History Main / AbductionIsLove

* Some sources claim the original female population of Iceland was mostly kidnapped from Ireland and/or Scotland. While it is known from genetic research that 60-70% of the female ancestors of Icelanders were Gaelic, it is unclear whether they were mostly abducted or willing brides from the Norse-Gael settlements in Scotland and Ireland. According to contemporary - and indignant - clerical chroniclers Vikings were considered seriously hot by Christian women who appreciated their habits of bathing regularly and combing their hair.
* TruthInTelevision. The word "Best" in Best Man refers to his skill with a sword, as the original reason a groom needed one was to help protect the bride from being kidnapped, or possibly be stolen ''back'' by her family or escape on her own.
* In modern military weddings where the groom wears his sword (traditionally on the left side), he will stand on the left so that the sword doesn't ''literally ''come between them.
* This is, in fact, the origin of the "honeymoon" -- in the days when marriages were often less-than-consensual and the bride's extended family might well try to take her back (regardless of the bride's feelings in the matter either way), it made sense for the newly-married groom to carry his bride off to some remote place and wait until people at least stopped caring enough to seek revenge or until she got pregnant (this was back in the day when being a single mother was very taboo).

* In the Amazon Basin people originally lived in small tribes that were basically family groups. Because everyone was related in some way the men's only real option was to raid one of the other tribes that they were always at war with. This was important for them not only because women carried on the family line, but they were the only ones who knew how to make the sacred cheecha beer.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife-carrying Eukonkanto]]'': the Finnish sport of "wife-carrying", in which a man has to physically carry a female team-mate (not necessarily a wife) over an obstacle course, is believed to be an echo of older times. In which a man either had to abduct a bride by force from other people who would seek to pursue or else to get her out of the way of unmarried men seeking to abduct. [[note]]These days, the champion received the coveted prize of his "wife"'s weight in beer[[/note]]
* This was essentially the core of ritual abduction, a practice of ancient Greece and Crete, which citizens felt was justified by the myth of Zeus abducting Ganymede. Since the myth is [[HoYay homosexual]], this was the traditional custom among pederasts who would, with the help of their target's friends, snatch the younger male away and shower him with gifts and attention. It was never to keep him away altogether, as he was always returned safe and sound by the end of the ritual, but that always took two months and the only one who really had a choice in this situation was the older guy who attempted to buy his love.

Well, no matter. The problem's easy enough to fix. Just get your buddies together, form a raiding party, swoop down upon the nearest village and carry away all of its prettiest women. Of course, you can expect the pretty women to ''not'' be so keen on the idea, at least at ''first''. Expect to see a lot of passive-aggressive behavior coming from their general direction... as well as the odd rock or [[FryingPanOfDoom frying pan]]... and you may want to wear a [[GroinAttack groin protector]] when you're walking around in their approximate vicinity... at least for awhile...

Hopefully this will happen ''before'' the girls' fathers, brothers or friends find out where you live and turn you and your buddies into tomato paste. If you've behaved yourself and acted properly towards the women, you may get lucky and find yourself wed to your new sweethearts in a ShotgunWedding. If not, then... it's best ''not to think about'' what will happen to you...

* Subverted in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' with [[StalkerWithACrush Torso]]. He is utterly obsessed with Mutsuki, to a terrifying degree. His diary from the 4th volume reveals that he believes they share a mysterious connection, and this "spark" of desire will be his salvation. They just need to have a long, private talk... then Mutsuki will understand their destined bond, and return his love. He then proceeds to kidnap Mutsuki, cut off his arms and legs, and declare they will be getting married. He even dressed Mutsuki in a white dress and put a wedding ring on his cut off hand. [[spoiler:Over the next month, Mutsuki plays along with him and even begins to feel some sympathy after learning about his FreudianExcuse... but ends up snapping and killing Torso in a blind rage]].

-->''Helen the Beautiful had been greatly frightened, but dried her tears quickly when she saw the handsome youth.''

* In ''Literature/TheFireBirdTheHorseOfPowerAndThePrincessVasilissa'', the princess dislikes the tsar she has been abducted for because he is old, but falls in love with the archer who abducted her.

