North and South Archives : All About Romance

The Wayback on Wednesday: At the Back Fence Issue #321

published on October 21, 2008

North and South

When it comes to romances on television or in the movies, I prefer mine set in the past. I believe that Darcy and Elizabeth will stay together happily and when Jane Eyre tells us that she and her Edward Rochester are very happy in their marriage, I feel she’s telling the truth. When it comes to most modern lovers in the movies or television, just color me cynical, but I don’t see too many modern couples staying together in good times and in bad. I figure ten years from now, Big will find a younger, less spendthrift Carrie, and he’ll toss her and her shoe collection out. […]

The Wrong Man

The first time I fell in love with the wrong man, I was a teenager, and the man was Victor Laszlo.

Now, Laszlo is only “the wrong man” by weird convoluted cinema logic. He’s been thwarting the Nazis across Europe for years; he’s articulate, bold, dedicated, noble, loyal, and let’s face it, a heck of a lot better looking than Humphrey Bogart. That’s a good man by any standards. He’s only “wrong” in the sense that he’s not the perfect match for Ilsa. Which is fine. Stay with Rick, Ilsa. I’d be more than happy to help your husband rebound.

I thought of Laszlo when I was rewatching North and South and found myself once again in love with the wrong man. Richard Armitage as John Thornton is universally acknowledged as a heartthrob, and I do understand […]