I love Casablanca

Casablanca is, and will always be, one of my favourite films, it makes me cry, it makes me wistful for a time I never lived through and places I have never been, but mostly it makes me want to do unspeakable things to Humphry Bogart (I'm sorry please don't judge me, I can't control the Casablanca effect) and sometimes Ingrid Bergman... (I'm open minded, okay?).

First off, it is so quotable, 'here's looking at you kid', 'of all the gin joints...', 'this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship', the list is endless.

It is surely the most perfectly doomed love story, he's too late and she's too early and it never times just right. 

The final nail in the coffin being the whole 'love isn't selfish' element, well in real life love is selfish, and she probably wouldn't have got on that plane; but in films people are noble and, stupid or not, it makes for a damn good plot. It isn't the ending you want, but it's life, and it's the ending we get.

I love Casablanca because it isn't filled with shiny, sparkly promises, just this feeling that real love exists but it could just slip through your fingers. 

Daphne

Dissecting the Top Ten Romances of All Time: Abelard and Heloise

8.Abelard and Heloise

The romance of the Medieval age. And also probably the most infamous 'Student-Teacher' relationship ever. Ooh so naughty. Peter Abelard (1079-1142) was a controversial philosopher, and considered one of the greatest thinkers of the twelfth century. Heloise was the niece of Canon Fulbert, and she was twenty years younger, even naughtier. Unusually her uncle had strived for a great education for her. Abelard later writes in his "Historica Calamitatum": "Her uncle's love for her was equaled only by his desire that she should have the best education which he could possibly procure for her. Of no mean beauty, she stood out above all by reason of her abundant knowledge of letters." It turned out to be doomed however, Abelard got Heloise knocked up (had a baby called Astrolabe, cool name if you have a future child called Astrolabe I will disown you), then they got married, Abelard got Castrated, he described it as 'a most cruel and most shameful punishment, such as astounded the whole world; for they cut off those parts of my body with which I had done that which was the cause of their sorrow.' Yeowch. Let it serve as a lesson to all men, keep your naughty parts in your pants. 


But: 'Two people in a relationship, tragic or triumphant, does not make a love story.there is an aspect of a marginalized woman there in Heloise,  Abelard was willing to shun her. She spent her years chiding him in her letters for his faults, he probably deserved it. She was forced to join the abbey where she later became abbess, a social pariah.  'It is a tragic relationship, but it is not a love story'- Patricia Hamill. Patricia Hamil

However, it is true that this was a patriarchal tragedy in one sense, but it most definitely and unreservedly was also a love story of immense proportions. Were it not so, it would not still be speaking to us centuries later with its love and pathos and references in popular films (that obscene puppet show in Being John Malkovich - Great film just if you want to know) . Passion is always greatest when there are obstacles, we always want what we can never have, all the great love stories that capture us have this characteristic. Heloise was perfectly well aware of Abelard's shortcomings and this is why  she escaped into the cloister, spending the remainder of her life pining away in a nunnery, she was the one that continued to press him to do right by her with their relationship. They lived in the 12th century, we can't impose our reality on them; rather we can join them in their love, sorrow and joy; not beat either one of them up.  Does Ms. Hamill think it's only a love story if there's a happy ending? Marriage, dual career and 2.3 kids? I love that that is 'the dream'. 

Enough demands were made on these two by other people in their own time, they do not need the demands of a contemporary feminist judgement disturbing our, perhaps rose tinted view of their romance. Sure their love may seem stunted by modern terms but they both really suffered for something that they felt they couldn't live without, they had an illegitimate child, genitals were lost and religion was embraced, really they were just two very unlucky individuals when it came to a happy ending, but maybe they were just really lucky to have felt love that strong that people just don't seem to feel now-a-days. I am jealous of that. 

Both Peter Abelard and Heloise continued to go on living, to write, to love, to contribute to our literary history. They didn't kill themselves, or marry anyone else (unless you count the fact that both married the church). Heloise asks for his words, saying: "While I am denied your presence, give me at least through your words--of which you have enough and to spare--some sweet sem­blance of yourself." She ends the letter with: "I beg you, think what you owe me, give ear to my pleas, and I will finish a long letter with a brief ending: farewell, my only love."

To her passionate letters, he responds in part: "If since our conversion from the world to God I have not yet written you any word of comfort or advice, it must not be attributed to indifference on my part but to your own good sense... I did not think you would need these things..." How do two lovers part after such a short time, with such a terrible end and no real beginning? They had been so close. And, then their only link is through their letters, and the works that Abelard left behind. Heloise speaks of losing Abelard: "But if I lose you, what have I left to hope for? Why continue on life's pilgrimage, for which I have no support but you, and none in you save the knowledge that you are alive, now that I am forbidden all other pleasures in you and denied even the joy of your presence which from time to time could restore me to myself?" I love the idea that they needed each other to be who they really are, that is love, complete honesty in the face of another person. 

