There has long been discussion in the romance world about soulmates: Those who are fated/destined to be together but really have no choice in it. One example of this is Christine Feehan‘s Carpathians, which are featured in her Dark series. For those of you unfamiliar with the series, each Carpathian male loses all of his emotions at a certain age. He is unable to feel or even see color until he meets his Lifemate. The only other way to for them to feel emotion is by killing, thus redendering them vampires – evil personified. Once they meet their Lifemate, color is retored to their lives and they must bond with her, or they may still fall to the dark side.
Some readers love the idea of a Lifemate, the one person who can save them from the darkness, the only person that can give them color back in their lives. Others hate that the choice has been taken from the women.
Because that’s the rub. The woman, the Lifemate, has no say in the matter. The Carpathians possess a mating bond, words they must say that bind the two together. Once said, the words cannot be taken back, and the bond is permanent. From that moment forward they cannot be apart from one another for more than a short period of time, or else they’ll literally go mad.
In the HeartMates series by Robin D. Owen (see my review of book 7, Heart Fate) there is one HeartMate for each person – their one true soul mate. In this series, there is a HeartMate for each person, though they can choose not to accept the bond if they wish. In Heart Fate, the H/H chose not to accept their bond right away because they were both suffering serious heartbreak and needed time to heal first. Though they did acknowledge that they would probably accept one another some day, there was a possibility that they wouldn’t. They had a choice on whether or not to accept, but the bond was still there.
In many shifter paranormals the h/h are mated as well. A good example is Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon, part of her Dark Hunters Series. After one time together Bride and Vane were mated, neither of them having been given a choice. Had they not accepted each other, Vane would have been left impotent for the rest of his life – unable to be with anyone ever again.
Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, it’s kind of romantic to know you’re literally saving the life of your one true love. On the other, to not be given a choice is ridiculously archaic. I think I prefer it when the choice is theirs to make, as with the HeartMates (as an aside: I haven’t read any of the other books in Owens’ HeartMates series, so I don’t know if others were forced into accepting. I’ve been collecting the books but don’t plan to start until I have all of them in the series. That way I can binge if I want 😀 ). Though the bond is there, they have the choice on whether or not to accept it. And unlike with the Carpathians, both parties have to accept, not just one. On the other hand, if done well, seeing two people make a choice to live with their bond can be beautiful.
Of course, the Lifemate bonding ritual is kind of romantic anyway, the words poetic and beautiful:
“I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate, bound to me for eternity and always in my care.”
Although, in my (not so) humble opinion, much of the beauty behind them is lost, since only the hero says the pledge, often without giving the heroine a choice. Hearing both of them say the words, willingly, would make it so much sweeter. Don’t you think?
How do you feel about soulmates? Not those in contemporary or historical romances who seem to complete each other, but those that have no choice. The ones destined to be together, who will face dire consequences if they refuse.