Valentine’s Day Special — My Favorite Literary Couples

Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥

In honor of the holiday, I thought it’d be fun to talk about some of my favorite couples from literature. (This post may contain spoilers.)

⋅ Ma and Pa Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie series, Laura Ingalls Wilder). Throughout all the Little House books, Ma and Pa (Caroline and Charles) are a steady presence, a source of stability in Laura’s life of moving from place to place. They face all sorts of hardships together—prairie fire, grasshopper swarms, blizzards, disease—and still show a quiet, unrelenting love for each other and their family. They are each other’s rock, and I’ve always thought their relationship kind of sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

⋅ Harry and Fair Haristeen (Mrs. Murphy mysteries, Rita Mae Brown). This relationship is a little more of a rollercoaster. When the series opens, Harry (Mary, really, but everyone calls her Harry because as a child she was always covered in fur) and Fair have just gone through a very contemptuous divorce—yes, from each other. As the series progresses, they both date around and work out how to be civil to one another. Well, Harry has to learn to be civil, because Fair cheated on her and she is not happy about it, as you might guess. They were both born and raised and still live in the same small town, so it’s not like they can avoid each other. But as you might guess, things work out in the end, and the pair begin dating again, eventually remarrying.

I wasn’t totally on board with them dating again, but eventually, Rita Mae Brown won me over (just as Fair had to win Harry over). Luckily, Harry remains staunchly independent. The pair do complement each other well, and I feel the time apart let them both grow and come to the relationship again with a new respect and fondness for each other. After everything they’ve gone through, they well and truly have each other’s backs. Also, they feel like a “real” couple, who you could actually meet and talk to, which I appreciate.

⋅ Molly and Arthur Weasley (Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling).

See that picture? Do I need to say anything more?

Probably not, but I will anyway. This pair just exudes love and compassion for each other and for everyone around them. We find out that Arthur’s pet name for his wife is “Mollywobbles” (how cute is that?), we see Molly glancing anxiously at the clock when her husband has yet to arrive home, and though the pair may squabble a bit, usually over giving the children/Harry information, they are generally inseparable. It’s cliché, but they are the kind of couple that can make a house into a home.

⋅ Alexia and Connall Maccon (Parasol Protectorate series, Gail Carriger). Alexia has no soul and Connall is a werewolf. What could possibly go wrong? Alexia has plenty of spunk and an independent streak a mile wide, which Connall admires despite himself. The interactions between these two are by turns hilarious, infuriating, and, of course, totally cute. (Also, there is, shall we say . . . no lack of passion there, though if I remember correctly, it takes place mostly off-page.)

⋅ Midas Crook and Ida Maclaird (The Girl with Glass Feet, Ali Shaw). I read this book over a year ago and still feel a pang in my heart when I think of this couple. Ida arrives on the island of St. Hauda’s Land with a strange affliction, hoping for a cure. Midas Crook, a painfully shy photographer, has lived there all his life. He is quickly drawn to Ida and into her life, despite her best attempts to shut everyone out. A careful friendship develops into something more, and that development is tender and sweet. I was rooting so, so hard for this couple to make it despite the odds.

 

Who are your favorite couples in literature? I’d love to hear!