World Literature

Love is one of the strongest human emotions, and it is only natural that it often becomes a centerpiece for a work of fiction. And it is just as natural for loving couples to become the image that remains in people’s memory long after they have forgotten most of the plot, supporting characters and details of the book they have read. So here is the set of 5 couples that, arguably, left the most prominent trail in world’s literature.

Heathcliffe and Catherine, from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights is memorable both in itself and because it is such an uncharacteristic a book for the age it was written. The only novel by Emily Bronte, it is nothing like the books written by her sisters and, in fact, anybody in the first half of the 19th century. And the relationship between Heathcliffe and Catherine is just like the rest of the book: it is dark, and painful, and a bit disturbing; certainly something everybody should read about.

Romeo and Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Even people who have never read a word of Shakespeare know about Romeo and Juliet and what these names imply. For centuries they have been a symbol of tragic love, blooming in spite of all adversity, but doomed from the very beginning.

Dante and Beatrice, from the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Beatrice remains behind the scenes for the majority of the book, but her presence is overpowering. If the very fact that it was a real person, and this real person was the reason for Alighieri’s masterpiece to be written isn’t enough to make it one of the greatest couples in history, it is hard to say what is.

Othello and Desdemona, from Othello by William Shakespeare

If there was one thing Shakespeare knew how to do, it was creating powerful images of loving and, preferably, doomed couples. Othello and Desdemona lead a blissful life of mutual love and understanding until jealousy gets better of Othello, who kills his wife, believing she has an affair, and then commits suicide on finding out he was wrong. Which is all the more tragic as it is caused by a petty and disgusting schemer Iago.