So today is Valentines Day. The day of love…lust…and more chocolate than is humanly necessary. A day in which I like to look back and take stock. NOT of my 10 year marriage. Not of my 2 beautiful children and the joy I experience each and every day. Nope…today is the day I like to take stock of some of the most amazing men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. And by meeting…I mean reading about. It is a truth universally known that men in books are better than men in real life. They are more romantic. They tend to put themselves out there more. They brush your hair out of your face…a lot. But let’s face it, SOME are just better than others. So today, I’ve decided to make my own personal list (note: I will defend these to the death) of my top 10 Most Romantic Men in Fiction. (So far) So buckle up ladies (and gents) cause this is going to be a fun ride.
Top 10 Most Romantic Men In Literature
Now come on…you HAD to know I was going to start the list with Darcy right? He is ICONICLLY one of the most romantic men in literature. EVER. And rightfully so. Even though he starts off a little smug and right out of the gate slams Elizabeth for her looks. (Which are not “handsome enough to temp” him.) By the end of the book he is so head over heels in love with her that he “goes against his better judgement” and asks (for a SECOND TIME) if she will marry him! On top of that…he pretty much cleans up EVERYBODY’S mess. Oh, and did I mention his letters? No, they aren’t filled with pages and pages of undying devotion, but the fact that he felt the need to defend himself (and ultimately better himself in the eyes of the woman he loves) speaks to his character. Darcy Quotes: “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” “You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.” 
Oh lordy *fans face* I don’t even know where to start when it comes to this uber romantic yummy piece of Highland man. Let’s be honest, next to Darcy he is one of the most fantasized fictional boyfriends out there. To say that he has a way with words (and a willingness to learn *hint hint*) doesn’t do him justice at all. You know what…enough of my slobbering, read for yourself. Jamie Quotes: “When the day shall come that we do part,” he said softly, and turned to look at me, “if my last words are not ‘I love you’-ye’ll ken it was because I didna have time.” “You are my courage, as I am your conscience,” he whispered. “You are my heart—and I your compassion. We are neither of us whole, alone. Do ye not know that, Sassenach?” “Because I wanted you.” He turned from the window to face me. “More than I ever wanted anything in my life,” he added softly. “To see the years touch ye gives me joy”, he whispered, “for it means that ye live.”
Ugh…classic British men!! What is it about them that makes butterflies congregate in the gut? John Thronton (like someone else we know) doesn’t see what’s right in front of him until it’s almost too late. He is set in his way, and when he doesn’t get it…he tends to get a little pissy. That said, the second the lightbulb comes on he is full steam ahead. And though it may come off as slightly stalkerish, the way he silently pines for (aka watches) Margaret it’s just…*passes out* It’s the tiny (forbidden) touches that drive the romance side of this book. Well, that and the fact that he pretty much throws it all in the crapper. For her.
Thornton Quote:
“I have never loved any woman before. Now I love, and will love.”
I’ve already talked about this book once this month, but damn…I just couldn’t leave Alexander off the list. The reason I cry over this book is the same reason it graces this list as well. Alexander. You will NEVER read a story that hosts such a dedicated man. He loves Tatiana and his is willing to go to war for her. LITERALLY! He sacrifices himself around every corner for her happiness. His love defies logic or rationality. He is ripped from her and always finds his way back. He is romantically codependent.
Alexander Quotes:
“Alexander, were you looking for me?” – “All my life.”
“Good-bye, my moonsong and my breath, my white nights and golden days, my fresh water and my fire. Good-bye, and may you find a better life, find comfort again and your breathless smile, and when your beloved face lights up once more at the Western sunrise, be sure what I felt for you was not in vain. Good-bye and have faith, my Tatiana.”
“We walk alone through this world, but if we’re lucky, we have a moment of belonging to something, to someone, that sustains us through a lifetime of loneliness.”
“I love you. I’m blind for you, wild for you. Sick with you. I told you that our first night together when I asked you to marry me, I am telling you now. Everything that’s happened to us, everything, is because I crossed the street for you. I worship you. You know that through and through…”
Speaking of waiting… Henry DeTamble from TTW takes the cake. He met his greatest love when she was just a child. Yes, yes, it’s sounds a bit oogy, but when you add in the fact that he travels through time and keeps popping up to sweep her off her feet…it’s makes all the difference. Henry has to do the unthinkable. He has to get his WIFE to fall in love with him…over, and over, and over again! I don’t know about the men YOU have been with, but in my limited experience…guys are (generally) not that dedicated. Yeah, they have their problems, but LOVE isn’t one of them.
