Honestly people, I love Tuesdays. First of all because they are not Mondays, secondly because it means that it is time for Top Ten Tuesday! Once again, let me mention where this wonderful meme started - with the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish at www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/
This week the theme is the greatest love stories in fiction and what a great theme it is. My boyfriend and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day but I will celebrate it with this little list. I'm mixing and matching love stories here from older and more recent fiction because if I only went for the really great ones Shakespeare and the other greats would take up all the space :-)
10) Sophie von Kuhn and Novalis from "The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald. This love is so strange in a way because it is hard to understand why intelligent, academic Fritz/Novalis falls for the silly Sophie. However, his love is so strong that one cannot but be moved.
9) Tristran and Yvaine from "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman. While Tristran pines for the cruel Victoria, he somehow manages not to notice that he is falling for a fallen star. A love story that you will read with a smile.
8) Ariel and Irrylath from Meredith Ann Pierce's Darkangel trilogy. Hands down one of the best love stories in fantasy and a very heart-wrenching story about unrequited love.
7) Emma and Knightley from "Emma" by Jane Austen. As Emma spends all her time planning for others to fall in love and marry, Knightley silently loves her and tries to guide her away from her worst ideas.
6) Anne and Gilbert from the Anne of Green Gables series. From school sweet hearts to doting parents, this is true love.
5) Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." as said by Rhett is one of my favourite quotes - Scarlett, however, often manages to make me really annoyed. They do light a fire in the romance department though!
4) Cassandra and her first love. I will not reveal more here, read Dodie Smith's masterpiece "I Capture the Castle" and be captivated by the sensitive narrator as she stumbles into her first love.
3) Romeo and Juliet have to be on the list - Shakespeare set the standard for the tragic love story when he wrote this play. They are an iconic couple and I love reading Shakespeare's play for the beautiful words! I know some people may not agree but I loved the Romeo + Juliet film with Claire Danes and Leonardo Dicaprio.
2) Jane Eyre and Rochester from "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte have to be on this list because their love story shows how love can hurt but also how love will overcome even the greatest challenges. If you haven't read this classic, do so now.
1) Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy are the couple that come out on top on my list. No matter how often I read "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, I will always have a knot of worry in stomach that those two will not realize that they are made for each other. If I could be the leading female in any literary love story, it would be this one!
Are Elizabeth and Darcy made for each other? Will Darcy lose his pride, his weakness and his strength, now that he can be with someone who u derstands him?
ReplyDeleteHere's my post: www.readerbuzz.blogspot.com
I love that Stardust made your list! I enjoyed the book and the movie very much and there really is such a sweet lovestory there.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite list so far and I'm a new follower! I also had 5 of your choices. Love Tristran and Yvaine and Cassandra is one of my favorite narrators of all time.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of that Tamora Pierce series - but what about the Alanna ones? I was always devastated she didn't up with Jonathan!
ReplyDelete@Deb: I think they are. Without each other he would become intolerably cruel and she would be too quick to judge people. He needs to sensibility and emotional ways, she needs his sense. But will stop by your blog :-)
ReplyDelete@Daisy: Thanks, love it too!
@TwoBibliomaniacs: you make me blush :-) Thank you so much!
@teadevotee.com: Sorry, my mistake. I meant Meredith Ann Pierce, not Tamora Pierce.
Nice to see the Darkangel trilogy referenced - I don't know of too many people who've read it, which is a shame . . . it's such a great story.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more! The classics are classics for a reason!
ReplyDeleteScarlett and Rhett...the relationship that crosses all boundaries ;)
ReplyDeleteI also had Tristran and Yvaine on my list :o) I almost put Anne and Gilbert on my list, but I felt that it would be cheating. I've only read the first two Anne books, so I wouldn't know they're together if it hadn't been for my love of the film versions. So, for a post about love stories in BOOKS, I felt it would be cheating :o/
ReplyDeleteEmma is one of my all time favorite literary characters.
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