So, it seems that Cassandra Clare has challenged me to write an essay. Well, not me personally, but I take it personally. This question-asker is QUESTIONING MY SHIP.
Why does everyone like Tessa and Will so much as a couple? I keep seeing blogs and posts and all I can think is “Tessa and Jem, Tessa and Jem, TESSA AND JEM!” It saddens me.
Alright. I have broached this topic many a time on this blog, but I think it's time I compiled it all together for you.
Part I: Do you read?
From the perspective of an avid reader/fangirl (and let's get this straight: Tessa and Will are fangirls), it's hard not to see why Will/Tessa is the perfect ship. Lovely asker of this horrid question, can I presume that you are a reader? I mean, I think I can, given the fact that you have messaged an author about a book. So I ask you, don't you love finding people with whom you can talk about books? Someone who understands your love for people who are not real? Who can empathize when your favorite character dies, or is heartbroken, or is in pain of any kind? Yes? Do you also love telling people about your favorite books, or getting them to change their mind when they're not a fan? Yes?
Well, surely you see where I am going with this. Tessa and Will have both spent their lives hiding inside novels. Both have felt-- if not been-- alone for a long time, so they made friends inside the pages of Vathek and A Tale of Two Cities, among others. Not only this, but Tessa has been completely cut off from every real person she knew before arriving at the Institute; she has no one except the Shadowhunters. Will, on the other hand, can finally stop cutting himself off from other people. This realization comes quite soon after Tessa convinces Will to try A Tale of Two Cities again after he had dismissed it, and he falls in love with it. Do you think it a simple feat to change Will Herondale's mind, about anything? Need I remind you of his hatred for ducks and his conviction that demon pox existed? So yeah, I think the fact that Tessa had the power to change his mind screams something big about their relationship.
But let's back up here. Your question seems to be more Tessa-specific, as in "Why do people want her to be with Will, to choose Will, instead of Jem?"
Part II: Why not Jem?
I'll tell you. Because Will is Tessa-specific. Jem is the guy that everyone loves, who connects with her because he is there for her, he's her friend, he cares about her. But those are all extremely general things to look for in someone. And let's not ignore the fact that Will has those qualities too, with the added benefit of actually having things in common with her.
It's kind of late and I'm having trouble coming up with words, but there is good news! I have already written a fairly relevant post about this, so here's a pretty long, slightly modified excerpt explaining why I ship Tessa and Will.
I think it's important to believe in couples based on their actual relationships, and not based on their comparisons with other couples. By which I mean that saying you ship Jem/Tessa because Jem and Tessa are friends and know each other pretty well is pretty short-sighted, and in my opinion a little incorrect. Will knows Tessa. Knows her enough to see that writing an apology of sorts in one of her favorite books will make her come around to him; knows and understands when she still loves Nate even after everything he's done; knows her enough to differentiate between when she can stand up for herself and when she needs his help. Jem does say that Tessa won't break, but he still often treats her like she will. He's never in favor of letting her do things that put her in danger, even when they're important to her. Will understands that when something is important to Tessa, it's better to help her than to try to stop her. And yet, I agree that there are a lot of things Jem and Tessa know about each other that Will doesn't. That even makes me ship Will/Tessa more, because I don't really buy into the notion that a better friendship always leads to a better relationship. Tessa loves Jem because of the things she knows about him, but she loves Will despite all the good things she doesn't yet know about him. Now that she has the chance to learn what kind of person he really is-- and she has already begun, based on how he agreed to suffer in silence so that Jem could be happy-- she'll see that he's actually just as good a person as Jem is, and that can only make her love him more. He won't always have to be the mysterious, angsty Will Herondale who pushes people away.
I ship Will/Tessa because, to me, they are equals in their relationship. They can stand not only side-by-side, but toe-to-toe as well. They have disagreements. Neither of them is uncomfortable arguing with the other-- in fact, I think Will finds it amusing and Tessa gets unrivaled satisfaction out of taking Will down a few pegs. As someone else (whose tumblr URL I do not remember) said, he doesn't get to put on the Will Herondale Show with her. But still they protect and comfort and joke around with each other, because they are friends just as much as Tessa and Jem are.
People seem to be under the impression that Will only loves Tessa because of the things she wrote in her letters, which is not true. Although they are a part of it-- and I will point out that they were letters she never thought anyone would see, so she was free to be her true self, and he loves that Tessa as well as the external Tessa-- he loves her because of who she is. He says he fell in love with her almost the moment he met her. Not love at first sight, but not love that only came from her letters either. He loves her because she is passionate, she genuinely cares about people, and she makes him laugh [which is pretty difficult for anyone except Will himself to do]. He loves who she is, just as Jem does. But Jem and Tessa do not seem like equals in their relationship, because they are always so eager to take care of each other (Jem with the over-concern every time Tessa does something dangerous, Tessa with the agreeing to marry Jem to make him happy, regardless of her internal conflict). It seems like one of them is always standing behind the other, rather than side-by-side. Which is fine, but there has to be more. They can't be afraid to disagree or yell or argue with each other. Yes, they have passion and are obviously attracted to one another, but Jem loves Tessa so much that he actually believes his love for her is keeping him alive, while Tessa is completely torn between him and Will. It's not really a good balance. She has chosen, but only* because she was under the totally reasonable impression that being with Will was not a possibility. She mentally chastises herself every time she thinks of Will-- but still she thinks of him. It's not possible or fair (to anyone) to ignore that, just because Jem is the more pragmatic choice.
The big question is really who Tessa loves more, to which I believe the answer is Will. If she truly loved Jem more, this triangle wouldn't be quite such a big problem, would it? She wouldn't be burning herself on fire stokers or sneaking glances at Will or wondering about who he really is. She might be pained by Will's pain, but she wouldn't torture herself over it.
* I say "only" not to minimize Tessa's feelings for Jem by insisting that she only picked him because she couldn't have Will, but to point out that she probably would not yet have chosen either of them if she had actually thought she could be with Will.
Part III: The future
Let's take a look into the ghosts of Christmas futures, shall we?
Christmas, 1889:
Jem has managed not to die somehow, and he and Tessa have been married for ten years.
Tessa: "This book of poems you gave me is lovely! I must share it with someone!"
Jem: "I am so glad you enjoyed it, but you must know that I have not read it..."
Tessa: "Oh, of course. I know you do not like poetry, it is just that when I read poems such as these I love to discuss them, and Will has gone to Wales for the weekend..."
Jem: "I wish that I could appreciate them as you do, but I just-- perhaps it can wait until he returns?"
Tessa: *sad face*
Christmas, 1889:
Tessa and Jem were married for nine years, and then Jem died. Tessa still mourns his death. She and Will spend all of Christmas reading to escape reality.
Christmas, 1889:
Tessa and Will have been together for nine years and married for ohhhh let's say five.
Tessa: "This book of poems you gave me is lovely!"
Will: "Which book would that be, Tess?"
Tessa: *holds up book*
Will: "Oh, that one. I thought you might like it. Personally, my favorite part is the inscription from that gentleman with the winning sense of humor and such a talent for songwriting. I imagine he must be--"
Tessa: "Very good-looking, yes, I've heard. Though I am fairly certain that Church the cat could write better songs."
Will: *sings song about Church the cat*
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