* ''Fanfic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'': This is how the relationship between [[TheSmartGuy Clover the Clever]] and [[LadykillerInLove Commander Hurricane]] really got started; Hurricane had been flirting with Clover for some time without much success, but one night snuck into her room and carried her off for a romantic evening around the fledgling Equestria [[spoiler:arranged by Clover's boss Princess Platinum, who picked up on their interest right away]]. Afterwards, Clover was [[HappilyMarried much more receptive]] to Hurricane's flirting.
* ''Fanfic/ThePalaververse'': Parodied with the mammoth tribes, where it's custom for brides to kidnap their husbands. This has over time developed into a very formalized process, where after proper approval and vetting by the respective clan chieftains, as well as consulting with the groom-to-be and his family, the mammoth cow in question beans the subject of her affections upside the head with a suitably decorated sap, throws him over her withers and rushes back home. This is usually followed by an equally scripted counter-raid, and is generally treated in the same manner as more sedate wedding customs are among other societies. This all leads to some... confusion... when a mammoth character tries to give relationship advice to an ibex doe based on her own romantic experiences.

* ''Film/SevenBridesForSevenBrothers'': The page quote comes from the song "Sobbin' Women". The movie features a brood of socially awkward men who kidnap some townswomen they take a shining to during a town dance. They draw the inspiration for their act from a book which detailed the history of the Sabine women (see Mythology and Religion, below). Of course, the brothers, being ignorant hicks, misinterpret the word ''Sabine'' as "Sobbin'"'. They also make a few other ignorant presumptions about how things would turn out. Fortunately for them, the girls they kidnapped do eventually fall in love with them (''after'' putting them all through the wringer for what they did...)

* In ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'', the few surviving soldiers seem to at least understand that 'borrowing' the last two uninfected women in England and keeping them against their will as breeding stock and female company is quite possibly immoral. They just don't care any more. They seem to think treating them with a thin veneer of decency will eventually make them warm to the concept, but it's just about enough to get them all [[KarmicDeath slaughtered horribly]] anyway.

* The plot of the Soviet comedy ''Film/KidnappingCaucasianStyle'' involves a young anthropology student named Shurik going to Caucasus to learn local customs. He ends up falling for a Caucasian girl named Nina. Unfortunately, a local political leader named Saakhov has also taken a liking to the girl. He makes a deal with Nina's uncle, who sells her for some sheep and a fridge. The uncle hires a trio of thugs to abduct the girl while on a hiking trip. When that fails, he convinces Shurik that Nina knows all about it and just wants to re-enact the traditional local custom of bride kidnapping. Shurik helps the trio perform the kidnapping, only to realize that he was tricked. He tries to free her. Meanwhile, Nina finds out about her uncle's deal and threatens to go on a hunger strike if they don't let her go.

* Referenced to in ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'' when Tom tells Huck that as robbers, all they have to do to win women is to take away their belongings but not harm them and talk nicely and politely to them until they won't let go of them even when given the chance.

* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'': ''Literature/TheWillOfTheEmpress'' reveals the Namornese empire has a tradition of kidnapping women before marriage, which Sandry is horrified to learn. Generally, the "kidnapping" used to be a mutual agreement between a young couple trying to bypass a family's disapproval, or a way to "spice up" marriage vows. It has now turned into something quite ugly. A lot of men are sure their new wives will come around eventually. As one could expect, though, many do ''not''. And when [[spoiler:Shan and Fin]] attempt this on Sandry... well, it ends badly.

* In the third ''Colossus'' book (''Colossus and the Crab'') the super-computer that rules the world starts running people through experiments to understand people (i.e. takes a guy up on his word that he would "die for his people's independence"). Colossus then kidnaps the wife of the main character (and designer of the US half of Colossus) and hands her over to an unwashed peasant who slaps her down if she asserts herself and rapes her when she doesn't cooperate. [[spoiler:Eventually she begins to warm to him because he's just a big old (raping) baby who doesn't know any better. When he's killed for refusing to give her up when the "experiment" is over, she's devastated and, when put back in contact with her husband, sneers at him because he's obviously a weakling who couldn't take her from her more elemental captor.]]

* Attempted by Maurice de Bracy and Brian de Bois-Guilbert when they abduct Rowena and Rebecca in ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}},'' with a garbled reference to the Tribe of Benjamin. Rowena and Rebecca are both in love with Ivanhoe, whom loves only Rowena, and the former is eventually rescued during the Battle of Torquilstone, which occurs the same day. Bois-Guilbert and Rebecca's plot continues for the rest of the novel following the former fleeing with the latter from Torquilstone to Templestowe and eventually Bois-Guilbert's plot spirals down from there.

* ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' The Phantom brings the opera singer Christine Daae down to his home in the basment of the opera house. Here he tells her that they are going to live their lives together as husband and wife. After sometime he desides that she can come and go when she wants to, and she comes back multiple times without him forcing her to because of her {{Sympathy For The Devil}}. It is only at the end of the book, where The Phantom has kidnapped her in the middle of a performance, and threatens to blow up the opera house if she doesn't marry him, that it gets really serious.

** It is disputed by characters and fans alike what exactly the relationship was between Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen [[PosthumousCharacter before they both died]]. It is unclear whether they were in love and eloped, whether he kidnapped her and then they fell in love, or whether he kidnapped and raped her. Robert Baratheon firmly believes the latter (which is unsurprising since Lyanna is his [[TheLostLenore lost love]]), but virtually everyone else, including Lyanna's brother, think this is very unlikely, given Rhaegar's reputation for being a good man.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' has an episode called "Bloodline" which dealt with a family that fancied themselves modern day gypsies kidnapping girls to get a bride for their adolescent son. It was revealed that the mother was similarly kidnapped as a child.

** Earlier, the Bible had Shechem kidnap, rape, and decide to marry Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. Her brothers agreed to the marriage if Shechem and all his countrymen agreed to be circumcised. Three days after the countrymen comply, her brothers turn out [[KillEmAll not to like this trope very much]].

** The god of the north wind, Boreas, kidnapped Orithyia, daughter of King Erekhtheus of Athens, after she rejected his advances out of fear.

** Theseus did it twice. He carried away one of the Amazons - Antiope or Hippolyte. Some versions of this story claim that the woman in question fell in love with him and came willingly. Either way, the other Amazons saw this as a kidnapping and attacked Athens to get their sister back. Much later in his life, Theseus abducted Helen of Troy when she was just a little girl and left her with his mother, hoping to marry her when she came of age. She was rescued by her brothers while Theseus and his friend Pirithous were away, [[TooDumbToLive trying to kidnap Persephone from Hades]].
*** Speaking of Helen, the myths are unclear, even contradictory, regarding whether Helen was kidnapped by Paris or willingly eloped with him. Either way, she seems to have been in love with him for the duration of UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar.

** Eos was cursed by Aphrodite with unsatisfiable sexual desire for sleeping with Ares, Aphrodite's favourite lover. Because of this, she carried away many handsome young men to be her lovers, including Tithonus, Cephalus and Orion. Like other gods in the Greek pantheon, she [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal didn't particularly care that the objects of her affection may have been unwilling or already married.]]
** Asopides, the daughters of river-god Asopus, were frequent targets of this trope: Aegina, Thebe and Plataea were kidnapped by Zeus; Corcyra, Salamis and Euboea were abducted by Poseidon; Sinope and Thespia were carried away by Apollo; and Tanagra was kidnapped by Hermes. Asopus actually tried to prevent the abduction of Aegina, but was shot with one of Zeus’ thunderbolts.

* Justified in the Caucasian Myth/NartSagas; bride abduction was a marriage ritual in the North Caucasus. That said, it was often pre-arranged with the the woman's family, and a non-consensual abduction would be seen as a serious breach of social norms. In some of the tales themselves, it's can be difficult to tell just how consensual some of these encounters are.

* The Neathar, a culture of Neolithic NobleSavage tribesfolk in TabletopGame/{{Mystara}}'s Hollow World, routinely abduct brides from neighboring Neathar tribes.

* In ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'', Petruchio kidnaps Kate after their wedding ceremony. It's really more for show than anything else, since she was going to go with him anyway, but she still doesn't enjoy it.
* Creator/{{USLES}} villains often believe this, or try to exploit it. Abanazar in ''Aladdin'' in particular; he keeps Princess Amira in chains to try to force her to marry him. Leonardo in ''Beauty and the Beast'' also seems to like this trope, as he handcuffs Belle to his kitchen sink. Naturally, these villains are proved wrong.

* [[GenkiGirl Yo]] from ''WesternAnimation/FanboyAndChumChum'' is ''obsessed'' with the latter protagonist. In the first season, there were 3 episodes in which her attempts to kidnap Chum Chum were a major plot point. [[note]]''Brain Drain'', ''The Incredible Shrinking Fanboy'' and ''Trading Day''.[[/note]] [[FriendVersusLover She sees Fanboy as the greatest hurdle between her and Chum Chum]] and most of her plans start with distracting him. So far, the creepiest example of getting rid of Fanboy was [[WhoEvenNeedsABrain stealing his brain]] and ''hiding it in her backpack''. As for abducting Chum Chum, she once trapped him in a giant virtual pet case. In later episodes, he is noticeably less friendly and more frightened of her.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Heloise has chained Jimmy up, [[HarmlessFreezing freezed him solid]], and swept him away with a HumongousMecha, all to keep him close to her. And she's still [[ShipTease the most likely candidate]] for his heart.

* This was a popular way for nomads of the Eurasian steppe to get a wife. This was especially the case since in order to get a wife, you generally had to work for her family for a year, so the poor and unconnected couldn't do so. This was the case of the Mongols, as UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan's mother was taken this way by his father. However, he outlawed it once he became Great Khan as he recognized the damage it did to the tribal society he was trying to unite. It should also be noted that his wife Borte had been kidnapped by a rival tribe and the fact that she came back pregnant and [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe the paternity of the son she bore was in doubt]] had long term consequences for the empire. In Sparta, this actually became ritualized; after formalizing an engagement, men would break into their brides' houses and "kidnap" them from their (willing) families as part of the wedding ceremony.

* Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, was so infatuated with Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale (who had visited to inform her of the death of her first husband, Adam of Kilconquhar, in the Eighth Crusade) that she held him captive in her castle until he agreed to marry her - at least that was Robert's story and eventually the King who had the right to choose Marjorie's next husband, accepted it. Their son became the famed Scottish King Robert the Bruce.
* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife-carrying Eukonkanto]]'': the Finnish sport of "wife-carrying", in which a man has to physically carry a female team-mate (not necessarily a wife) over an obstacle course, is believed to be an echo of older times. In which a man either had to abduct a bride by force from other people who would seek to pursue, or else to get her out of the way of unmarried men seeking to abduct. [[note]]These days, the champion received the coveted prize of his "wife"'s weight in beer[[/note]]

* Discussed and brutally deconstructed in ''WebVideo/PopCultureDetective'''s video essay [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8xL7w1POZ0 "Abduction is Love"]]

* The infamous issue #200 of ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'', where Comicbook/MsMarvel learns she was kidnapped, brainwashed, and raped...and we're supposed to see this as a good thing. A year later her creator Creator/ChrisClaremont fought back in ''Avengers Annual #10'', where it turns out she'd stayed out of contact with the Avengers due to their betraying her by letting her go off with her rapist, not realizing she was still brainwashed when she said she wanted to. She proceeds to epically chew them out and refuse to return to the team, opting to join the X-Men instead.

[[folder:Fan Fic]]
* This is how the relationship between [[TheSmartGuy Clover the Clever]] and [[LadykillerInLove Commander Hurricane]] really got started in ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria''; Hurricane had been flirting with Clover for some time without much success, but one night snuck into her room and carried her off for a romantic evening around the fledgling Equestria [[spoiler:arranged by Clover's boss Princess Platinum, who picked up on their interest right away]]. Afterwards, Clover was [[HappilyMarried much more receptive]] to Hurricane's flirting.
* FanFic/ThePalaververse: Parodied with the mammoth tribes, where it's custom for brides to kidnap their husbands. This has over time developed into a very formalized process, where after proper approval and vetting by the respective clan chieftains, as well as consulting with the groom-to-be and his family, the mammoth cow in question beans the subject of her affections upside the head with a suitably decorated sap, throws him over her withers and rushes back home. This is usually followed by an equally scripted counter-raid, and is generally treated in the same manner as more sedate wedding customs are among other societies. This all leads to some... confusion... when a mammoth character tries to give relationship advice to an ibex doe based on her own romantic experiences.

