Top Ten Tuesdays: Top Ten Couples in Literature

I’ve decided to again join in The Broke and The Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesdays. The first five couples came to mind easily. The rest took a little thought. Once I had the first four down, I decided to expand and include favourite couples from different genres.



1. Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy – Lizzy and Darcy are the staring couple in Pride and Prejudice. They are probably number one on a lot of lists.


2. Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars – Sense and Sensibility was Austen’s first published work. Though in love, Elinor and Edward never let their “sensibilities” overtake them. They use their “sense” instead.


3. Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester – The madwoman in the attic won’t keep this couple apart! Jane Eyre made me love classic literature.


4. Romeo and Juliet – Unlike the first four couples, Romeo and Juliet doesn’t have a happy ending. However, they’ve influenced countless stories about star-crossed lovers.


5. Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane – There is no comic couple that has endured the way Lois and Clark have. Their story has been written and re-written countless times. There have been comics, novels, television shows and movies, where even if it isn’t obvious, their love is always there.


6. Wesley and Buttercup – Okay, I haven’t actually read The Princess Bride, but I’ve seen the movie. A lot. My husband has read the book and he says the movie is pretty close. (I will read it eventually.) Wesley and Buttercup are cute and sweet. They fight the bad guy and live happily-ever-after.


7. O-Lan and Wang Lung – I recently read and reviewed The Good Earth. I still can’t even get over what an amazing novel it is. Thought not really in love, they are a partnership.


8. Drizzt and Cattie-Brie – They are a couple that began in 1988 with the Forgotten Realms novel, The Crystal Shard. No matter what genre I read, I appreciate strong female characters. Though Drizzt is the hero of these books, Cattie-Brie provides balance (and she can kick butt in a fight).


9. Arthur Dent and Trillian – They’re not your typical couple. They don’t live happily ever after. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy takes them everywhere, but they end up back at home. (I have read the five books by Douglas Adams. I have not read the new one by Eoin Colfer. I’m scared to.)


10. Aragorn and Arwen – He’s the rugged hero of The Lord Of The Rings, she’s the beautiful elven princess. There’s no real logic to why they are one of my favourites. Maybe the movie influenced me. I don’t care. They make me happy. (I thought of replacing them with Sam and Frodo. I know they weren’t a “couple”, but they were together more than any other pair in the books.)


That’s it! I considered Odysseus and Penelope, but all that waiting and they didn’t give me the same good feelings. I also considered Layla and Mariam from A Thousand Splendid Suns, but like Frodo and Sam they’re not a real couple. They were more like sister-wives (Big Love/polygamy reference). Anne and Gilbert also came to mind, but I never finished the Anne series, so I don’t know how they end up. There was also Sookie and Bill or Sookie and Eric, but I don’t know which couple I prefer.


I thought this was going to be difficult, but then I ended up with so many options!


Who are your favourite literary couples?