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(Mild spoilers ahead)
1. Jane and Mr. Bingley. Because they're so much alike. "Opposites attract" is nowhere near as ideal or common as I once believed, though it works well for some people. In my experience, being married to someone of your own general temperament can be quite comfortable and peaceful.
High honors also to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Anne and Captain Wentworth, Edward and Elinor, and probably Emma and Mr. Knightley despite the age difference.
2. The March sisters and their respective spouses. Meg and John were domestic, similarly placid, and generous toward each other. Amy and Laurie "pulled well together", quite beautifully so. And Louisa May Alcott may have invented an Ideal Husband for her stand-in character, but the scraggly, gentlemanly professor and the tomboyish writer were comfortably and lovingly matched.
3. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. Gilbert adored Anne, and once Anne figured her own heart out, she understood where her dreams really lay and built her life on that.
Barney and Valancy were equally well suited and wonderful together. Montgomery's Emily/Teddy pairing was a bit more difficult; the reader is forced to convince themselves that the two ever learned to communicate on the human plane. As for Pat, though she was pointlessly clueless for an absurdly long time, I think that when Jingle became her home, he became her whole world.
4. Sam Gamgee and Rosie Cotton. Tolkien wasn't much of a romantic writer—at least, not in the current, common sense of that term—but those two hobbits were down-to-earth, cheerful, and happy filling their house with children.
5. Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe. Meg needed a sweet guy who loved her even when she felt ugly, and Calvin needed a loving home. They had everything to offer each other.
6. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. They could laugh together. I liked Ron and Hermione, too, but they would probably always have been one of those couples that bickers all the time—which does seem to work for some people. I do love the way Hermione handles Ron in the epilogue.
7. Perrin Aybara and Faile Bashere. Perrin treated Faile respectfully and fought for her, and in return she loved him with her will as well as her heart. Which, of course, is what "making it in the real world" takes.
8. Percy Jackson and Annabeth. Suffering together can do a lot for the strength of a couple's bond. So can loyal friendship.
9. Mo and Resa Folchart. Talk about not being willing to give each other up for lost.
10. Maria Merryweather and Robin. Because Maria was willing to love humbly, and Robin delighted in her.
Why yes, I do like adverbs. How ever can you tell? :)
Which fictional romances do you think likely to survive in the real world?
Forgive my ignorance, but I recognize everyone except the last two pairings. From what stories do they belong? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWell, you covered Austen's characters, so that's a big chunk. :)
I should probably read Little Women sometime without werewolves added in but I think the romances were still essentially the same minus any werewolfy aspects & I agree that everyone ended up evenly matched.
Haven't read Anne of Green Gables yet. I agree definitely with Sam & Rosie. Never read much of L'Engle's books after the first one. It's been awhile since I've read the Wheel of Time stuff but I do remember Perrin & Faile being an interesting match. Percy & Annabeth are also a good couple & I think would make it in the real world.
I'll try to think of some others. Oh, and yes, Harry & Ginny definitely. And despite my usually disdainful attitude towards Rowling's extra book revelations, I do really like the Neville Longbottom/Hannah Abbott pairing.
Oh, Cor & Aravis from The Horse and His Boy.
ReplyDeleteJane & Mr. Bingley is a good pick. Not the typical Elizabeth and Darcy pick that most people will say. (Like me.) And Anne Shirley and Gilbert!!! Love those two.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my TTT.
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
Shoot, George, I meant to list all the stories. Thanks for asking. #9, Mo and Resa Folchart, come from the Inkheart trilogy. #10, Maria and Robin, come from The Little White Horse.
ReplyDeleteAnd for everyone else: Jane & Mr. Bingley from Pride & Prejudice, the March pairs from Little Women, Anne & Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables and sequels, Sam & Rosie from The Lord of the Rings, Meg & Calvin from A Wrinkle in Time and sequels, Harry & Ginny from the Harry Potter books, Perrin & Faile from the Wheel of Time series, and Percy & Annabeth from the Percy Jackson books.
COR AND ARAVIS. How did I forget those two? And I definitely liked the Neville/Hannah pairing, though I could also have been sold on Neville with Luna.
Sandy, thanks!
Awesome list! I definitely agree with your choice of Ginny & Harry. :) They were perfect together.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes think I must be the only person who hasn't read Anne of Green Gables (or Anna and the French Kiss yet)!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Krystianna!
ReplyDeleteroryeoconnor, I haven't read Anna and the French Kiss either. :) May remedy that shortly... in the mean time, I recommend Anne--she's wonderful!
Taran and Eilonwy! from Prydain..I know couples like them! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, I actually thought about Taran and Eilonwy, but I haven't read far enough to see them become an actual couple. But they definitely seem to deserve the mention! :)
DeleteI'd actually have liked to see a fourth book about Emily and Teddy's marriage. They spend such a long time apart, and we don't know much at all about what Teddy is doing besides "trying to forget Emily" and [SPOILERS] and rocking the art world with his magazine portraits. But actually exploring what kind of relationship they might have after the end of EQ is not something LM Montgomery wanted to deal with, though it could have been a good contender for that "serious adult novel" she was always talking about never managing to write.
ReplyDeleteGeorge and roryeoconnor, I cannot stress this enough; you need to read Anne of Green Gables.
I'll probably have to make a hospital visit down to Denver this week which should be about 10 hours or so of driving. Anne of Green Gables comes up at about 10 hours on my Audible app. :)
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