The best 6 couples in literature
For centuries, lonely hearts have turned to books to get their fill of romance, and hundreds of years later, the characters in these books still inspire the romantic in all of us. Join us as we count down the six best couples in literary history, and don’t forget to tell us in the comments below, who’s your favourite?
6. Estella and Pip, Great Expectations
To say their path to love was not an easy one would be an understatement. Estella, grown up in the grand – yet rundown – manor of her adoptive mother, the bitter, jilted Miss Havisham, doesn’t take too quickly to the poor, infatuated Pip. Despite Estella warning him to stay away, the persistent Pip refuses to give up, and in the end, they both get their wish – to be together.
5. Cathy and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights
The dark, unpredictable and tumultuous moors of Yorkshire are the perfect setting (and metaphor) for this doomed couple. Despite all the hardship, tragedy and separation they experience throughout their lives, the lovers are finally reunited in death, with Heathcliff buried next to his one true love.
4. Scarlett and Rhett, Gone with the Wind
Unlike the crushing ending of the film, the novel Gone with the Wind has a much more ambiguous – and even optimistic – ending. Even though she has a long list of admirers, there’s only one man in Scarlett’s eyes – war hero Rhett. We loved them in the book, and even more so when they hit the big screen, played by Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.
3. Jane and Mr Rochester, Jane Eyre
Poor, lonely and “plain”, young orphan Jane experienced an incredibly traumatic childhood, devoid of any joy. That is, until she becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, the master of which is Mr Rochester – a surly, “ugly” and mysterious yet charming man who proposes to Jane while still married to his violently insane wife, Bertha. But, in the end, they live happily ever after.
2. Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
It’s the story that inspired so many film, TV and theatre adaptations, and you’d be hard pressed to find a woman who hasn’t been charmed by Mr Darcy – particularly Colin Firth’s iconic portrayal. Things got off to a rocky start for this pair, separated by social and economic class, values, manners and education, but they put aside their differences and society’s expectations and married for love.
1. Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet
Could there be any other couple in the top spot? Undoubtedly the most famous – and most tragic – couples in history, we just can’t get enough of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The star-crossed lovers, from two feuding families, broke all the rules to be together, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. Their short-lived romance comes to a tragic end with a mutual suicide.