Tuesday, September 28, 2010

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 FerrarsSense 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?


8 comments:

  1. Great list!

    Thanks for reminding me of Wesley and Buttercup. The are definitely on my top 20 list.

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  2. I had Elinor and Edward Ferrars, too.
    Check out my lists (two for the price of one)at:
    Headfullofbooks

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  3. I found the couple in The Good Earth to be very, very sad. I was glad I was not married to that man!

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  4. I haven't read The Princess Bride either but love, love, love the movie and think that was a fantastic choice.

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  5. Oh! Love that you mention Arthur Dent & Trillian! Great choice. Here's mine: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2010/09/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-couples.html

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  6. I am also afraid to read the last Hitchhiker's book! However, I think Arthur and Fenchurch were meant to be. Wesley and Buttercup, on the other hand, are two halves of a whole! great list!

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  7. The first couple that came to mind was Heathcliff and Catherine from WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Their relationship is stormy, profoundly unhealthy, and not "love" in a mature sense, but it is the driving force of the novel. Heathcliff and Catherine make for fascinating character studies because they are VERY pathological characters.

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  8. Bibliophile, Ash (and everyone) - We should all read The Princess Bride.

    Anne - The link to your blog doesn't seem to be working.

    Readerbuzz - I tried to take the couple within the society the lived. Wang Lung treated O-Lan better than a lot of husbands treated their wives back then. She took control of certain situations and without her, he wouldn’t have had anything.

    Bev, Vicky – Have you read And Another Thing? I loved Fenchurch too, but she wasn’t around for the whole time.

    Ahab – I thought about Wuthering Heights, but I just couldn’t put them in my top ten. I didn’t really enjoy the relationship in the book the way I did the others.

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