Special Episode 32: Tropefest: Arranged Marriage

Since the dawn of the “Tropefest” series, we’ve teased at an arranged marriage episode—and an examination of why it’s been so formative for Flourish over the years. The result is part deconstruction of the trope, part deconstruction of Flourish’s gender identity (GET READY), plus lengthy discussion of Beauty and the Beast, the ways the trope doesn’t translate to slash, and the disconnect between arranged-marriage fiction and both the historical and contemporary practice in various parts of the world.

To listen to this special episode or read the full transcript, pledge to our Patreon!

Show Notes

[00:00:00] As always, our intro music is “Awel” by stefsax, used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

[00:02:51] Shortly after we recorded, this post crossed Elizabeth’s dash, which pinpoints exactly what we’re talking about in arranged marriage slash (with some very funny suggestions for ways around it).

[00:14:54] The original Marriage Law Challenge from 2003 had fairly specific rules, though stories obviously expanded beyond that (and beyond Snape/Hermione). Flourish highlights one particular story: “Chaos Is Come Again” by theatresm.

[00:17:22] While some Flourish’s favorites in this realm are admittedly more soulbond AU than arranged marriage, they would rec "Inside the River" by yeaka.

[00:18:30] NEVER FORGET.

(We discussed this and many other facets of soulmate AUs in a “Tropefest” special episode last spring!)

[00:22:13] A thousand siblings, 11 siblings…same thing basically. If you haven’t read it, treat yourself to the plot summary of La Belle et la Bête, originally written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740.

[00:23:12] Bless our transcriptionist, Rachel, who put this link in the comments when Elizabeth said, “She becomes a beast, too? That’s sexy.”

[00:37:56]

[00:40:16] That’s “Restraint” by DarkEmeralds, and as Flourish wrote in their rec,

“Jensen and Jared are the actors who play brothers Sam and Dean Winchester on Supernatural. They’re hot, and lots of people think they should boink, but many don’t want to write incest. So they write “J2” instead. You don’t need to know anything but what they look like to enjoy this fic, which is… pretty much just a love story between two dudes in Regency England.”

[00:40:39]

Also for the record, Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and is arguably a *very* Victorian novel, sensibility-wise, but it is technically set in the late Georgian period (though not at a specific time, since there are contradictory historical details.)

[00:42:15] Obviously not the same as seeing it, but you can get a sense of the Wallace Collection’s Disney exhibition on their website!

[00:43:43] From Disney animator Andreas Deja:

Concept art from Beauty and the Beast featuring an early drawing of Gaston as 18th century nobleman, preening and adjusting his wig while looking in a mirror.

[00:44:18] FACT-CHECK: The Sofa: A Moral Tale was a 1742 novel by Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon. The protagonist actually becomes MULTIPLE sofas, and the kicker was to become human again, two virgins not just had to have a real conversation sitting upon him, but sex there, too. Whether Elizabeth misremembered this or the description at the museum kept it comically vague (money’s on the latter lol), we’ll never know.

[00:47:03]