* The page quote comes from the song "Sobbin' Women", from ''Film/SevenBridesForSevenBrothers''. The movie features a brood of socially awkward men who kidnap some townswomen they took a shining to during a town dance. They drew the inspiration for their act from a book which detailed the history of the Sabine women (see Mythology and Religion, below). Of course, the brothers, being ignorant hicks, misinterpreted the word ''Sabine'' as "Sobbin'"'. They also made a few other ignorant presumptions about how things would turn out. Fortunately for them, the girls they kidnapped did eventually fall in love with them (''after'' putting them all through the wringer for what they did...)

%%* Kagome in ''Manga/InuYasha'' gets to experience this from quite a few demons lusting for her. The most notable example is Kouga when he first meets her.
%%* This is a common explanation for Russia's affectionate abuse of the Baltics, particularly Lithuania, in ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia''.
%%* Arima of ''Manga/KareKano'' has a dark side that once imagined tying his girlfriend Yukino in chains.
%%* [[{{Yandere}} Yuno]] of ''Manga/FutureDiary'' believes this. [[spoiler:Yukiteru, on the other hand, does not]].

%%* ''Anime/YuGiOh'' had an instance of this. A fake psychic kidnapped [[AttemptedRape and potentially tried to rape]] Anzu Mazaki. Don't worry, though. Yami saves her.

%%[[folder:Comic Strips]]
%%* A GettingCrapPastTheRadar RunningGag in the newspaper comic version of ''Literature/TheMoomins'' (which isn't outright child-inappropriate, but has more ParentalBonus than the novels) has Moomin's girlfriend the Snork Maiden blatantly having this as a sexual fantasy, and getting frustrated with his failure to pick up her hints that she'd like to roleplay it with him.
%%[[/folder]]

%%* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/firebird/stories/goldbird.html The Golden Bird]]'', the princess tricks the prince into letting her rouse the castle. The king, however, sets him an EngagementChallenge, and when he succeeds, gives him the princess. Later, when his brothers kill him, she weeps all the time.
%%* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/firebird/stories/greekprincess.html The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener]]'', the princess again manages to rouse the castle, but when the youth gets an EngagementChallenge, she hopes he succeeds in it.

%%* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', the [[TheDragon Ulquiorra]] [[TheHeartless Schiffer]]/[[TheChick Orihime]] [[TheHeart Inoue]] pairing is based around this trope.
%%* In the Literature/LordOfTheFlies fanfic ''FanFic/TwelveGirlsThirteenBoysAndSavages'', the twelve older boys do this to the twelve girls that have washed up on the island. Averted with most of the girls, since they have no interest in the boys, but subverted with Carly who shows attraction to the boys, but eventually played straight when Katie actually falls for Jack.

%%* Spoofed in ''Film/{{Borat}}''; see RealLife below.

%%* In ''Film/{{Oyayubihime}}'', Saiko goes out of her way to treat Yuichi with love and affection after shrinking him in the hopes that he'll reciprocate her feelings towards him.
%%* A milder, comedic example forms the plot of ''Film/{{Overboard}}''.

%%* In ''Literature/{{Edenborn}}'', [[spoiler:Deuce]] tries this on [[spoiler:Penny.]] Lucky for him, she's really into it.
%%* Most, if not all of, the ''Literature/{{Gor}}'' novels.

%%* The entire plot of ''Literature/TheSheik.''

%%* The third book in the ''Literature/WindOnFire'' series, ''Firesong'', features the young women of the group being kidnapped by nomadic warriors. Fortunately, due to a mixture of mind-reading and very lucky coincidence, they manage to escape and seal the warriors in their crater home perpetually. Little given away, as it is very, very good.

%%* ''Series/IntoTheWest'' plays with this.

%%[[folder:Music]]
%%* Depending on your interpretation, it's disturbingly likely that the StalkerWithACrush from Music/{{Evanescence}}'s song ''Snow White Queen'' [[ParanoiaFuel would attempt this with his "beloved" given the opportunity]].
%%[[/folder]]

%%* ''Theatre/TheDesertSong'': Margot is kidnapped by the Red Shadow.

%%* ''VideoGame/HeartNoKuniNoAlice'': Peter certainly seems to think this trope is true.

%%* ''VisualNovel/War13thDay'': In one ending, Chase carries off Ambrosia onto a ship with him and sets sail.

%%* Attempted by a couple of antagonists in ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}},'' with a garbled reference to the Tribe of Benjamin. It doesn't work for them.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', the gang run past the trope image when in a museum.

