Basic Trope: Arranged Marriage works out well for those married.
- Straight: Alice and Bob are betrothed against their will. The first time they meet, they hate it, but they gradually start liking each other. When they get married, it's clear that they love each other.
- Exaggerated: Alice and Bob never met before their wedding day. Luckily, they fall in Love at First Sight and become Happily Married ever after.
- Downplayed:
- Alice and Bob don't like each other, but they can tolerate each other. Their marriage is far from perfect, but they know that it could have been much worse.
- Alice and Bob don't fall in love with each other, but do become very good friends.
- Justified:
- Alice and Bob were betrothed because their parents correctly believed they'd make a good couple.
- The matchmakers are trained professionals.
- The two were already friends (possibly since childhood) or otherwise got acquainted with each other before they knew (or perhaps because they knew) about the marriage.
- Their opinion and/or preferences were taken into account during the marriage negotiations.
- Inverted:
- Alice and Bob are happy with their betrothal, but gradually start hating each other after getting married.
- Parental Marriage Veto.
- Subverted: Alice and Bob seem happy in their arranged marriage, but they're revealed to be Stepford Smilers putting up a Happy Marriage Charade.
- Double Subverted: ...who learn to like each other after living together for a while.
- Parodied: Any two enemies can become soulmates instantly after someone engages them. This is especially effective if they aren't told about their engagement.
- Zig Zagged:
- Some arranged marriages work out well and others do not.
- Alice and Bob have Slap-Slap-Kiss through their engagement and marriage.
- Averted: There are no arranged marriages.
- Enforced:
- The writer believes that arranged marriages are superior to love marriages and decides to preach it in his fiction.
- The writer wanted Alice and Bob's Arranged Marriage to be a source of drama with Alice and Bob in an Awful Wedded Life, but Moral Guardians didn't want him to "condemn an important part of culture". He couldn't put Alice and Bob on a bus because of their role in the story, so he had to use this trope.
- The arranged marriage is based on a historical one which did end well, so the writer has it happen well as it did in history.
- The writer wants to avert the cliche of the loveless arranged marriage, and so makes Alice and Bob happy in theirs.
- Lampshaded: "For being forced to marry, Alice and Bob are pretty happy about it."
- Invoked:
- Alice and Bob's parents engaged the two at birth but didn't tell them about it until they started dating on their own.
- Bob's father keeps trying to manipulate them into falling in love. He gives Bob romantic advice, he arranges circumstances to make them both look good to each other, he assassinates the stableboy Charles for attempting to elope with Alice, and eventually makes everything work out.
- Exploited:
- When Christine is skeptical about her betrothal to Daniel, she's told about how happy Alice is in her arranged marriage to Bob.
- They’re marrying for political reasons, but their families want to avoid any problems stemming from them being miserable about the arrangement.
- Defied: Alice and Bob refuse to be happy because they were denied the right to choose their spouse.
- Discussed: "Do you think Alice and Bob are happy in their arranged marriage?"
- Conversed: "How can all these forced marriages work out so well? It's forced!" "Hmmmm... It makes you wonder: Is a place a prison if you don't want to leave?"
- Implied: The couple announce their engagement to their parents, who are not at all surprised and even have the necessary preparations ready for the ceremony, but they insist it is just because they knew it would happen eventually. As soon as the couple departs, the parents talk about how the marriage is on schedule.
- Deconstructed:
- Alice and Bob are lukewarm to the arrangement; they're not happy about it but not terribly upset either. They mostly grin and bear it through the ceremony and such. Neither of them wants to make this more unpleasant than it needs to be.
- Unfortunately, while the marriage takes off without a hitch, Alice or Bob quickly show what's Beneath the Mask and it isn't pretty. After all, they were on their best behavior during the pre-marriage arrangements and all the ceremonial stuff. That sort of thing isn't possible to maintain indefinitely with someone you live with.
- Reconstructed:
- Alice and Bob are initially lukewarm to the arrangement. They're not happy about it until they discover how much they have in common, until they get to know each other, etc. It may not be true love but it's still a friendly relationship and healthy marriage.
- While the marriage ceremony itself goes off without a hitch, living together reveals Alice and Bob's flaws to each other. This leads to tension, bickering, and perhaps some drama. Then Marriage Before Romance kicks in. Eventually, they are bickering Like an Old Married Couple, because that is literally what they are.
- Played For Laughs:
- Alice and Bob go from hating the marriage to making out with each other in the span of a minute.
- Alice and Bob hate each other at first, but start making out when they realize they’re both huge anime fans.
- Played For Drama: In the society in which the story takes place, refusing an arranged marriage is considered dishonorable and often has severe consequences. Divorce doesn't exist. Alice and Bob try to make the best of their hopeless situation.
This page has a Perfectly Arranged Marriage with the main page!
