TWENTY-NINTH SITUATION, AN ENEMY LOVED

(The Beloved Enemy; the Lover; the Hater)
A—The Loved One Hated by Kinsmen of the Lover.
The preceding Situation might very well be absorbed into this*
(1)—The Lover Pursued by the Brothers of His Beloved:—"The Duchess of Main" by Webster; "The Broken Heart" by Ford.
(2)—The Lover Hated by the Family of his Beloved :—"The Story of Yayati" by Roudradeva (with the characteristic color of these Hindu rivalries, wherein jealousy is hardly perceptible); "The Victory of Pradyoumna" by Samara Dikchita; Metastasio's "Cato"; "La Grande Marniere" (Ohnet, 1888).
(3)—The Lover is the Son of a Man Hated by the Kinsmen of His Beloved:—"La Taverne des Trabans" and "Les Rantzau" by Erckmann-Chatrian. In comic vein: "Dieu ou pas Dieu." a romance by Beaubourg.
(4)—The Beloved is an Enemy of the Party of the Woman Who Loves Him:—"Madhouranirouddha" by Vira, the contemporary of Corneille; "Les Scythes" by Voltaire; "Almanzor" by Heine;; "Lakme" by Delibes; "Les Carbonari" (No, 1882); "Madame Therese" by Erckmann-Chatrian; "Lydie" (Miral, 1882); "Les Amazones" (Mazel); "Les Oberle" (Bazin, 1905); Les Noces Corinthiennes" (France); "l'Exode" (Fauchois, 1904).
B (1)—The Lover is the Slayer of the Father of His Beloved:—"Le Cid" (and the opera drawn from it); "Olympie" by Voltaire.
(2)—The Beloved is the Slayer of the Father of her Lover:—"Mademoiselle de Bressier" (Delpit, 1887).
(3)—The Beloved is the Slayer of the Brother of Her Lover:—"La Reine Fiammette" (Mendes, 1889).
(4)—The Beloved is the Slayer of the Husband of the Woman Who Loves Him, But Who Has Previously Sworn to Avenge that Husband:—"Irene" by Voltaire.
(5)—The Same Case, Except that a Lover, Instead of a Husband, Has Been Slain:—"Fedora" (Sardou, 1882).
(6)—The Beloved is the Slayer of a Kinsman of the Woman Who Loves Him:—"Romeo and Juliet," this situation being modified by that of "Abduction" (elopement), then, with triple effect by XXXVI, "Loss of Loved Ones;" the first time mistakenly, the second time simply and actually, the third time doubly and simultaneously to both the families of the principal characters; "PAncetre" (Saint-Saens and Lassus): "Fortune and Misfortune of a Name" and "His Own Gaoler" by Calderon.
(7)—The Beloved is the Daughter of the Slayer of Her Lover's Father:—"Le Crime de Jean Morel" (Samson, 1890); "La Marchande de Sourires" (Judith Gautier, 1888).
The chief emotional element thus remains the same as in the Fifth (Pursuit), and Love here serves especially to present the pursued man under various favorable lights which have a certain unity. She whom he loves here plays, to some small extent, the role of the Greek chorus. Suppress the love interest, replace it with any other tie, however weak, or even leave nothing in its place, and a play of the type of Situation V, with all its terrors, will still remain. Attempt, on the contrary, to curtail the other interest, the enmity —to soften the vengeance—and to substitute any other element of difference or leave their place unfilled, and what will remain of tragic emotion? Nothing.
We have, then, reason to conclude that love—an excellent motif for comedy, better still for farce—sweet or poignant as it may be in stories read in solitude, of which we can fancy ourselves hero or heroine, love is not, in reality, tragic, despite the virtuosity which has sometimes succeeded in making it appear so, and despite the prevalent opinion of this age of erotomania, which is now approaching its end.
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This one can cross into Obstacles to Love. Example: Romeo and Juliet.
We cannot always choose who we love and even those against whom we fight or those who have done us a terrible wrong can become unbelievably attractive for us.
One cause of this is that we often find powerful people attractive, perhaps because they remind us of our fathers or perhaps because we would like to be powerful too, and so seek to associate with them, even when they have done us a deep wrong. This also harks to childhood, where we may have sought to gain the love of a stern father or perhaps offered love as a succour against his terrible power.
This deep association with childhood emotions makes such situations touch unknown chords in us that lets such story elements move us in unexpected ways.
The Hater in this situation has a difficult dilemma. They are supposed to be on the same side as the Lover, yet the Lover is not acting as if they are on the same side. Is the Lover an enemy or a friend? It can be rather unclear as the Lover sympathizes with the Enemy and possibly the Enemy's cause.
category:Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations