It’s one of those things that you really only understand if you’ve experienced it. It’s when you find someone who is perfect for you and for whatever reason they can’t be with you.Somehow it seems like tragedy justifies the intensity of our love. Below are ten love stories with tragic endings.
1. GONE WITH THE WIND:
To start with, Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful. She was headstrong, stubborn, and selfish and almost considered a hag. Complementing this, our hero Captain Rhett Butler too shared with her a scandalous reputation that of being an unscrupulous gambler and the father of an illegitimate son. He was overwhelmed by Scarlett’s wish to survive in the chaos of civil war and reconstruction and took good care of Scarlett and her children from her previous three marriages. What’s tragic about this love story is that while our daring hero understands and confesses for his love for Scarlett, she remains preoccupied fighting for Ashley, and when she does realise how deeply she is in love with Rhett, it too late.
2. CLEOPATRA AND ANTONY:
This love story began with the honing of two powerful people from Rome and Egypt. Cleopatra was the Queen of Egypt and the richest woman on earth during 46 to 30 B.C. She was very ambitious, beguile and attractive. She fell deeply in love with Marcus Antony, a love sick Roman. But, bad fate awaited them both and after 11 years of being together they were made to commit suicide. Romans that became wary of the growing power of Egypt spread rumours of about the death of Cleopatra, which made Antony kill himself by falling on his sword. In turn when Cleopatra learnt about this, she too ended her life.
3. PARIS AND HELENA:
The story of Paris and Helena, makes you wonder if there’s truth in the saying, ‘beauty is priceless’. The cost of love between Paris and Helena was the destruction of Troy. Paris was once promised by goddess Aphrodite that he would win the love of the most beautiful woman on earth and her predicament came true when the two fell and in love and Paris abducted Helena and brought her to Troy. The Greeks together under the leadership of Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, who waged war against Troy to retrieve, back Helena, his wife. Love for one woman, destroyed a whole kingdom and it burnt down to ashes.
4. NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE:
What you want is what you get. Napoleon was made a general at a very young age and decided to get married to an older woman to deceive people about his age and make them respect him. The time came soon and he was invited by Paul Barras after the war of Toulon, where he was introduced to Barras’s mistress, who eventually became his wife. Although Napoleon was truly in love with Josephine, she played around with him for quite some time, pretending to have had a miscarriage, when she was never pregnant. Josephine was a barren and could never bear him an heir, which sadly became the reason for them parting ways for an eternity.
5. ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE:
Odysseus was another suitor for Helen of Sparta, but ironically, he fell for her cousin Penelope, a girl with a brilliant mind. In his pursuit to get her, he hatched a plan that he will accept Helens spouse if Tyndareus, Helens father would help him court Penelope. Odysseus was successful and they were married and blessed with a darling son, named Telemachus. All this happiness was soon sacrificed when Odysseus was called for war that kept them apart for 20 long years. During all this time, they both remained dedicated and never accepted the numerous suitors, who were willing to offer them love for an eternity.
6. LAILA AND MAJNU:
The overwhelming story of Laila and Majnu is a perfect example of the blazing passion and intensity that true love has. Laila was rich and beautiful girl, who unfortunately fell in love with a splendid, but poor poet Majnu. When he asked for Laila’s hand in marriage, her father banished them both from meeting and got Laila married to s rich hag. Majnu went away into the wild and sang poems for Laila and wrote her name in sand. Meanwhile, Laila too was heartbroken and moved to Iraq, where she fell ill and died. Upon hearing this Majnu too killed himself to reunite with Laila in another world.
7. HELOISE AND ABELARD:
Eternal love preserved through letters; this is the story of Heloise and her teacher Abelard. Although Abelard was 20 years senior to Heloise, he found her intelligence to equal his. This made them gravely fall in love with each other and they got married when Heloise became pregnant. It was Fulbert, Notre Dame’s Canon, who had referred his niece to Abelard, but he became furious about their wedding forcing Heloise to give in if she wished their safety. Finding no better escape, Heloise turned into a nun and Abelard became a monk. But their love flourished through the years of separation and they realised that purpose for human existence is nothing but love.
8. POCAHONTAS AND JOHN:
Popular in the American literature, the story of Pocahontas and John Smith has been revisited many times by Hollywood as well as Disney. Pocahontas was the most beautiful daughter of Powhatan; she was playful and hard to control at times. It was during the early decade of 1600 that she first saw Englishmen and found Captain John Smith the most attractive. She saved him from the attack of the Indians and persuaded her father to adopt him. Living together brought them closer and their friendship grew stronger, but a gunpowder explosion soon took him back to England. In the meanwhile Sir Samuel Argall spread rumours of John’s death and took Pocahontas in captivity demanding his father to release the English prisoners. During captivity, she was baptized as Rebecca and was married to John Rolfe.
9. QUEEN VICTORIA AND PRINCE ALBERT:
Some love stories have a rather simple and happy genesis, but hardships and heartbreaks seem to haunt them alike. This is somewhat descriptive of the love story of Queen Victoria and Price Albert. Victoria became Queen of England in 1873 when her uncle King William IV dies. Soon after she got married to Prince Albert, who became her closest companion and advisor, without whom she took not a single step forward. But, unfortunately he died in 1861, leaving behind a mournful wife, who remained in black for the rest of her life.
10. LANCELOT AND GUINEVERE:
King Arthur, husband of Guinevere was no less a man to be betrayed, but love goes beyond our whims. She fell in love with Arthurs most trusted knight, Lancelot and although he tried keeping a distance from her, eventually their passion and love overpowered them and brought them closer. One night two nephews of King Arthur, burst in upon the lovers, and took Guinevere as captive, while Lancelot made an escape. Guinevere was to be burnt to death for her betrayal, but soon Lancelot rescued her to safety. All this led to a rift between the knights and weakened the empire. In the end Lancelot became a hermit and Guinevere became a nun, and this is how they preserved their love for each other, forever.