Road2tinselville: December 2012

There are some love stories in literature that always remain alive in our hearts. While reading such piece of literary works, we just forget that the lovers are only characters of the pages. We begin to sympathize with them, to cry for them. The same thing has been happening for ages for some immortal couples of literature.

1: ROMEO AND JULIET

Romeo and Juliet, probably are the most famous lovers ever. This couple has become a synonym for love itself. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The love story is of two teenagers from two feuding families who fall in love at first sight, is very tragic. To get her lover permanently as her own, Juliet makes a plan with Friar Laurence. He gives her a drug that will put her into a death-like coma for “two and forty hours.” The Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan, so that he can rejoin her when she awakens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt. The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, Romeo learns of Juliet’s apparent death from his servant Balthasar. Believing Juliet to be dead, heart-broken Romeo drinks the poison. Juliet then awakens and, finding Romeo dead, stabs herself with his dagger. This ‘untimely death’ for their love makes these lovers immortal. The play ends with the elegy for the lovers: “For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

2: CLEOPATRA AND MARK ANTONY

The wonderful true love story of Antony and Cleopatra is one of the most memorable, intriguing and moving of all times. The story of these two historical characters had later been dramatized by William Shakespeare, and is still staged all over the world. The relation between Antony and Cleopatra is a true test of love. They fell in love at first sight. The relationship between these two powerful people put the country of Egypt in a powerful position. But their love affair outraged the Romans who were wary of the growing powers of the Egyptians. Despite all the threats, Antony and Cleopatra got married. It is said that while fighting a battle against Romans, Antony got false news of Cleopatra’s death. Shattered, he fell on his sword. When Cleopatra learned about Antony ‘s death, she was shocked. And she took her own life. Really,great love demands great sacrifices…

3: PAOLO AND FRANCESCA

Paolo and Francesca are made famous by the Dante’s masterpiece “Divine Comedy”. It is a true story: Francesca is married with Gianciotto Malatesta, an awful person, but she has Gianciotto’s brother, Paolo, as lover. The love between them grows when they read together a book (according to Dante) about Lancelot and Guinevere. When the two lovers are discovered they are killed by Gianciotto.

4: LAILA AND MAJNUN

A leading medieval poet of Iran, Nizami of Ganje is known especially for his romantic poem, “Layla and Majnun”.Inspired by an Arab legend, Layla and Majnun is a tragic tale about unattainable love. It had been told and retold for centuries. Layla and Qays fall in love while at school. Their love is observed and they are soon prevented from seeing one another. In misery, Qays banishes himself to the desert to live among and be consoled by animals. He neglects to eat and becomes emaciated. Due to his eccentric behavior, he becomes known as Majnun (madman). There he befriends an elderly Bedouin who promises to win him Layla’s hand through warfare. Layla’s tribe is defeated, but her father continues to refuse her marriage to Majnun because of his mad behavior, and she is married to another. After the death of Layla’s husband, the old Bedouin facilitates a meeting between Layla and Majnun, but they are never fully reconciled in life. Upon death, they are buried side by side. The story is often interpreted as an allegory of the soul’s yearning to be united with the divine.

5: ELIZABETH BENETT AND DARCY

Actually Jane Austen, in her famous work “Pride & Prejudice”, has personified two attributes of human nature, pride and prejudice in Darcy and Elizabeth. Darcy comes from a very high social hierarchy and Pemberley. He typifies the educated aristocracy while on the other hand, Elizabeth is the second daughter of a gentleman of modest means. Mr. Bennett has five daughters who have been allowed to grow up the way they wanted, there has been no school education for them, nor has there been any governess at home. Elizabeth’s very indulgent mother and irresponsible father never gave any thought to the future of the daughters, it is always taken for granted, that they will do well for themselves. To a woman of Mrs. Bennett’s understanding, doing well exclusively means finding a rich, well to do husband. For a man of Darcy’s social stature, these were very serious failings of the family and totally unacceptable to his polished, educated and refined mind. Darcy adores Pemberley, and the future mistress of that estate can only be just as polished and refined and from an equally prestigious family. He falls in love with Elizabeth only to be refused by her initially, and then much later she realized that she can love no one but Darcy. How they become united and understand the love for each other makes very interesting study.

6: PIERRE AND NATASHA

In Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, Pierre is the richest man in Russia but he is not available. He has a loveless marriage with a reprobate wife. What is wonderful about Pierre is that he is incapable of falsifying his affections. His love for Natasha is unconceited. Natasha is musical, elfin and flighty – she has made big mistakes in her love life too. Pierre lets her know that if he were free and worthy and handsome enough for her, he would ask her to marry him. She gives him a grateful backward glance. He witnesses, over Moscow, the comet of 1812 – a good sign. After great hardship, they marry.