Awh. Cute.


 More, Dissecting the Top Ten Romances of All Time?
10.Romeo and Juliet
9. Pride and Prejudice 

Dissecting the Top Ten Romances of All Time: Number 9- Pride and Prejudice

9. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy

I feel a bit bad to be publishing this on the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice, especially since Austen called Pride and Prejudice her 'little darling', it all feels a bit blasphemous, and admittedly, I'm a 'Janeite' myself  But since the romance between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth is arguably one of the most famed in English Literature  I feel it only appropriate. Like Shakespeare as the previous piece's creator, the Austen brand has come to be a multi-million industry: The Jane Austen Center has about 60,000 visitors per year, with an estimated 80% being women.  Austen's influence is still pretty powerful. Don't hurt me Janeites.


'Pride and Prejudice'  has inspired many a young lady/ 'Janeites' to hold out for their Mr. Darcy, or 'Mr. Right'. Colin Firth has complained that he finds it hard to escape from the legacy of Darcy, although he did go on to play Mark Darcy in 'Bridget Jones Diary', a book and film roughly based on Pride and Prejudice, so can't really feel sorry for him. The moody Mr. Darcy has persuaded girls that boys often play 'Hard To Get', when actually he's he just 'Isn't That Into You'. They fall in love when they both accept that they were blind to each other, lots of people hope that that one special someone will see something unique in themselves  like Darcy and Elizabeth did, but people often cling to a false hope.

The romance of Elizabeth and Darcy however has it's weaknesses. There are some who interpreted her sudden attraction to Darcy as the reaction of a Gold Digger,  making her just as much of a social climber as her mother. It is only after her view of the beautiful Pemberly estate of Darcy's that she decides that Darcy isn't that bad after all, and starts to look at her suitor in a more pleasant light.  However, an alternative interpretation, if Elizabeth was purely out for monetary gain she would have agreed to marry Mr. Collins, who would have provided financial security for herself and her family.  However her mothers enthusiasm to marry her daughters off, especially to rich men (Mr. Bingley and Jane) may have influenced her thinking, perhaps unconsciously.  But we do know that Elizabeth is smart, we know that she is good at studying characters. Through her interactions with Darcy, she might have understood enough of his pride/personality to know that if she declined his first proposal it would make him want her more, player. Elizabeth is the 'one that got away', and to be turned down by someone Darcy sees as beneath him must be humiliating, and motivated him to prove her wrong.

There is the possibility that she was so outraged by the way he scorned her in the first ball that she was giving him revenge by making him fall in love with her then rejecting him. Hurting his pride just like he hurt hers. Although, when she sees his 'dollar' she changes her mind and decides that he is worth loving after all. Elizabeth had no way to know that she would have better opportunities later. However, nothing can deviate from the fact that Darcy was embarrassed of his affection for her, and thus embarrassed of her family. Worse, he makes Elizabeth embarrassed of her family, I sometimes feel that like if we were to see a 'six months later' we would find Darcy having a bit of a 'My Fair Lady' project of Elizabeth. What makes the romance tricky is that fact that there is the possibility that she was so outraged by the way he scorned her in the first ball (he called her 'tolerable', the dick) that she was giving him revenge by making him fall in love with her then rejecting him.  Hurting his pride just like he hurt hers. Although, when she sees his magnificent wealth she changes her mind and decides that he is worth loving after all.Yet there isn't admittedly any evidence in the text to support this, nor does Elizabeth character illustrate this.  

Dorothy

Elizabeth stated quite early in the book she would only marry for love, and her comment to her sister Jane, about falling in love with Darcy after seeing Pemberley, was just light hearted mischief, shown when Jane urged her to be serious. Elizabeth is far too headstrong to marry for something other than love, no matter how much she could get out of it money-wise. In fact, it is only after she learn of his good deeds, following her rejecting his proposal that she begins to admit her feelings to herself, being even a little bit ashamed of her own feelings and hiding them from her entire family. Elizabeth has always known about his wealth (£10,000 a year, hey big spender) and never thought any better of him for it. Perhaps it is less the grounds of Pemberly that make her wish she accepted his proposal, but more the reputation he has amongst his staff and residents. Darcy does not come to love Elizabeth because any physical feature, Elizabeth is never described as a beauty like Jane; instead Darcy comes to love her, or at least her 'expression', such as her intelligent eyes, and later coming to accept that; 'in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness.' He falls in love with her mind, her wit and her unbridled passion in her words, the inability to hold her tongue. To go against Dorothy's view, Darcy comes to love Elizabeth for who she is, and I don't see a 'let's fix Elizabeth program' in their future. I see nothing but rolling green hills, tea at eleven and lovely, unmentionable high-society sex, in the dark, still wearing undergarments. 

