Nothing says love like an abducted, injured woman (which I'm probably misquoting)

[meganbmoore]

Now, here's something I don't get in fiction(spawned by various posts and discussions the last month or so, as well as yesterday's adventure):  Falling in love with your kidnapper stories.

I mean, seriously.  Why on earth would a person fall for someone who abducted them and held them against their will, typically with imprisonment and/or being bound at some point?

There are times I can get past it.  Fantasy, for example, can often get me to smile and nod and get past it, though even then thats the exception.  Typically it involves a case of abduction but not captivity, either because of a vase of mistaken identity, and/or things quickly happening(such as a mutual enemy or the abductee freeing her/himself) and most of those cases involve a preexisting relationship or some sort that keeps the people in question from knowing each other purely in the context of abductor/abductee.

There's also Stardust, of course, though I hesitate to include it(but feel I should.)  There, it's more a case of a stupid boy doing a stupid thing and needing to grow up(and doing so) and the girl going "ok, am ditching the stupid boy first chance I get" and then doing so, and then not giving him a chance until he's proven himself in another context, at which point, it's "ok, the stupid boy has his uses and isn't so bad...just stupid" and eventually "ok, he's a stupid boy but he grew a brain and he's my stupid boy anyway, so I'll keep him."

But mostly, though, these stories are women(and sometimes men) falling for a person who abducts them and holds them prisoner, and falling for the person in that context.

I'd like to handwave it as a certain subset of romance novels, but it seems to be in most genres of any medium, and has a huge following.  It also seems to be really, really popular in fanfic.

Anyone have any opinions on this one(and, seriously, it is something I've always wanted to understand why it's popular)?

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can getthe falling in love with the person you went through all that with(not the kidnapping/held prisoner bit) but if it's while the danger is going on, there should be some serious and logical downtime mixed in there to get to know each other. Even if you're just travelling and nobody's trying to kill you at that time, it'll do, as long as there's something beyond the adrenaline ruch.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

MUST tell you now - "Trick" is awesome!!!!!!!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Of course it is.

I've been telling the entire internet this for a year and a half.