This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "Who are your favourite iconic couples in romance literature and why?"
You know...I think I must be getting old--not in a bad way, necessarily. Because I'm looking back on some of the iconic couples I recall and used to love and, in most cases, they're somewhat problematic.
Take Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. He lies and rages and comes close to tricking her into bigamy. Which was a big deal and not nearly as romantic as my teenage self thought. The upside of that tale is that, for once, the man paid the price for his deceit, rather than the woman. Which is kind of big.
Then there's the iconic couple from Rebecca--good old Max and whatsername. I think I still recall the quote: "You have a lovely and unusual name." "My father was a lovely and unusual person." And then they married and everyone referred to her as Mrs. DeWinter for the rest of the book. Talk about subsuming someone's identity! Here again we have a man who's soooo "in love" with a woman that he tricks her into marriage and puts her in danger--not just her reputation, this time, but her life, too! This time they both lose as a result in what I still find to be a less than satisfactory ending. I mean, I would definitely have married him for that house--dark and dangerous secrets notwithstanding--and it kind of sucks that she doesn't get to keep it.
Pride and Prejudice--I still read it every chance I get, but now that it's obvious that Darcy's neurodivergent, Elizabeth reads a little more like a mean girl for baiting him.
Sense and Sensibility--Here we have more men keeping secrets and ruining or almost ruining their heroine's lives. Not to mention that Colonel Brandon's a little old to be falling for someone as young as Marianne. And I say this as someone who writes vampire stories with HUUUUUGE age gaps. But what're you gonna do? When some people are immortal and others are not, all bets are off.
Speaking of which...do Peter Pan and Wendy Darling count? She grows up, he refuses to--that's looking a lot more realistic than it ever used to, atm. Although I still think the way Peter treated Tinkerbell sucked.
So, I guess that leaves me with Jo and her professor from Little Women. I think they probably had a fairly healthy relationship.In fact, they remind me of my maternal grandparents--a somewhat older, quieter, overly-responsible, scholarly man and the lively, independent, free-thinking woman with whom he's quietly in love. A woman who he doesn't try to change or deceive. Whose life he tries not to ruin--there's something novel!
Two final thoughts before I go. First, my novel Dream Under the Hill will be re-releasing soon--the end of the week, I think. It's a master class in toxic, damaging and inappropriate relationships, if you're really into that kind of thing. It's Dark Romance, so...what else is there to say? The main characters actually spend quite a bit of time dissecting the dynamic between Peter, Wendy and Tink. So, it might be worth checking out. It's dark, but I enjoyed writing it.
And secondly, it's election day here in the states! So if you haven't voted yet, go and do it! I suggest voting for the party that's not seeking to ban books and limit women's personal agency...but that's just me.
Dream Under the Hill
Oberon, Book 8.0
