Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Snow White, Harry Potter…and it’s not just in children’s literature that there are absent mothers/fathers/wives/husbands.
If you think about it, many novels (except, maybe, ones that are specifically focusing on family life) have protagonists with no significant other.
Why is that? I think it’s because husbands or wives or–in the case of children’s lit, parents–can be domineering, interfering, or overly influential. Worst case scenario, they can weaken the protagonist as a dominant force in the story.
I was editing my current WIP yesterday and noticed that my protagonist is a widow. Not only that, but four supporting characters are spouse-free.
I’m fine with my sleuth being single (her husband might try to curtail her crime-fighting activities: particularly after they put her in danger), but I’m going to take another look at the bevy of single characters in the supporting cast.
I always thought it was funny in Cheers that Norm’s wife became a character, even though we never meet her. Just his remarks about her were enough to bring her to life.
I think the trick is to have these characters fleshed out and represent them as part of a family—even if it’s one that doesn’t mind if they’re out at one a.m., fighting crime.
Tend to agree, although it can get complex – spouses and significant others, family, etc., they have to be made real and be in some way integral to and important for the STORY – which is the primary impetus for the book. If they are more than just a mention, actual players in the plot, then you have to flesh them out and work them in, sooo … I do it sparingly unless there is a solid reason for their inclusion in the meat of the story.
The Old Silly
Social interactions are complicated. That is the main problem. It is why my book is 200K and difficult to pare… there is a lot going on because of the social dynamic. I think it depends on the genre on whether the story can take it or not, but if it is there, it certainly takes some room.