Marriage of Convenience (trope)

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Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)lavender marriages, Marriage of state, Royal intermarriage
Related tropes/genresArranged Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mail-Order Bride, Marriage
See alsoHarlequin Challenge
Related articles on Fanlore.

Marriage of convenience is a common trope in fanworks, in which characters enter into a marriage for reasons other than love, for example for political or financial reasons.

The trope differs from other marriage-based tropes, such as arranged marriage, because, although it is generally precipitated by outside causes, the marriage is contracted voluntarily. However, there is considerable overlap between the two, and they are sometimes used interchangeably: 500+ works used both tags on AO3 as of August 2021[1].

Because of the politics involved in marriage of convenience stories, they often occur in fandoms set in the past or in fantasy settings. In contemporary fandoms, they are often found in historical AUs or royalty AUs.

In many stories, this trope goes hand-in-hand with others such as fake dating, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers or mutual pining, and the spouses of convenience end up falling in love or admitting a secret, pre-existing love by the end of the story, whether they decide to stay married or not.

The consumation of the marriage of convenience is sometimes a significant plot point, meaning that dubcon might feature in the angstier versions of the trope.

Different types of marriage

Lavender marriages are common in the U.S. (and in some other countries later), performed since early twentieth-century Hollywood in order to maintain the appearance of heterosexuality of several movie, theater and television stars. Especially notable are the marriages of Marlene Dietrich, who engaged in affairs with many famous men and women with her husband's consent, and Judy Garland, whose second husband is commonly thought to have been bisexual.[2] In modern China, an estimated 14 million women are Tongqi, married to queer men who hide their orientations.[3]

Green card marriages, which bypass immigration restrictions, are common in the United States, with 2.3 million marriage visas being approved between 1998 and 2007.[4] In 2010, 15% of Irish civil marriages were estimated to be for immigration purposes.[5]

Marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back to ancient times. Another similar example is Royal intermarriage, the practice of members of ruling dynasties marrying into other reigning families as part of strategic diplomacy for national interest.

Example Fanworks

Merlin

Naruto

Six of Crows

Supernatural

The Eagle

The Old Guard

The Social Network Actor RPF

Resources

References