Young Writers Society

Is it just me or do all the great love stories end in tragedy and often death?
Take Tristian & Isolde for example - both died of broken hearts in the end (even if they mucked that bit up in the movie).
Dido and Aeneas - she kills herself when he goes of to fulfil his define destiny (this is a reference to the Aeneid by Virgil by the way and is one of the most depressing books you can ever read).
Wuthering Heights - Cathy dies and Heathcliff is miserable and horrible for ages and then dies himself.
Then the penultimate example - Romeo and Juliet, one of the most doomed romances ever.

So my question is, does an epic love story always have to end in tragedy to be a good love story? Can it not have a happy ending and still be as compelling? Does true, epic, love come hand in hand with depression and doom?

What do people think?

I'd have to add one of my favorite books to this "tragic love story" list. Camille: The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils is probably one of the best romance stories I've ever read, but at the same time, the most depressing. But it is the most depressing because of the catch, which was already given to you at the beginning. See, in the plot, the story starts out after the girls death. You know she is dead, has died, it happened. and yet all the while that Armand and Camille are in love, its beautiful! But the fact that you know she will eventually die bothers you, until she finally does... (Don't worry, I spoiled nothing! Thats stuff the is mostly at the beginning.)

I think tragedy goes with Romance so well because it is a contrast, and as much as 'love conquers all' it shows that true love never exists in happiness. There is always something preventing it. Seriously, have you ever read a book with a happy ending and been thoroughly satisfied? Perhaps, but in most cases the happy ending comes off rather fake and impossible. Though I'm sure some books can pull off 'happy endings' and have it not look like a total plot hole set up, its kind of hard if the book is full of conflict.

Seeing people who are in love be depressed makes us relate. Being in love is great, but it always comes with a side of depression. It just does, its life. So maybe that is why it's there?

I'm sure I could ramble on for hours about this...but I'll stop now

Well, I suppose if everything ended happily it would be rather boring, and end up just making people feel sorry for their own miserable lives, while the beautiful lovers in the book walked off into the glorious sunset. Unless, of course, it's a Disney film.

Disney films are nice. sometimes. Cept for the little mermaid. She didn't suck out anyone's soul like she did in the book.

I think most people have a hard time with succesful love so they kinda write death into love. At least that's why I do.

I only have on successful romance and that's Sabrina and Luke in my Novel. She's haveing a baby and they're getting married. bad timeing but love is uncontrolable i guess.

I don't believe that there must be a tragedy for the love story to be genuine. I do believe that there needs to be a conflict between your main characters, but I don't believe it must end sad in order to be a true love story. One of my favorite movies is Sweet Home Alabama, which ends happy. A lot of romance books, and movies, end happy. To me, if it has a sad ending, generally, it is bad. (That's just for me though XD)

Wuthering Heights - Cathy dies and Heathcliff is miserable and horrible for ages and then dies himself.

You know I think that ends happily. Sure, Heathcliff and Cathy stuff everything up, but it actually ends with Cathy II living happily ever after.

Anyway. Nothing else on topic to say really.

I guess people like to read about an extreme love that ends up being the death of everyone because they think it's beautiful in a sad way, especially since they know it will never be them.

Personally I like happy endings. It's just the sad things seem to end up being classics.

Personally, i think one of the reasons why the classics always have to end in sorrow or death is because there's no other credible way to end it. I mean other than in fairytales, happy endings don't exist because life just continues on with it's ups and downs. To have a proper satisfying ending it has to end in death otherwise it could continue on forever and ever and ever.

It's such a shame though as sad endings are just depressing.

It's such a shame though as sad endings are just depressing.

not all of them.

I remember how much I loved the ending to Crime and Punishment. Sure, he had finally been arrested and sent to Siberia, but The girl (I forget her name... *growls* I only read it a few months ago too!) went with him, and she had such a sad, sad family. But they were happy together. And it had such a Christian theme at the end, though he was in prison, you were kind of happy for him. Or...something. It seemed happy.

I think your referring to a bittersweet ending, where it's kind of sad, but also kind of happy in a way as well. Like in this book i read (not going to tell you the name as it would ruin it for anyone else who wants to read it), where the girl has alzheimers (sp?) and by the end she can't remember her husband at all. but on the very last page she remembers him and they die together and it is so sweet and beutiful, but still sad because they died.

I know what you're referring to blonde&confused. I was sobbing at the end, more so because it was so beautiful and sweet that even though she had the disease she still remembered him, than sad though.

I don't think romance has to be sad to make a good book/movie. One story i'm working on is really quite dark, but two of the main characters are deeply in love and they make it out all right in the end. The reason sad love stories are the most famous, in my opinion, is because people don't feel so bad about their lives when they see or read it. Personally I would be a bit bitter if I saw or read a sappy love story where nothing bad happened.

After spending a weekend watching every disaster documentary I can lay my hands on, I think maybe people just like a bit of death and suffering now and again.

We know bad stuff happens, and it fasinates us.

Wasn't it in the Matrix where they put people in a dream world where everything was perfect, but their minds just wouldn't accept it?

Exactly, Lucy. Sad things fascinate us. Personally, I hate tragedy. I want a happy ending, even if it IS sugarcoated. But tragedy adds spice to the story. Gone with the Wind (as many of you know) is my all time favorite book, yet it ends in tragedy! I think the whole flavor of the book has something to do with what we like and don't like in books. I'm the one who loves conflict, but happy endings. I know one of the reasons I like happy endings is because it's like a fairy tale come true; everything is going to work out okay in the end, regardless of what happens during the rest of the story. In a way, it fulfills my desire for the happy ending I crave (that we all crave) in my/our life/lives.

Since I like putting my opinion in on this, I have something really short in.

Maybe there are a lot of tragedies because humans are sadistic. Heck, watch the news? You never here stories about fluffy kitties being saved from trees by nice (hot) firemen. No, you hear about some escaped convict with the word SPEW tattooed onto their arm eating said fluffy kitty while sitting in a tree. We like violence. The news is never happy. So it makes sense. We're sadistic people!

And it makes our lives look a whole lot better.

Of course then you could take a psychological look at it. I write dark and unhappy stories because it echoes my life, it is what interests me. It get out pains, even though sometimes I don't even realize it. Writing depressing things gets out emotions.

I have to agree with claudette. After everything depressing in life, writing in down in one form or another seems to let out the binded emotions in oneself. Most people in today have adjusted to the depressing and dirty details, and ignore what is in front of them. As one of the few, I cannot stand by and watch like its nothing. Sometimes when you cant do anything else, all you can do is write like crazy before you go crazy. I dont know if anyone shares my exact point of view, but once you've had my last two years, things are put into perspective.