''friend'' is pretty and all, but it’s fragile in a way I just can’t trust. If it’s in the cards, I’d like to be more than that with ''all'' of you.”

* Fairly early on in ''TheHaremProtagonistWasTurnedIntoAGirlAndDoesntWantToChangeBack'' Svetlana's first girlfriend Vivian floats the idea of polyamory to Svetlana who agrees to try it out. The other members of Svetlana's [[HaremGenre anime-style harem]] take varying amounts of time coming around to the idea [[spoiler:they all eventually do, and another alien princess joins at the end of the story ending an intergalactic war]].

** The Aiel people, one of whom is a love interest of Rand's, formalize polygamous marriages as "sister-wives". As women in Aiel society are the ones to propose marriage, they generally decide on this arrangement in advance and are considered to be married to each other as much as to the husband. Although an Aiel marriage could involve multiple husbands, it's not mentioned as something that happens.
** Some Aes Sedai from the Green Ajah have a polyamorous relationship with their warders although this is rare and not officially sanctioned.

** ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'' has Frex/Melena/Turtle Heart. It started with Melena cheating on her husband Frex with Turtle Heart. And then Turtle Heart and Frex fell in love too. Eventually, Melena had their daughter Nessarose, and in not knowing if she was really his or Turtle Heart's, Frex decided on some sub-rational level that she was all of theirs, which is why she always meant more to him than Elphaba.

*** Aegon the Conqueror started the tradition when he decided to married both Visenya and Rhaenys. He was supposed to marry Visenya but loved Rhaenys, and it was a MarryThemAll solution. Each of them rode one of the three famous Targaryen dragons. Aegon's case is kind of an ExaggeratedTrope version of the idea "behind every great man is a great woman." It's clear that having ''two'' great women behind him is much of the reason he was so successful. Aegon was as least as much of a conqueror as Alexander the Great was in our world, but instead of dying young, he went on to rule his kingdom--and was by all accounts the greatest king Westeros has ever known.
*** Other Targaryens (descendants of the conquering triad) also went the poly route… if in very destructive ways that neither Aegon, Visenya nor Rhaenys would have have condoned, thanks to the StupidEvil ways they went about it. Two consenting wives at once? No problem. But Maegor "the Cruel" had three at once, including ''kidnapped'' wives he [[UriahGambit gambitted]] into it after killing a couple of others. Um… recipe for disaster, mate.
*** And then Aegon "the Unworthy" was--at least--"just" a FatBastard who ReallyGetsAround and believed in open relationships on his end (just don't dare cheating on ''him''). Just as catastrophic as Maegor, though.