purplefringe

:-) Thank you for saying so! As I mentioned, it was Beccatoria's amazing Korra essay that first drew my attention to that particular trope, and I've been spotting it everywhere ever since. Interestingly, it's one way in which Twilight, of all things, actually does rather well - unlike, say Arwen in LotR, who marries the love of her life but must give up her Elven immortality to do so, or Ariel who gives up her family at the end, Bella gets to become a vampire with all the attendant magical powers. (Of course, in all these cases it's the *lady* who has to change her whole way of life in order to be with the dude, not the other way round, so you can argue that too.) There's a great vid about that here, if you like vids: http://chaila.dreamwidth.org/527991.html

Just thinking about it a bit more...I guess it also dovetails with the whole Fridging thing? Because when dudes with Great Power(s) lose something or have to sacrifice something on their heroic journey, it is OFTEN their female love interest. But when women lose things, it's often their own powers. Sigh. Can't let the ladies get too powerful.