Enemies to Lovers

Puss in Boots (2011) is an American adventure and comedy animated movie, sequel of the Shrek series. It stars the loved feline character Puss in Boots and his female counterpart Kitty Softpaws. In the film, the two cats start as enemies, but little by little they grown fond of one another.

This trope is known as “Enemies to Lovers” in popular culture. It is predominant in romance literature. It is defined by two characters which often have a long history of conflict with each other. They may be on opposite sides of a struggle, or may have just met under unfortunate circumstances, which causes their personality clashed. Enemies may be forced to work together to achieve a common goal and come to respect one another, building slowly to a romantic relationship. The Enemies to Lovers’ trope can be found in a multitude of genres and art forms. Wither it is in Young Adult novels, Period pieces or in shows and films.

One of the most famous pieces of the trope in literature is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Indeed, the initially contentious relationship between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy are the perfect example of the trope. The two characters met under unfortunate circumstances which led their strong personalities to clash with one another, making them enemies. Nevertheless, their relationship evolves from absolute hatred, to a disaster of a proposal, to reconciliation by an act of kindness from Mr Darcy, helping Elizabeth’s family.

A recent example of Enemies to Lovers in young adult literature would be Red, White and Royal Blue (2019) by Casey McQuiston, which went viral on BookTok. If the novel is not of the best writing style, it is balanced by an endearing plot and story line. In a fictive universe, parallel to ours, the son of the first female president of the United States and the British prince create a diplomatic incident that forces them to spend time together, despite having a long-time hatred for one another. This hatred evolves into a passionate secret relationship, which leads to disastrous consequences.

Moreover, there are a multitude of variants to the Enemies to Lovers trope. One of them is Enemies to Friends to Lovers, which adds a step between the absolute hatred and all passionate relationship. A good example of this would be Beach Read (2020) by Emily Henry. The characters, January and Gus are both writers

and went to University together. January is all about romance novels and happy endings whereas Gus writes moody and dark stories that would make Hemingway proud. With such different visions of the world that surrounded them, they had a hard time getting along in their creative writing classes. Years later, they meet again, the competition is still there but it helps them write and progress on their respective projects. This work relationship makes them grow into friends, learning to understand each other’s world-view, until they get closer and closer and that friendships grows into love.

Enemies to Lovers can also be found in several films and shows. In the series Parks and Recreation (2009- 2015), Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt start as enemies. Ben is in Pawnee to cut the city’s budget and Leslie tries to save the Parks Department where she works. But these two do not stay sworn enemies for long. They end up in a secret, forbidden romance, since they work together. They end up with a happily ever after, despite the origin of their encounter and beginning of their relationship.

Finally, the movie that is the prime example of Enemies to Lovers: 10 things I hate about you (1999). Kat and her sister Bianca are not allowed to date. Their father makes an exception after Bianca’s supplication: she will be able to date if her sister Kat does as well. This is not what Bianca had in mind. Their father comes up with this rule, knowing that Kat’s antisocial attitude make her slightly unlikable. Bianca makes Cameron, a boy interested in asking her out, aware of their father’s rule. He comes up with a plan, making Patrick, the “bad boy” with a confusing reputation go on a date with Kat, by having him payed. Patrick is not interested in Kat and she is not either. They both hate one another, but Patrick insists on asking Kat on date so he can get the money. Kat finally accepts. And turns out, the two loners have more in common than they thought. They grow found of each other, and finally end up really falling for one another, once all the schemes are revealed.

Enemies to Lovers is one of the numerous tropes we can find in literature and cinema. Tropes are conducting threads, patterns that can be found in every creative piece, it is what links everything together.

By Cecile Fardoux