Don't worry. Weepy Wednesday is not a permanent fixture. But while we all need a giggle and snort to keep us going, sometimes we also need a good cry. You know what I mean?Star-crossed lovers. Here are stories that live eternally, and I think it's because they are guaranteed to make us cry. Who doesn't have a lost love in their past? Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is so popular, it has been re-invented again and again.
But before R&J was Tristan and Isolde, and, boy, can that one turn on my faucet. Brave, noble Tristan betrays his king to be with his love and then leaves his love to save his king. Oh, the agony.
Yes, that story can wash away hidden corners of sorrow and hurt, ferret out grief, scrub me raw and hang me up to dry.
Researchers say crying regulates breathing, thus calming heart rate and anxiety. Some scientists think toxins are released through tears, which come when the cerebrum recognizes sadness and triggers the endocrine system to release hormones. This is what makes eyes puddle up.
Apparently in Japan, there are clubs that watch sad movies together for a good group cry.
So what other lovers rock your boat? Antony and Cleopatra? Lancelot and Guinevere? Healthcliff and Cathy?
How about Buffy and Angel.
22 comments:
Woot! Buffy and Angel, my favorite doomed-love couple.
When I need a good cry I pull out Last of the Mohicans, Alice and Uncas make me lose it every time.
Yes, I agree with the necessity of a good cry now and then. The few that I remember are all in movies: in The Champ, when the dad tells little Ricky Schoeder he's a pain; in The English Patient, when Ralph Riennes goes back to the cave; in Shawshank Redemption when Tim Robbins sees Morgan Freeman and stands up by his boat. Not star crossed lovers, all of them, but all between two people who love each other.
My favorite pair currently aren't star-crossed, per se, well, yet at least. But Wonderful Boyfriend and I are on the 4th season of the Office and Pam and Jim *just* got together, so I pick them :)
Whoops-- meant to add, while I have yet to cry about them, they are the current couple that I am most emotionally attached to, and I probably would if something tragic ever happened to them. Even if Steve Carrell was doing something stupid in the background at the time.
I love a good sad story every now and then. The ones that really get my tears flowing are the ones that are true, like the movie Hotel Rawanda or the books, Left to Tell and Life and Death in Shanghai.
And L.T. I love Jim and Pam too!
Love Jim and Pam :)
Literarily, I like Aerin and Luthe from THE HERO AND THE CROWN...um, and Peeta and Katniss from THE HUNGER GAMES!
OMG, The Time Traveler's Wife had been bawling my eyes out.
Alice and Uncas......sob.
Shelley
Wow, I love the diversity in the comments.
Andrea: Joss Whedon rules. *clutches her boxed sets*
It's been years since I read The Last of the Mohicans, and now I must to savor the Alice and Uncas moments.
Yat-Yee: So true. Those are heart-wrenching scenes. I still remember how I felt as a kid when I saw Dumbo's mother locked up and singing 'Baby Mine' to him.
LT: You picked a charming and challenged pair. And you seem to have a lot of Pam&Jim supporters here!
Natalie: Whoa! That's some heavy reading. It's odd, but I get too depressed when the stories are real. If it's fiction, I can have a cry and not think the world's too rotten for words.
Beth: The Hero and the Crown fell through the cracks--I must read it now. And I see you've chosen a team in the Games. I'm torn between Peeta and Gale, and, oh, I hope Suzanne Collins doesn't do something really bad to either. Then I really will be crying.
Corey: Yes! The Time Traveler's Wife is stunning and heart-breaking.
Gotta be Wuthering Heights, Catherine and Heathcliff, Hero and Leander the greek myth, and Tristan and Isolde was so tragic. I love a good cry. It feels so good. I haven't had one in a while. Uh, excuse me...
Shelley: I have tissues.
Robyn: And more tissues....
I never saw Buffy!
I'm in the Time Traveler's Wife club. That one made me cry.
PJ: Never saw Buffy! You must rectify. It's hilarious and spoofy and sometimes very dark and oh-so-sad. What really makes the show is the witty dialog and long-term character development. But even though I personally know a dozen people who are as big a fan as I am, there are some people who shrug and go, 'huh?' Anyway, all seven seasons are on DVD and people who start now never will have the long summers of suspense I suffered through.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but it's not love stories that make me cry but sentimentality. The movie that gets me every single time? Babe. Yes, the one with the talking pig! It's just so darned touching. Okay, I'm slinking out the back door now....
I'm slinking with you, MC. Animals and children make me cry. The Bridge to Terabetha, Babe, Old Yaller . . .
Didn't anyone cry over Jennifer and Oliver in "Love Story?" I was teaching at a Catholic school and went to see it with a few of the younger nuns who were friends. I still remember trying so hard not to sob that my shoulders shook and the tears dripped silently off my chin.
Mel: I hear you. They get me, too. Like I mentioned to Yat-Yee, Dumbo melts me.
Donna: Yes, all those break the heart.
Nancy: I can remember sitting in a theater (can't remember which tear-jerker) and hearing noses being blown and sobs. I made a heroic effort not to cry, because I thought it was weak to do so in public. Even now, I'd rather be alone, at home, so I can let it rip without caring. I admire those people who get together to cry, so uninhibited.
Yat-Yee: Oh yes, Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite weepy happy endings.
I do need a good cry now and then. I love Romeo and Juliet. I just watched the ballet, and it was incredible.
Elana: I've been thinking a lot about R&J. That's what I'd like to write, something that has affected people so strongly for centuries--that's powerful storytelling. Oh well, it's a worthwhile thing to wish.
I saw T. and I. in Ashland. It was amazing!!! They must have recruited half the cast from the NFL, because the soldiers were huge. The battle scenes were amazing with how they were choreographed.
Anyway, it is a remarkable story to see played out well on stage and one that gets little press. Good to know that you appreciate it too.
Hi Dave! *waves happily* How exciting to see T&I on stage. In Ashland. Wow. I love the description of the corps of soldiers.
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