Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Favorite Realistic Couples in Literature
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is “All About Romance Tropes/Types — top ten favorite hate-to-love romances (from books or movies or tv), top ten favorite (or least favorite) instalove romances, favorite slow-burn romances, favorite starcrossed lovers, etc. etc. Can go so many ways with this one).”
Okay, so I actually groaned a little bit when I read this week’s topic since romance isn’t really my thing when it comes to reading. I don’t like love triangles, instalove, or basically any romantic situation that I see as a distraction from the main storyline of a book.
That said, what I do very much enjoy are realistic portrayals of relationships – the slow build from strangers to friends to lovers, or maybe even from hate at first sight to friendship to something more. I love witty banter, fights, going through tough times together and coming out stronger than ever, or maybe even a couple drifting apart and eventually finding their way back to each other. I even love reading just the evolution of an established relationship over time. So yeah, realism is definitely my thing when it comes to romance. So what I went with for this week’s special Valentine’s Day Top 10 edition are my Top Ten Favorite Realistic Couples in Literature. I think each of my selections in some way embodies what I’ve just described in terms of a realistic relationship. As you’ll see, Jane Austen’s novels figure prominently in my list as I consider her to be one of the masters of creating a realistic relationship.
MY TOP 10 FAVORITE REALISTIC COUPLES IN LITERATURE
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1. BENEDICT AND BEATRICE
from Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
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2. ELIZABETH BENNETT AND FITZWILLIAM DARCY
from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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3. RON WEASLEY AND HERMIONE GRANGER
from the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
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4. AUGUSTUS AND HAZEL
from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
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5. ELINOR DASHWOOD AND EDWARD FERRARS
from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
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6. WILL TRAYNOR AND LOUISA CLARK
from Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
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7. IFEMULU AND OBINZE
from Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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8. ANNE ELLIOTT AND FREDERICK WENTWORTH
from Persuasion by Jane Austen
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9. CINDER AND KAI
from Cinder by Marissa Meyer
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10. ELEANOR AND PARK
from Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
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I love Ron and Hermione, obviously! 🙂 I also love Augustus and Hazel and Eleanor and Park. Great list!
My Top Ten
Thanks! Happy Valentine’s Day!
What a great list! I totally agree with you, most romance tropes make me roll my eyes. I’d prefer they be more realistic. I think my favorite literary couple is Rhett and Scarlett – I think it’s realistic because for some people, the timing is just never right, and they don’t realize what they have until it’s gone!
I actually can’t believe I forgot to put Scarlet and Rhett on here. That was a total brain lapse on my part, haha.
Amazing list! You’ve picked some of my favorites! 😀 And I definitely appreciate all the Jane Austen love–I adore her! 🙂
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
YES, Jane Austen is amazing! Definitely one of my all-time favorites 🙂
I swear every time I see the cover of Me Before You my heart breaks all over again. lol! I’m still not over it. Pride and Prejudice will always be my favorite love story of all time. I either read or watch the movies every couple of months. lol I have Eleanor & Park on my Kindle but haven’t started it yet. Great list!
Oh gosh, yes. Me Before You practically makes me cry every time I think about it, lol.
I agree with so many in your list. Elizabeth and Darcy; the Chimamanda couple. Elinor and Edward. Perfect list.
Thanks!
I LOVED the slow-burn and realistic development of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. And Ron and Hermione and Cinder and Kai were both so lovely as well!
Elizabeth and Darcy are definitely one of my all-time favorite couples. Jane Austen was just on point when it came to describing relationships.
Can you believe I haven’t read any of these books, not even Harry Potter! I feel lame! hahaha
check our TTT and there is a link on top to a giveaway.
My TTT.
Haha, it’s understandable. So many books, so little time to read them all. 🙂
Eleanor & Park had one of the sweetest and honest relationships I ever read. They’re definitely at the top of my list of couples.
Aren’t they great? I just love that book so much.
I love the theme of this list! And I love all of the couples you listed (well, the ones that I know!) – I love when I read a book with a couple that is actually realistic and I can picture existing in real life, since so many are often incredibly unrealistic. Great list!
Thanks, same here. The unrealistic portrayals really bother me.
I like seeing relationships evolve too, much more than the standard tropes sometimes. Bennett and Darcy have to be the gold standard here probably. 🙂 Most of these I haven’t read but I love the version of Sense and Sensibility so I’ll say definitely so to Dashwood and Ferrars.
I agree with you. Elizabeth and Darcy are probably my all time favorite couple.
Oh, I agree with so many of these: Hermione and Ron, Will and Louisa, Benedict and Beatrice, Cinder and Kai, Augutus and Hazel!
-Lauren
Aren’t they great?
Great choices! I agree with the ones I know… Hermione & Ron, Augustus & Hazel and Eleanor & Park. 😍
Thanks!
Benedict and Beatrice and Elizabeth and Darcy are so much <3 I love them to bits!
YES! Aren’t they just fabulous? Definitely my two favorite couples of all time.
This is a great list! Isn’t it amazing the way that some of these classic love stories, written hundreds of years ago, can still touch our hearts today!
Yes! They really are timeless in that sense.