Line #13 PlayingWith/CourtlyLove


1	'''Basic Trope''': A commitment to pursuing an unconsummated relationship.
2	* '''Straight''': Bob loves Alice. She is married to Charles. Bob is happy simply to show her some affection without going any further.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Bob loves Alice, even though she is married Charles, and it is his greatest joy to love her from afar, without even letting her know his feelings.
4	* '''Downplayed''': Bob has a little crush on Alice, but knows nothing will ever come of it and is ok with that.
5	* '''Justified''': Alice and Charles are the scions of powerful FeudingFamilies, and their ArrangedMarriage has been the only thing preventing outright war since it was first planned. Alice's UnluckyChildhoodFriend Bob has come to love her, and she him, but all concerned understand the necessity of the marriage and the danger of dishonoring it by adultery.
6	* '''Inverted''': ???
7	* '''Subverted''': Bob actually learns of Alice's devotion to him, and--seeing as how the ArrangedMarriage is loveless and neither spouse pretends otherwise--the love stops being "from afar".
8	* '''Double Subverted''': ??
9	* '''Parodied''': Bob gets goo-goo eyes and talks nonsense whenever he sees Alice, who seems acutely embarrassed by the whole thing. Charles just rolls his eyes.
10	* '''Zig Zagged''': Alice and Bob are devoted to the idea of Courtly Love, but sometimes they can't help themselves, and the series combines WillTheyOrWontThey with their internal moral struggle.
11	* '''Averted''': There are no Courtly Love romances in the story.
12	* '''Enforced''': ??
13	* '''Lampshaded''': "Ah look, Bob is longing for Alice from afar… he probably thinks he's in some sort of chivalrous romance novel".
14	* '''Implied''': Alice and Bob are LadyAndKnight who have some ShipTease, yet they're resoundingly proper in their conduct, making it unclear if their feelings really are beyond platonic or not.
15	* '''Invoked''': "Ah, what cruelty from Cupid, who shot the arrow of desire at me, that I may long after the lovely Alice, betrothed to the feudal lord for the sake of her father's ambitions… hmm, I think I shall write a sonnet about it".
16	* '''Exploited''': ???
17	* '''Defied''': Bob gets slapped with a restraining order, because Alice thinks he's a StalkerWithACrush.
18	* '''Discussed''': "Bob, [[WrongGenreSavvy stop pretending you're a medieval troubadour]]. The truth is, [[DoggedNiceGuy you can't work up the courage to ask this girl out]] and you're trying to justify that to yourself. And to be honest, [[StalkerWithACrush it's beginning to get creepy]]."
19	* '''Conversed''': "I'm sure that kind of relationship existed when everyone was stuck in {{Arranged Marriage}}s, but I'm skeptical about the idea that they weren't screwing around in secret."
20	* '''Deconstructed''':
21	** Bob resolves to love Alice from afar even though it is not impossible to consummate a relationship with her, because in doing so he is able to enjoy his tender, passionate feelings without any responsibility towards her, and also to more easily blind himself to any flaws she may have because he does not have to deal with them, thus selfishly falling in love with an idea rather than accepting the real Alice for what she may be.
22	** Alternatively, it is simply that Bob is unable to let go of Alice, despite her unattainability, and thus his overtures are more like being a StalkerWithACrush.
23	* '''Reconstructed''': Bob concedes that his "love" for Alice may be unrealistic, but it fulfils a deep spiritual need that his loveless marriage of convenience doesn't. He thinks that if he were to throw all romanticism aside in favour of cynical pragmatism, he'd become an immoral person.
24	----
25	O, adore that fair and beauteous trope the angels call CourtlyLove. But go there not, for it is unseemly that we mere mortals should despoil its pristine perfection...
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27	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
28	%%
29	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
30	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / CourtlyLove