The wrong side of the tracks trope
is a classic. I’ve written about my favorite romance tropes, and I can’t believe I didn’t include this one! Since it’s almost Valentine’s Day, I thought this would be a great time to talk about why the wrong side of the tracks trope feels oh, so right.
What’s This Trope All About?
My international readers and younger readers may or may not be familiar with the saying the wrong side of the tracks, meaning a poor and possibly less safe part of town…on the other side of the railroad tracks from the nice neighborhoods!
In the wrong side of the tracks trope, one person isn’t always literally from a “bad” part of town, but they are not rich enough, not high class enough, or just plain disreputable. Their love interest is wealthy—or at least comfortable—and is from a respectable family and/or part of conventional society.
“The upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune. Is this to be endured!”
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Pride and Prejudice
Being from “the wrong side of the tracks” is very subjective…
In Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie Bennett’s father is a gentleman, but she’s not rich, and her uncle is in trade. To Lady Catherine de Bourgh, that makes her inferior to Mr. Darcy—and to Lady Catherine’s own niece.
In Crazy Rich Asians, the heroine, Rachel, is very successful—an economics professor at New York University, no less! But she’s not, well, crazy rich, and the private investigator her boyfriend’s mom hires reveals that Rachel’s ancestors were working-class—”Peasants!” Eleanor declares. “We cannot be linked to this sort of family.”
With this trope, writers can do any of the following…
explore economic and class issues
A romance between people of different social strata can bring out prejudices and expose them for the foolishness they are. This is one of my favorite things about the wrong side of the tracks trope!
connect with reader’s experiences
Many of us have been in situations where we felt like others were looking down on us for one reason or another, so we sympathize with a character in the same situation.
entertain with funny situations
A clash of cultures can lead to tragedy, but it can also lead to comedy. Your character’s differences may lead to great banter, and your “from the wrong side of the tracks” character may shock the snobs.
Create a bad boy hero
…or a Bad Girl or Bad Nonbinary Hero! Making a character from “the wrong side of the tracks” is one way to underscore an aura of rebelliousness or danger. Of course, you may wind up turning assumptions on their head.
And they can create one or more of these conflicts to the romance.
Fear
The one from the wrong side of the tracks may fear the other one would never make a serious romantic commitment to them. The “respectable” one may fear what people would think if they started dating, or fear a life of poverty.
duty
A character might be falling for the poorer person, but feel obligated to marry “up” or marry a certain person for the sake of their family.
interference
A character’s family, friend, or nemesis may prevent them from seeing the other character, and/or psychologically manipulate them out of forming a romantic attachment.
cultural clashes
If characters come from different strata of society, their differing values may lead to disagreements, and their differing beliefs, behavior, and expectations may lead to misunderstandings.
The Best Genres for This Trope
This trope can work in any popular genre of fiction, including romantic subplots in thrillers and mysteries. That being said, here are some genres that especially lend themselves to the Wrong Side of the Tracks trope.
Historical Fiction and Historical Romance
In many historical periods, in many different places, dating or marrying outside your own social class was highly frowned upon…which makes it all the more romantic.
Small Town Romance
In this case, the wrong side of the tracks might be literal. I love this trope for small town romance because everybody knows who everyone else is…and everybody gossips.
Fantasy and Fantasy Romance
If you’ve created a world with royalty, elite sorcerers, or snooty elven kingdoms, you might enjoy making one of them fall in love with a peasant or a mortal.
More Book and Movie Examples of the Wrong Side of the Tracks Trope
Thoughts? Questions?
Let us know in the comments below!
Do you enjoy the Wrong Side of the Tracks trope? Do you hate it? Would you like to recommend other books or movies that use it? We’d love to hear from you! Thanks so much for reading, and have a wonderful week!
I really enjoy this trope. It reminds me of one of my favourite movies: Moonstruck with Cher and Nick Cage.
Oh, I haven’t seen that one in so long that I didn’t remember it as Wrong Side of the Tracks! I do remember I loved it, though. I should rewatch! Thanks for the recommendation, Naomi!
I saw this on your instagram page and I was quite intrigued. Do you do reviews for everyone who asks? ps – I bought ‘Essential Books on Writing’. It’s one of yours, and I am going to highly recommend it to everyone. I already own ‘Master Lists for Writers’ and ‘5,000 Writing Prompts’, so this is a very welcome addition.
Hi Tina! No one asks me for book reviews or mentions, actually. Thank you for getting the book collection, and for recommending it! I appreciate that so much.
This was an enjoyable read. I am in the process of publishing a collection of short stories, and one is about a wealthy girl, and the love of her life is from the proverbial wrong side of the tracks.
Oh, that’s great! Good luck on the collection, Deborah. That’s fantastic. Thanks for reading, and for the kind words!
A lot of John Hughes’s movies had this trope, too, as the main trope or one of many. Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Maid in Manhattan. I’ll toss in Say Anything… by Cameron Crowe, too. Pop Culture classics, some of which have been found to be less than PC, but classics nonetheless.
denise
I don’t remember all of them, but I do remember that about Pretty in Pink now! Thanks for the extra examples!
Funnily enough, my current WIP is of this trope. It’s actually a fantasy, not a romance, but the two protagonists are prevented from marrying because of cultural differences.
I enjoyed this post, and the trope, as I said, can be used in other genres besides romance.
Oh nice—sounds great! Yes, it definitely can be used in a subplot anywhere! Thanks for reading, and for the kind words 🙂