'''Zula:''' ''Grrrab him!'' And ''take him!''\\

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Gender-flipped, when [[BadassGrandpa Old Man Death]] tells his granddaughter about the time he was sacking a castle, only to be kidnapped and ravished by a wild princess. [[ParentalSexualitySquick She really didn't want to hear any of it]].

* Discussed and brutally deconstructed in Pop Culture Detective's video essay [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8xL7w1POZ0 "Abduction is Love"]]

* FanFic/ThePalaververse: Parodied with the mammoth tribes, where it's custom for brides to kidnap their husbands. This has over time developed into a very formalized process, where after proper approval and vetting by the respective clan chieftains, as well as consulting with the groom-to-be and his family, the mammoth cow in questions beans the subject of her affections upside the head with a suitably decorated sap, throws him over her withers and rushes back home. This is usually followed by an equally scripted counter-raid, and is generally treated in the same manner as more sedate wedding customs are among other societies. This all leads to some... confusion... when a mammoth character tries to give relationship advice to an ibex doe based on her own romantic experiences.

* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}: ''Literature/TheWillOfTheEmpress'' reveals the Namornese empire has a tradition of kidnapping women before marriage, which Sandry is horrified to learn. Generally, the "kidnapping" used to be a mutual agreement between a young couple trying to bypass a family's disapproval, or a way to "spice up" marriage vows. It has now turned into something quite ugly. A lot of men are sure their new wives will come around eventually. As one could expect, though, many do ''not''. And when [[spoiler:Shan and Fin]] attempt this on Sandry... well, it ends badly.

* John Fowles' ''Literature/TheCollector'' is a deconstruction. The novel is the classically creepy tale of a young man who first stalks the girl of his dreams, then abducts her and keeps her in his basement. The rest of the book relates the dream-girl's increasingly desperate ploys to escape.
* ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia'' has Han abduct Leia when he thinks he's been outclassed by an attractive, fabulously wealthy PrinceCharming who's courting her. [[spoiler:(Unlike most examples of this trope, she eventually marries him.)]]
* Edward's breaking of Bella's truck so she cannot escape him in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is portrayed as an act of love. Come to that, Bella and Edward's entire relationship is based on Edward doing manipulative, controlling, or just plain creepy things with Bella (and the narrator) deciding that [[StalkingIsLove this is somehow endearing and romantic]].
* In the Namornese empire for Literature/CircleOfMagic, they have a tradition of kidnapping women before marriage, which Sandry is horrified to learn. Generally, the "kidnapping" used to be a mutual agreement between a young couple trying to bypass a family's disapproval, or a way to 'spice up' marriage vows. It has now turned into something quite ugly. A lot of men are sure their new wives will come around eventually. As one could expect, though, many do ''not''. And when [[spoiler:Shan and Fin]] attempt this on Sandry... well, it ends badly.
* Part of Darko Kerim's backstory in the original ''Literature/JamesBond'' novel ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove''. Specifically, his treatment of a captured woman falls just short of rape (not that he has any objection to that) and is about two steps away from "[[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs It rubs the lotion on its skin.]]" But hey, by the time someone called him on it, she had gone from wanting to kill him to not wanting to leave, so he's cool.

%%* The third book in the ''Literature/WindOnFire'' series, ''Firesong'', features the young women of the group being kidnapped by nomadic warriors. Fortunately, due to a mixture of mind-reading and very lucky coincidence, they manage to escape and seal the warriors in their crater home perpetually. Little given away, as it is very, very good.
* In the third Colossus book (Colossus and the Crab) the super-computer that rules the world starts running people through experiments to understand people (i.e. takes a guy up on his word that he would "die for his people's independence"). Colossus then kidnaps the wife of the main character (and designer of the US half of Colossus) and hands her over to an unwashed peasant who slaps her down if she asserts herself and rapes her when she doesn't cooperate. [[spoiler:Eventually she begins to warm to him because he's just a big old (raping) baby who doesn't know any better. When he's killed for refusing to give her up when the "experiment" is over, she's devastated and, when put back in contact with her husband, sneers at him because he's obviously a weakling who couldn't take her from her more elemental captor.]]
%%* The entire plot of ''Literature/TheSheik.''
* In the world of ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', men are very rare and valuable. Years ago the [[HeroicBastard Whistler women]] abducted the fifteen-year-old prince Alannon. He was not happy about this, but because that entire branch of his family was soon executed for treason for their part in the [[CivilWar War of the False Eldest]], he decided to be philosophical about it. His grandchildren describe their grandmothers as [[LimaSyndrome being run ragged]] trying to make him happy, from building a bathhouse despite not knowing what they were doing to teaching their sons to be [[SpiritedYoungLady Spirited Young Gentlemen]] rather than [[ProperLady Proper Gentlemen]]. The practice of "husband raids" ''has'' been made socially unacceptable since that time; there are laws against it, and every member of a family which contains men is aware of the possibility and willing to fight furiously to prevent it. However, these laws were enacted not out of empathy for the men who would be kidnapped, but for the sake of cohesion within the country. It's hard to trust your neighbors if they kidnapped your brother before you could sell him.
%%* In ''Literature/{{Edenborn}}'', [[spoiler:Deuce]] tries this on [[spoiler:Penny.]] Lucky for him, she's really into it.