Elizabeth's 'modern' view of love set her apart from the other ladies such as her mother, I truly think she loves big D.

Daphne

Up next, Number Three Abelard and Heloise

Dissecting the Top Ten Romances of All Time, Number 10

I'm one of those people that cannot stomach a love declaration, I either have to skip over it or press a cushion to my face. It's pathetic.  In contrast, I think at least part of the problem is the horrible realization that while I'm watching it I am just filled with a horrible jealousy that this will never happen to me. But I think it's more of a problem for some people, who believe that Romance (with a capital) is inevitable. The reason for this is that we are constantly surrounded by these perfect love stories, that are, well stories. These fictional heroes make us believe that we are entitled to a passionate affair, which in turn means that we turn down perfectly reasonable 'suitors'.So In this piece I will judge the Top Ten Romances of All Time, and even if I'm personally a fan, this is an attempt to destroy them to make me feel less like Neville Longbottom.





10.Romeo and Juliet

Ahh the world famous 'Romeo and Juliet' written in the early stages of Shakespeare's career, the tragic romance has inspired countless adaptions, such as the brilliant modernized version by Buz Luhrman.  According to famous literary critic Harold Bloom, Romeo and Juliet "is unmatched, in Shakespeare and in the world's literature, as a vision of uncompromising mutual love that perishes of its own idealism and intensity" (Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, 197), yeah, I got that quote from Google, don't hate. The balcony scene alone  is one of the most memorable and recognizable moments in all of Western literature. The tale of the 'star-crossed lovers' has caused heart ache for centuries, and in modern culture inspired the naming of one of the Beckham clan (Romeo Beckham). Romeo's a bit fickle,  he was in love with a nun to be (Rosalind), however, during the course of the next 15 minutes he manages to suddenly switch his obsessive affections to Juliet. That coupled with the fact that his affections greatly increase when he realizes that she is an enemy, a Capulet, it makes me think he's simply loving the unattainable, as he did  with Rosalind, the wannabe nun. The little drama-queen thrill-seeker.

 For Juliet, Romeo is symbolic of an escape; her home life is dreary, with a pushy mother and only her nurse for company, and also with the an arranged marriage on the horizon, to a Guy named 'Paris', she is probably a bit desperate, this caged feeling of aggression caused her to idolize Romeo, Romeo is not the object of her love, freedom is. A young girl who is sheltered from everything is not going to know what love is. It feels a kind of like the news story recently, where a 13 year old girl stole her parents car and ATM card to drive for thirteen hours to Kentucky to meet a young chap called Dylan (turned out he most probably doesn't exist) that she had a 'relationship' with via Xbox live, teenage girls can get obsessive for no good reason, just look at 'Bieber fever', says it all. However the fact that they commit suicide in order to not live without each other at the end, shows they are obviously quite fond of one another. I just find it really annoying that the reason for their deaths is ill timing. Being in mind that Romeo's love is perhaps just an expression of his thrill seeking teenage hormones, its  also possible that Romeo and Juliet's love is not genuine; their `love' lies not in their hearts, rather in their eyes (cheeky Friar Lawrence quote to end there.)

Dorothy

So it appears that Dorothy isn't a huge fan or our fated lovers and their heart-wrenching, untimely demise. All I can say is, why the bloody hell not? The point isn't that they died and it was all a bit wimpy and teenage, or that they are fickle and annoying, it is so much more. Firstly, of course Romeo is infatuated with anything on legs, he is a teenage boy, it doesn't mean that something beautiful can't come of it, she brings a ray of hope and love into his dark, teenage-angst-filled life. He treats her pretty well (minus the cousin killing but yeah bygones be bygones and all that) and the nurse approves for the most part - we all know best friend approval is pretty heavy. But the real poignancy of Romeo and Juliet is that everyone forgets to look at the bigger picture, they become motivated by things that don't matter: feuds, rumours, social hierarchy and honour. When what really matters is allowing happiness and love to flourish, and the horrible irony in that peace is achieved out of their tragic death (it definitely deserves a better position than tenth). Well, frankly, if their love and death were due to 'thrill seeking teenage hormones' I will always aspire to live like a thrill seeking teenager, because I don't want to waste a single day of being in love or loved.

Daphne

Coming soon, Number Two, Pride and Prejudice....