Rank Jane Austen's Couples

It's no secret that I love Jane Austen's stories, and the gal herself, to be honest. Since I'm having an Austen movie week (I am re-watching all Austen-based movies I have at home), I began to wonder: which of the couples IS my favourite Austen couple? And so, I came up with the idea of ranking them, from my favourite to my least favourite Austen couple and I'll also briefly explain why.

How do YOU like Austen's couples?

1. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice: I'd be a huge liar if I claimed otherwise. Pride and Prejudice was my first Austen novel and I immediately fell in love with Darcy and his Lizzie, or the other way around, Lizzie and her Mr Darcy, whichever way you prefer. There's really no particular reason for this, I just love them. I was always a fan of that lovely phrase, there's a thin line between love and hatred. There you go, Lizzie and Darcy know all about it.

2. Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey: They are absolutely adorable. They are both very natural characters, very life-like and as a reader, I can connect with both of them easily. As I am most like Catherine Morland from all of Austen's heroines, I find myself very at ease reading about her and Henry, who is, truth be told, great boyfriend material, if you ask me.

3. Captain Frederick Wentworth and Anne Elliot, Persuasion: They are pretty epic. They were apart for eight long years, and yet, they waited for each other. Neither of them found a new partner; they remained constant. No matter how much pain transpired between them, they were always in love with each other and in the end, love prevailed. And Wentworth's letter...Wow, why don't men write such letters anymore?...

4. Mr Knightley and Emma Woodhouse, Emma: At first, I confess that I found it a bit disturbing that Mr Knightley held Emma in his arms as a baby, and then as his wife. But once I overcame that, I realised how romantic they are. They've known each other forever, they were best friends and then, they fell in love. Beautiful.

5. Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility: I love them because I really like Brandon's character. He is a really Romantic character, as well as romantic, and I would pick him instead of Willoughby any day. I feel that Marianne never loved him back as much as Brandon loved her, which spoils the fun, but because of Brandon I love this couple.

6. Willoughby and Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility: They never worked for me, really. They were in love, but from the start I didn't like Willoughby. I'm not even sure if I was ever supposed to like him, but yes, I just don't. Also, he kept criticising Brandon and I just can't tolerate that.;)

7. Edward Ferrars and Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility: Such vocabulary really doesn't belong here, but truth be told, my reaction to Edward was: grow a pair, will you? Elinor was honest, but Edward was dishonest and wehn a crisis situatuion came, he backed away instead of trying to do what was right and noble. I don't respect him. I'm glad Elinor had her happy ending, but in my eyes, Edward does not deserve Elinor.

8. Edmund Bertram and Fanny Price, Mansfield Park: I know this was not an issue in Austen's time, but I can't get past the fact that they were cousins. Also, Edmund acted like an idiot and only after Mary Crawford disappointed him, he remembered Fanny. "Oh, right, Fanny...Well, she's good, loyal, obedient. Nice choice, I say." That's how I see it. And Fanny, she lacks a certain something I can't really define. So, yes, this couple really doesn't work for me. It's the only Austen couple that makes me think: "Dear Jane, what were YOU thinking?";)