* The linchpin of the goblins and the elves in the Literature/HollowKingdomTrilogy. The kings of both must marry outside their species in order to carry their magic forward (humans for elves, any sentient species for goblins).
** The goblin kings have certainly ''tried'' to make this work: it's explained that the goal of every king is to produce a son stronger than him, but the feelings of ''both'' parents must be in accord. The more a king's wife cares for her new subjects, the better a son she will have. The goblins also steal elf women in order to shore up magic, as goblin women tend to be sterile.
** The elf kings, before they died out, started to care less and less about this. Once they'd stolen a bride, they would give them a drink to induce amnesia in them, so there wouldn't be any pesky yearning for human family or comforts. [[spoiler:This backfired on them massively with the wife of Aganir Melim-bar. Once she got pregnant, he would have no more to do with her, and she took revenge by switching her baby, Ash, with an ordinary elf baby. Only the elf king is cross-fertile with human women, so the false king produced no heir before getting killed by something the real elf king would have shrugged off. Centuries passed before Ash's magicless descendant married a human woman and produced a new elf king.]]
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': In Percy's retelling of the stories of the Gods, he has Hades actually going to Zeus for advice on how to court Persephone. Hades has the idea to talk to Demeter and ask permission or declare his feelings to Persephone, but Zeus goes for one of his favored methods, "I suggest kidnapping." And the rest is history.
* ''Literature/HeartOfSteel'' plays with this, in that Julia is captured incidentally while scuba diving with her boyfriend off the coast of Shark Reef Isle, but once the Island's master, Alistair Mechanus, sees her (injured but cleaned up), he falls instantly in love and doesn't want to let her go.

* ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' The Phantom brings the opera singer Christine Daae down to his home in the basment of the opera house. Here he tells her that they are going to live their lives together as husband and wife. After sometime he desides that she can come and go when she wants to, and she comes back multiple times without him forcing her to because of her {{Sympathy For The Devil}}. It is only at the end of the book, where The Phantom has kidnapped her in the middle of a performance, and threatens to blow up the opera house if she doesn't marry him, that it gets really serious.
* ''Literature/TheThinkingMachine'': In "The Mystery of a Studio", a MadArtist abducts the woman who was his muse when he learns she does not return his love.

%%* ''Series/IntoTheWest'' plays with this.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Rhaegar Targaryen allegedly abducted Lyanna Stark, stealing her from her family and fiance. Whether he did it out of lust or love has yet to be discovered. TheReveal that Lyanna died giving birth to his son and begging her brother to protect the child despite having fought a war against Rhaegar heavily implies a love affair was involved. Turns out it was consensual, and that Lyanna loved him over Robert.
* Grilka to Quark in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', with Grilka as the abductor. To explain, Quark killed Grilka's husband in self-defense (actually, the drunk Klingon fell on his own knife). Since her House would lose its position without a male to lead it, Grilka forces Quark to marry her. Her goal is to convince Gowron to grant the House special dispensation to allow a female to rule it and be on the Council. Eventually, Gowron does so, and Quark asks for a divorce. Apparently, the latter involves Grilka spitting out a few Klingon curses, punching him in the face, and physically spitting on him. There is a later episode, where Grilka returns to the station, and Quark tries to start a romance with her by asking Worf to teach him how to woo a Klingon female.