Henry Quotes:
“I hate to be where she is not, when she is not. And yet, I am always going”
“It’s dark now and I am very tired. I love you, always. Time is nothing.”
So…technically, Gerry isn’t alive for the majority of this book. BUT that doesn’t stop him from being crazy romantic. No, trust me…this ghost has game! Here is the deal, Gerry knew he was sick. Knew he was going to kick the bucket before he wanted to. SO, he wrote his lovely wife letters that started to show up sporadicly after his wake. These letters are THE THING that helps pull her out of her funk. Demand her to live! Enjoy her life. Find new love. Move on. And at the end of each letter, there is a P.S. Can you guess what it says? *swoon* Gerry Quotes: “Don’t be afraid to fall in love again. Open your heart and follow where it leads you…and remember, shoot for the moon.” “Don’t mind all those people who say that you should be back to normal in a month or two. Grieving is all part of helping yourself anyway.”
Leave it to Nicholas Sparks to write one of the most frustrating yet beautifully romantic men. Yes, the book ends with it’s readers drowning in a lake of tears (like most Sparks books do) but it doesn’t take away from all the things Noah did for Ally. He taught her to live for herself. How to love. Hell…he surrounded her with all the things she ever asked for. Quite literally. And when she started to fade away due to illness. He stayed with her, read to her, reminded them of their life together each and every day. I’m getting teary just thinking about it. Noah Quotes: “I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough..” “So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s going to be really hard; we’re gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me… everyday.” “You are, and always have been, my dream.” “I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours. ”
And we’re back to classic lit. You can literally find LISTS of reasons why Edward Rochester is considered one of the most romantic men in literature. (I’m not kidding….google it.) My reason? Because he sees the one girl no one has ever really seen. Despite their stations (He is the master of the house and Jane is the Governess) he can’t help but fall in love. He is dark and passionate, and he shows it to Jane when she least expects it. Ok, you are right…he did have a psychotic wife hidden in the attic, but who doesn’t? Right? Jane woke Mr. Rochester up, allowed him to feel again. Because of this…he spent every waking moment thinking of HER. For the love of God he couldn’t SEE and he still recognized her! He promised to be her home. And he was. Rochester Quotes: “I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you – especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapped; and then I’ve a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly. As for you – you’d forget me.” “Our honeymoon will shine our life long: its beams will only fade over your grave or mine.”
Jacob has NOTHING, and yet…he still has love to give. He takes a beating for the woman he loves. He walks through a riot to try and save her. He makes sure that she understands just how much she deserves, how much she is worth to the world. Whether or not she chooses to be with him. He doesn’t brood like the majority of the men on this list, instead…he wears his heart on his sleeve. An admirable quality. Also…he brings home an elephant for her. AN ELEPHANT! (That they both adore.) Jacob Quotes: “I stroke her lightly, memorizing her body. I want her to melt into me, like butter on toast. I want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin. I lie motionless, savoring the feeling of her body against mine. I’m afraid to breathe in case I break the spell.” “When two people are meant to be together, they will be together. It’s fate.”
And last, but certainly not least (AND…keeping with the circus theme) Marco! Despite Marco and Celia being APART more than TOGETHER (in the first half of this novel.) Marco still tops my list as one of the most romantic. Why? Because he uses his skill to wow Celia. He is supposed to be “competing” against her. Life and death type competing. Instead, he tries to impress her by creating her dreams. With magic. In the process he falls in love. I could keep talking, but I’d rather you just read it. Marco Quotes: “I have tried to let you go and I cannot. I cannot stop thinking of you. I cannot stop dreaming about you.” “I would have written you, myself, if I could put down in words everything I want to say to you. A sea of ink would not be enough.’ ‘But you built me dreams instead.” “Do you remember all of your audiences?” Marco asks. “Not all of them,” Celia says. “But I remember the people who look at me the way you do.” “What way might that be?” “As though they cannot decide if they are afraid of me or they want to kiss me.” ” I am not afraid of you,” Marco says.”