7: PARIS AND HELENA

The love story of Helen of Troy and Paris is a Greek legend, combining fact and fiction. Helen of Troy is considered one the most beautiful women in all literature. She was married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, fell in love with Helen and abducted her, taking her back to Troy. The Greeks assembled a great army, led by Menelaus’s brother, Agamemnon, to retrieve Helen. Troy was destroyed in that great Trojan War. Helen returned safely to Sparta, where she lived happily with Menelaus for the rest of her life.

8: NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE

A marriage of convenience, at age 26 Napoleon took a fancy to Josephine, an older, prominent and most importantly wealthy woman. As time drew on, Napoleon fell deeply in love with Josephine, and she with him, but that didn’t deter the adultery on both sides-their mutual respect for one another kept them together, and their burning passion between them didn’t falter, and was genuine. They eventually split, as Napoleon deeply required something Josephine could not give him, an heir. Sadly they parted ways, both bearing the love and passion in their hearts, for all eternity.

9: SALIM AND ANARKALI

The true love story of Salim and Anarkali is a story that every lover knows. Salim,the son of the great Mughal emperor Akbar, fell in love with an ordinary but beautiful courtesan Anarkali. He was mesmerized by her beauty and fell in love as soon as he saw her. But the Emperor could not digest the fact that his son was in love with an ordinary courtesan. He started pressurizing Anarkali and devised all sorts of tactics to make her fall in the eyes of the young, love smitten prince. When Salim came to know of this, he declared a war against his own father. But the mighty Emperor’s gigantic army was too much for the young prince to handle. He got defeated and was sentenced to death. This was when Anarkali intervened and renounced her love to save her beloved from the jaws of death. She was entombed alive in a brick wall right in front of her lover’s eyes.

10: SHAH JAHAN AND MUMTAZ MAHAL

In 1612, a teenage girl, Arjumand Banu, married 15-year-old Shah Jahan, ruler of the Mughal Empire. Renamed Mumtaz Mahal, she bore Shah Jahan 14 children and became his favorite wife. After Mumtaz died in 1629, the grieving emperor resolved to create a fitting monument. It took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants nearly 20 years to complete this monument – the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan was never able to complete a black marble mausoleum he planned for himself. Deposed by his son, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the Red Fort of Agra, and spent lonely hours staring across the Jamuna River at the monument to his beloved queen. He was eventually buried beside her in the Taj Mahal.

11: POCAHONTAS AND JOHN SMITH

This love story is a famous legend in the history of America. Pocahontas, an Indian Princess was the daughter of Powhatan. Powhatan was the powerful chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Pocahontas for the first time in her life saw Englishmen in May 1607. She found John Smith most attractive and developed a liking for him. Smith was taken to the official residence of Powhattan and he was tortured. It was Pocahontas who saved his life from the attack of the Indians. Pocahontas then helped Smith to stand on his feet and Powhatan adopted Smith as his son. This incident helped Pocahontas and Smith to become friends with each other. Pocahontas after this incident made frequent visits to the Jamestown and passed on to the Indians messages of her father. John Smith after getting badly injured due to gunpowder explosion, returned to England. When Pocahontas made a visit to the fort, she was informed that Smith was dead. Sometime after, Pocahontas was taken prisoner by Sir Samuel Argall. Argall hoped to use Pocahontas as abargaining chip with her father Powhatan in effort to get English prisoners returned. During her captivity, she decided to become a Christian, taking the name “Rebecca” when she was baptized. A year later, she married John Rolfe. She made a visit to London, where he met his friend John Smith after eight long years and it was their last meeting.

12: QUEEN VICTORIA AND PRINCE ALBERT

This love story is about English royalty who mourned her husband’s death for 40 years. Victoria was a lively, cheerful girl, fond of drawing and painting. She ascended the throne of England in 1837 after the death of her uncle, King William IV. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. While at first Prince Albert was unpopular in some circles because he was German, he came to be admired for his honesty, diligence, and his devotion to his family. The couple had nine children. Victoria loved her husband deeply. She relied on his advice in matters of state, especially in diplomacy. When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated. She did not appear in public for three years. Her extended seclusion generated considerable public criticism. Several attempts were made on Victoria’s life. However, under the influence of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Victoria resumed public life, opening Parliament in 1866. But Victoria never stopped mourning her beloved prince, wearing black until her death in 1901. During her reign, the longest in English history, Britain became a world power on which “the sun never set”.

13: ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is an ancient Greek tale of desperate love. Orpheus fell deeply in love with and married Eurydice, a beautiful nymph. They were very much in love and very happy together. Aristaeus, a Greek god of the land and agriculture, became quite fond of Eurydice, and actively pursued her. While fleeing from Aristaeus, Eurydice ran into a nest of snakes which bit her fatally on her legs. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept. On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld and by his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone (he was the only person ever to do so), who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. In his anxiety he forgot that both needed to be in the upper world, and he turned to look at her, and she vanished for the second time, but now forever.