Discussion Highlights: Opposites Attract

Last Week’s Discussion:
Opposites Attract

I got to thinking about the saying ‘opposites attract’ and how horribly false it is. A relationship cannot exist between two people with severely contrasting personalities or beliefs. Yet, they continue to exist in literature. Why? Am I missing whatever it is that makes this possible? Let’s ask the discussioners!

Trent said:

“In real life, as opposed to fiction, although we need to have our differences and be individuals, having a romantic partner that is opposite you in most ways […] is a relationship made in hell that won’t last more than a nano-second.”

Danielle said:

“I view it more as a matter of counter balancing 😉 My nonhusband is full of many traits that I am not and vice versa. But we play well off of each other for this very reason. He levels me out. I level him out. We tend to come together and find that healthy, happy medium.”

Darque Dreamer said:

“Couples tend to adapt to each other and are more passionate toward each other when they can learn to share certain likes but still have their own personal likes for individual time. Having two characters in a book that are exactly alike would be boring. There has to be some opposing aspects to a relationship to make it interesting and to allow for a couple to learn about each other and share interests they normally wouldn’t have.”

It would seem that I am not alone. Many people agree that opposites attract isn’t necessarily true. However, they seem to believe less needs to be in common than I imagine. In fact, many of them are in relationships where they do not share as many similarities as I would expect in a relationship. So perhaps there is some stock in opposites attract, but we may still need to re-phrase it. :p

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Check out this week’s discussion on Thursday at 10am EST:
Prequels