William Ray
There are so many greats, the answer changes with my mood! I've found though, that as I've grown older, stories of the meetcute and subsequent courtship are far less appealing than stories subsequent to all that.
The simplest, shortest answer is Gomez and Morticia Addams, of the Addams Family, who have one of the best married romances in fiction - they are two unstable people in a stable yet passionate marriage that each relies upon and each contributes to. It's the romantic choice, but it feels too easy... this is Goodreads, so I should endeavor to be more literary!
Lu Bu and Diao Chan, of the Chinese classics surrounding the Three Kingdoms era spring to mind. She is originally just a lure, but stays with him after her mission is accomplished, and ultimately it is only through the helpless indulgence of his love for her that Lu Bu is defeated. I find it fascinating because of the mystery to it... did she fall in love too, or was she always working to be his undoing? Was she a patriotic martyr or the passionate lover of an unsteady war-lord? He was pushed into political marriages - did she stay his concubine out of affection, or fear, or guile? Many versions of their story have been written, and for some reason it's always a relationship that sticks out in my mind.
And, of course, who could deny the allegorical utility of O. Henry's Jim and Della from "Gift of the Magi"?
If we veer away from 'good' romances, Morn and Angus in Stephen Donaldson's sci-fi novel, "The Real Story" are a well-written couple. Their relationship is horrific, but deeply affecting and a compelling read, even though it makes my skin crawl.
I bear a similar affection for Jan and, well, everyone else, in Jesse Burlington's "The Folly of the World"; the romantic relationships there are compelling, even if none of them are healthy.
The simplest, shortest answer is Gomez and Morticia Addams, of the Addams Family, who have one of the best married romances in fiction - they are two unstable people in a stable yet passionate marriage that each relies upon and each contributes to. It's the romantic choice, but it feels too easy... this is Goodreads, so I should endeavor to be more literary!
Lu Bu and Diao Chan, of the Chinese classics surrounding the Three Kingdoms era spring to mind. She is originally just a lure, but stays with him after her mission is accomplished, and ultimately it is only through the helpless indulgence of his love for her that Lu Bu is defeated. I find it fascinating because of the mystery to it... did she fall in love too, or was she always working to be his undoing? Was she a patriotic martyr or the passionate lover of an unsteady war-lord? He was pushed into political marriages - did she stay his concubine out of affection, or fear, or guile? Many versions of their story have been written, and for some reason it's always a relationship that sticks out in my mind.
And, of course, who could deny the allegorical utility of O. Henry's Jim and Della from "Gift of the Magi"?
If we veer away from 'good' romances, Morn and Angus in Stephen Donaldson's sci-fi novel, "The Real Story" are a well-written couple. Their relationship is horrific, but deeply affecting and a compelling read, even though it makes my skin crawl.
I bear a similar affection for Jan and, well, everyone else, in Jesse Burlington's "The Folly of the World"; the romantic relationships there are compelling, even if none of them are healthy.
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