Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Top Ten Favorite Fictional Couples in Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!


Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND sign Mister Linky at the bottom to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Don't worry if you can't come up with ten every time...just post what you can!


This week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about our favorite couples in literature. For me, a good romantic relationship in literature is one that is, in general, not formed too hastily and the development of the relationship is at least somewhat believable. On occasion I do become enthralled with romantic relationships that are hastily formed and are the most ridiculous love stories ever. It happens. I'm ok with it. None of the romantic relationships ever seem to take the same form. Sometimes I like quiet relationships and sometimes I like really drama-filled ones--all seem to have some flaws and reflect the issues inherent in loving someone. I cannot stand obsessive and unhealthy relationships. I understand there are those relationships but they won't make my favorite couples list. I understand falling head over heels but becoming a mindless creature that can't function on your own disgusts me.

Some picks might include spoilers if you haven't read them:

1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice -- I'm sure everyone will have this on their list. I may be a bit impartial with this one as my own "love story" looked like this. I loathed my boyfriend when I first met him and essentially thought myself better than him like Elizabeth did. Out of nowhere I found myself wanting to spend time with him and thinking of him differently. He had always known he had feelings for me and he waited patiently for me to realize and reciprocate.

2. Romeo and Juliet -- I genuinely was obsessed with this relationship in high school when I read it. I really didn't even like this play but loved their relationship and oohed and ahhed at their true love and all the dramatics of it. I wonder if I would still feel the same reading it now.

3. Eliza Doolittle and Freddy in Pygmalion -- I read this in my 11th grade Brit Lit class and wrote a paper on it because I loved this play (and also was obsessed with My Fair Lady). I know everybody WANTED Eliza and Higgins to get together but I never really did. Ok, maybe there was a small part of me, but for once I was happy that the guy who genuinely liked the girl--albiet the "nice guy"--got the girl! Don't get me wrong, I like when a guy changes and comes to realize his faults in how he treated a woman and they live happily ever after. But for some reason I just really loved that Freddy liked her for who she was and found her charming and quirky.

4. Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games-- Disclaimer: I've only read The Hunger Games so far so I have NO idea who she ends up with AND I realize that they weren't technically a couple but they were in my mind! I just thought this was a really realistic, sweet kind of couple. She could be herself and that was what he liked about her. They had a friendship as a foundation and there was that extra something something there. I am scared to read Catching Fire and Mockingjay because I just have a bad feeling about the liklihood of them ending up together. SHHH. Don't tell.

5. Pigeon and Anieleca from A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True-- Loved this sweet couple! I love the way he was hellbent on getting her family's respect and then wooing her. I loved his genuine devotion and love for her. Le sigh.

6. Henry and Clare in The Time Traveler's Wife -- This is one of those couples that I loved and don't know why! Some of the girls in the College Students group and I were discussing how tragic it was that all she did was just wait and wait for him all her life and the relationship's development was so abnormal because she just always knew she was supposed to be with him since she was young. For whatever reason, I found myself loving it despite this. I still can't figure out WHAT was so redeeming about it but it moved me in a certain way and that counts for something.

7.  The wife and husband in Blindness-- This might seem like an odd choice. I understand that. However, I just loved how she pretended to be blind and went with him into  these horrible living conditions and took care of  him. I love how she tried so hard in little ways to make him not feel so helpless and how she still loved him even when he resented that she could see. She could have had a much more comfortable life outside the asylum but she chose to remain with her husband.

8. Odysseus and Penelope from The Odyssey-- I remember not being excited to read this for class but I found myself smitten with this couple! Epitome of sacrifice and devotion to your true love! Enough said!

9. Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables series -- Childhood favorite! I'm in need of a re-read but I remember always rooting for them and thinking they were so cute! Love a good happily ever after story!

10. Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza from Love in the Time of Cholera -- Ok, so one word here--PASSION. This relationship just took ahold of me from the beginning and took me from a ride for sure. The relationship was clearly flawed and messed up with him being a player and her being a tease and rejecting him but I just found it wildly passionate.

What are your favorite couples in books? Do you disagree/agree with any of mine? What makes a good fictional couple in your mind? What couples make you want to gag? :)

Next week's topic -- Top Ten Favorite Authors

27 comments:

  1. I don't think I'll be able to do this top ten this week.. It'd be too hard for me to choose!! Plus, I've read SO many books, sometimes I lose who each character was.

