In a brief moment when I had the remote control all to myself yesterday, I was channel surfing and stumbled on the Leo DiCaprio / Claire Danes version of Romeo and Juliet. I didn’t watch the whole thing because, to be honest, it’s too strange an interpretation of the classic for me. But it got me thinking. As romance writers, we hate to hear the dreaded words “formula” or “rules,” but the fact is there is one golden rule required of us all – there must be a happily-ever-after for the lovers at the end of the story. But there are many classics which are considered some of the greatest love stories of all time that don’t have the mandatory HEA. Quite the opposite. Their endings are often downright depressing. Here’s a few that immediately come to mind, both in fiction and in film:Romeo and Juliet – teen suicide
Gone With the Wind – he abandons her
Casablanca – he saves her life, she leaves with her husband
Tristan and Isolde – he dies of his wounds, she dies of grief
The Thorn Birds – their secret son dies, he dies, she’s left old and alone
Jane Eyre – they reunite, but only after he’s been blinded and maimed in a fire
Wuthering Heights – she dies after childbirth, he broods himself to death
An Affair to Remember – they meet again after she’s paralyzed
Phantom of the Opera – she runs off with the cute guy, he dies of loneliness
Anna Karenina – her lover rejects her, she commits suicide by train
What other classic romances can you think of that don’t play by the happily-ever-after rule?
Posts
I can only think of things by Nicholas Sparks, and they aren't classics.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, very interesting. I think the stories with sad endings are sometimes more romantic, because the relationships are so ephemeral.
ReplyDeleteWhile not necessarily classics, here are the ones that popped to my mind:
Shakespeare in Love - she leaves with her husband, he's left behind
The original little mermaid - The prince marries another, the mermaid commits suicide and turns to sea foam
Untamed Heart (I was a preteen, it worked for me at the time) - He dies because he's too dumb to get the heart transplant he needs, weeping commences (did I mention I was a dumb kid when I fell in love with this movie?)
Ghost - He dies in the beginning and crosses over at the end. She lives on.
Stardust (the book by Neil Gaiman, not the movie it spawned) - he dies, she (being immortal and unable to return home) stares at the sky and pines for her home.
Moulin Rouge - She dies, he goes all emo and stops bathing
Brokeback Mountain - He dies, other man trapped in a life he doesn't want because he was trapped by social convention, prejudice, and fear.
I'm really weak in this area--didn't know what HEA meant (I was a HEAlth sciences librarian, so that's what I know!), but I'd like to share this on Facebook.
ReplyDelete