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In "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Romeo, Montague's son, meets Juliet at a masked ball in the Capulet house and falls in love with her. But they cannot get married due to a blood feud between their families. Romeo is exiled to Mantua and Juliet is under pressure to marry someone else.
Friar Lawrence concocts a plan to reunite Juliet and Romeo in Mantua. Juliet drinks a potion given to her by Friar Lawrence which puts her into a deathlike coma. Upon hearing a rumor about Juliet's death, Romeo returns to Verona and goes to the Capulet crypt, where Juliet is laid. Having confirmed Juliet's death with his own eyes, he drinks poison and dies. Juliet awakens from her coma and sees Romeo's dead body. She stabs herself with his dagger to join him in death.
In "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte, Jane is a penniless orphan employed as a governess in the mansion owned by a rich landlord, Edward Rochester. Despite their incompatible social standing, Edward proposes marriage to her. But their wedding ceremony is abruptly halted, as an uninvited guest testifies that Edward already has a wife. Jane moves out and becomes a teacher in another town.
One year later, Jane learns that Edward's mad wife set fire to their home and jumped off the roof to her death, and that Edward lost one hand and became blind. Jane returns to Edward and marries him, not because she feels sorry for him, but because she truly loves him.
In "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte, Catherine grows up with Heathcliff, an orphan brought home by her father. She loves him dearly, but she has no intention of degrading herself by marrying him. Instead, she marries Edgar Linton, a well-to-do and polished young man. Heathcliff runs away and disappears without a trace. Years later, he returns as a well-groomed and financially independent man. He tries to win Catherine's love back. Catherine dies after giving birth to a baby girl. Devastated, Heathcliff has visions of her and stops eating. Four days later, he is found dead. In death, he finally achieves union with Catherine by being buried next to her grave.
In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby, a young man of humble origins, falls in love with Daisy, who comes from a rich family. But they break up and Daisy marries a rich young man. Years later, Gatsby becomes a multimillionaire by bootlegging alcohol.
He moves into a colossal mansion across the bay from Daisy on Long Island. He throws dazzling parties to lure Daisy to his mansion. Gatsby finally meets Daisy and tries to win her love back. One day, Daisy drives Gatsby's car and accidently hits Myrtle, killing her instantly. As it was Gatsby's car that struck Myrtle, her husband assumes that Gatsby killed his wife and fatally shoots him in his mansion and then commits suicide.
Great love stories are compelling, no matter how they unfold. That said, it seems that tragic love stories leave deeper impressions on readers than those with happy endings.
The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is a freelance columnist and the author of "Tales of a Korean Globetrotter".