* ''Series/DustysTrail'': In "Here Come the Brides, There Go the Grooms", two hillbillies kidnap Dusty and Callahan to become husbands for their ugly sisters in a double-barreled shotgun wedding.

%%* [[{{Yandere}} Yuno]] of ''Manga/FutureDiary'' believes this. [[spoiler: Yukiteru, on the other hand, does not]].

* Played with in ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}''. The bond between a Sekirei and their Ashikabi is normally the result of [[RedStringOfFate destiny]] bringing them together, but it is entirely possible to create a [[AMagicContractComesWithAKiss bond]] by force. Two of the major villains built armies this way, capturing and winging Sekirei against their will -- one {{Mook|s}} describes the process as "taming" them. Once the bond is formed they seem to develop a strong loyalty and affection for their Ashikabi, whether the bond was consensual or not. Interestingly, the two villains have completely different relationships with their harems -- Higa's Sekirei are treated as disposable servants, while Mikogami's are PrettyFreeloaders that treat him affectionately. [[spoiler: In the finale, Higa loses the majority of his Sekirei while ''all'' of Mikogami's Sekirei choose him as their Ashikabi again]].

* Subverted in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' with [[StalkerWithACrush Torso]]. He is utterly obsessed with Mutsuki, to a terrifying degree. His diary from the 4th volume reveals that he believes they share a mysterious connection, and this "spark" of desire will be his salvation. They just need to have a long, private talk... then Mutsuki will understand their destined bond, and return his love. He then proceeds to kidnap Mutsuki, cut off his arms and legs, and declare they will be getting married. He even dressed Mutsuki in a white dress and put a wedding ring on his cut off hand. [[spoiler: Over the next month, Mutsuki plays along with him and even begins to feel some sympathy after learning about his FreudianExcuse... but ends up snapping and killing Torso in a blind rage]].

* This is how the relationship between [[TheSmartGuy Clover the Clever]] and [[LadykillerInLove Commander Hurricane]] really got started in ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria''; Hurricane had been flirting with Clover for some time without much success, but one night snuck into her room and carried her off for a romantic evening around the fledgling Equestria [[spoiler: arranged by Clover's boss Princess Platinum, who picked up on their interest right away]]. Afterwards, Clover was [[HappilyMarried much more receptive]] to Hurricane's flirting.

--> '''Jehnna:''' Suppose you set your heart on somebody. What would you do to get him?\\

* ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia'' has Han abduct Leia when he thinks he's been outclassed by an attractive, fabulously wealthy PrinceCharming who's courting her. [[spoiler: (Unlike most examples of this trope, she eventually marries him.)]]

* In the third Colossus book (Colossus and the Crab) the super-computer that rules the world starts running people through experiments to understand people (i.e. takes a guy up on his word that he would "die for his people's independence"). Colossus then kidnaps the wife of the main character (and designer of the US half of Colossus) and hands her over to an unwashed peasant who slaps her down if she asserts herself and rapes her when she doesn't cooperate. [[spoiler: Eventually she begins to warm to him because he's just a big old (raping) baby who doesn't know any better. When he's killed for refusing to give her up when the "experiment" is over, she's devastated and, when put back in contact with her husband, sneers at him because he's obviously a weakling who couldn't take her from her more elemental captor.]]

* In ''Stara Baśń'' by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Doman tries to carry Dziwa away during Kupala Night, after his marriage offer is refused. Unfortunately for him, she actually puts up a fight and ends up wounding him badly with his own sword. [[spoiler: He tries again, at the very end, and this time actually succeeds.]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' The Phantom brings the opera singer Christine Daae down to his home in the basment of the opera house. Here he tells her that they are going to live their lives together. However he lets her go when she wants to, and she comes back multiple times with him forcing her to because of her {{Sympathy For The Devil}}. It is only at the end of the book, where The Phantom has kidnapped her in the middle of a performance, and threatens to blow up the opera house if she doesn't marry him, that it gets really serious.

'''Zula:''' '''Grrrab him!''' And take him!\\

* Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, was so infatuated with Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale (who had visited to inform her of the death of her first husband, Adam of Kilconquhar, in the Eighth Crusade) that she held him captive in her castle until he agreed to marry her. Their son became the famed Scottish King Robert the Bruce.