The Give and Take of Romantic Courtship

Romantic courting or flirting isn’t always an easy and/or exact science. It’s a complex task that is based on cause and effect circumstances that neither party can always anticipate. When attempting to start a romantic courtship, either party is betting on the odds that what they say, do, or think will have a positive effect. This effect doesn’t always turn out to be positive, but for every action there is a reaction, nonetheless. In the play Sure Thing by David Ives, the audience gets a clear and lighthearted example of how a romantic courtship develops and how it can stop in its tracks. Ives provides us with many scenarios, but three common pitfalls to romance are as follows: differing politics, lack of similar interests and/or activities, and the luck of bad timing. Ives provides the audience with a cue of when disaster strikes with the sound of a bell signifying that something has gone wrong and restarts the scene for the audience.

Now when it comes to certain discussion topics for starting a romantic relationship, none other can be more detrimental than the discussion of politics. Although many people may share the same party affiliation, the chances that both people have exactly the same ideology are rare. Ives points this out in the dialogue exchange between Bill and Betty, the two potential love interests of the play. Bill approaches Betty at a café and during conversation, Betty asks, “So you didn’t stop to talk because you’re a Moonie, or have some weird political affiliation–?” Bill responds, “Nope, Straight-down-the-ticket Republican. [Bell] Straight-down-the-ticket Democrat. [Bell] Can I tell you something about politics? [Bell] I like to think of myself as a citizen of the universe. [Bell] I’m unaffil...

... middle of paper ...

...nt response to the same question each time. With many encounters between people, a lot can depend on chance for whether you’ll get a favorable response from the other person.

Bill and Betty illustrate how factors such as those above can stop a courtship dead in its tracks. Bill shows how politics can be a no-win situation when it comes to trying to be romantically involved. When it came to similar interests, Bill and Betty weren’t complimenting each other and unable to relate their interests. When illustrating chance and luck, Bill and Betty show that sometimes when approaching someone, it might not be at the right time to illicit a positive response, even if using the same approach every time. In the end, if one avoids some of these common pitfalls when attempting to romantically approach someone, the response just might be as positive as a “sure thing.”