    I do have to agree with you on Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games. I actually just finished reading this book, and did a review of it on my blog (you all should check it out!). I found myself yelling at Katniss to wake up and realize they need to be together!! I haven't read the other two books yet either!

    I read the Time Traveler's Wife last year, and despised the book. Just wanted to throw that out there!

    Sadly, I haven't read any of the other books, but do have a few of them on my TBR list!! GREAT Top Ten!

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    1. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and heroes of Olympus

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  2. I agree with your top couple. I would follow with other Jane Austen couples: Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth; Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferrars; Fanny Price and Edmond Bertram. I opted to answer last weeks meme because I didn't get on it in time to be part of the conversation. Go visit my blog to see my favorite top ten lines from books.
    Anne
    http://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com

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  3. I think Elizabeth and Darcy are like the power couple of literature. I adulterously love them!

    There may be a problem with my link because my laptop flipped out. I'll check back later and see if I can fix it. If that doesn't work here's the link to my list. Sorry for being so internet incompetent today.

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  4. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is an excellent choice. I love flawed characters who overcome their challenges and make things work.

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  5. For those of you who may have read Koontz's book series Odd Thomas and his girlfriend Stormy were an adorable couple!

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  6. Here is my list:

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2010/09/top-ten-favorite-couples-in-literature.html

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  7. no way i can think of all 10, but i second the darcy & elizabeth choice. i don't know how many times i've read that book...

    also george and lucy honeychurch from room with a view; ada and van veen from nabokov's ada; and corelli and pelagia from captain corelli's mandolin.

    awesome question, wish i had the energy to think of 6 more couples and write a real post!

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  8. I may sit this one out as I can only think of 4 couples....Darcy & Elizabeth would have been number 1 on my list as well!

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  9. I think what makes a good literary couple are believable personalities who have chemistry and come into conflict with each other but eventually learn to accept one another's faults and temper their own. The conflict doesn't have to involve a "dislike on sight" relationship - but those are always fun to read.

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  10. I completely agree with you on your number 1 and 4. But I could never understand Henry and Clare's relationship, I didn't feel like they were equals in it.

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  11. I'm going to have to say "fail," Jamie. You didn't include Rhett and Scarlett. I know you haven't read Gone With the Wind, but that's no excuse. ;)

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  12. I am SO glad you have Odysseus and Penelope on your list. They will definitely make it on mine.

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  13. Haha Lori! I WANTED to include them because I've seen the movie but I felt a little fake trying to make it look like I read the book! I knew you would know that I hadn't yet! :)

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  14. I love your number 1, 2, and 4 choices and I agree with them. I'm not as familiar with your other choices so I need to read more. Although, I didn't include your choices that I liked on my list because I wanted to list different ones.
    Thanks for another great top ten list day!

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  15. Lizzy and Darcy were number 1 on my list too. I also had Romeo and Juliet. I thought this would be difficult, but then I had too many couples.

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  16. Odysseus and Penelope, nice choice! I'm also pretty sure Darcy & Lizzy made everyone's list

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  17. Great picks! I've got mine up on my blog.

    Kate @ Literary Explorations

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  18. Be still my heart. How could you not include Jamie and Claire from Outlander? The chemistry between them is nothing short of magic. Swoon...

    Cyndi

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  19. Excellent topic! Thanks for hosting this great meme. I decided to take a different spin on a few choices and not just choose romantic couples. Most of them are (can't avoid that!) but...you'll see. Here's mine.

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  20. I think I'm the only person on the planet to dislike The Time Traveler's Wife -- I found the relationship between Henry and Clare kind of sketchy!

    However, I love that you included the couple from Blindness -- excellent pic!

    My top ten, although it's only my top eight as I found the question harder than I expected!

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  21. Po and Katsa from Graceling by Kristin Cashore! That's as far as I got.

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  22. Anna here- great couples Jamie! I loved Anne and Gilbert of 'Anne of Green Gables' and Romeo and Juliet!

    Some of my favourite couples are Catherine and Heathcliff of 'Wuthering Heights' and Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester from 'Jane Eyre'.

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  23. How about Aragorn and Arwen? Or Peter and Wendy, sometimes children's literature has more for an adult than for children! I think the choices on the list are stellar!

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  24. Hi,

    I definitely would've put the Anne of the Green Gables and the DaVinci Code in my list if you hadn't already. ;P

    Awesome meme, by the way! I'll be happy to participate in it often!

    ~Asher

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  25. Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza are my favourite couple ever, fantastic pick!

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