Valentine's Day...
To me that usually means a Valentine's Day "Tea" Party with a bunch of children and an excuse to make pink and red and heart-shaped food. The love part? Whatever. My only love life exists in reading the novels of L. M. Montgomery and Jane Austen. So for my Valentine's Day post, I'm going to present my favourite couples from literature--mostly Montgomery and Austen.
**Warning: This post will contain spoilers. Sorry.**
Note: The couples are not in order of favourite. I like them all almost equally-ish.
"Love doesn't iver be dying, Patsy." Judy Plum, Mistress Pat, L. M. Montgomery
1. Polly Milton and Tom Shaw, An Old-Fashioned Girl
I think these two are one of the most under-appreciated couples in literature. An Old-Fashioned Girl is such a marvelous book, yet so few people know it and love it. Polly and Tom--well, their relationship is really hard to describe in a word or anything like that. Read the book.
2. Rilla Blythe and Kenneth Ford, Rilla of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery
This is another under-appreciated couple. But such a sweet one. They are pretty young at the beginning of the book, but their love survives a whole WWI of separation. This book has such a sweet ending. It is probably my very favourite book ever except for being tied with Mistress Pat. Which brings me to...
3. Pat Gardiner and Hilary "Jingle" Gordon, Pat of Silver Bush and Mistress Pat, L. M. Montgomery
Of all the literary heroes anyone ever wrote, Jingle is definitely the best (sorry Mr. Darcy, Gilbert, Mr. Rochester, whomever else...). The only problem is that too few people have read the Pat books so people don't know about him. Jingle is, I swear, perfect. I honestly cannot think of a single flaw. The only problem with Pat & Jingle's relationship is that Pat keeps putting Jingle in the "brother zone" even though he is so in love with her and never, ever gives up on her, ever, even though she dates a bunch of guys and even gets engaged. But in the end it all works out perfectly and ever-so-romantically.
4. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Enough said? No, let me add one thing: Every time I read the book or watch the 1995 BBC Ministries (I've done each...3 times. I think.) I love it even more.
5. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe
Of course I have to include this couple. Everyone knows Anne and Gilbert! I love this one. Okay, by the way, in case anyone has seen Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel and not read Anne of the Island, Gilbert doesn't actually get engaged to Christine. That's a lie. Christine was already engaged and they both knew it. Gilbert never really looked at anyone except Anne. So yeah, another case of something L. M. Montgomery really likes to do. Gilbert loved Anne the whole time; Anne hated then friend-zoned him, then she realised she loved him the whole time. *Sigh* It's quite a lovely story, really. :)
6. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, Persuasion, Jane Austen
Love, love LOVE Persuasion. I adore Captain Wentworth. I love the ending of Persuasion. Such a wonderful love story, at least in the end. :)
7. Kilmeny Gordon and Eric Marshall, Kilmeny of the Orchard, L. M. Montgomery
Their story is such a sweet one, but not very well-known. This novel is actually quite different from L. M. Montgomery's others. It's a wonderful book.
I know there are so many more wonderful couples in literature, but I had to choose favourites.
Happy Valentine's Day!
