By Max Franklin | Staff writer
Ah, love. A tale as old as time. The feeling that changes a bloody organ that pumps blood throughout our circular vascular system into a universal symbol of emotional attachment.
Stories of love have been told throughout the ages in both the ancient era and modern times. But which era of storytellers told these stories best? Was it the wordsmiths of the past, with their often bloody, tragic tales, or the new literary trailblazers whose charac- ters often take a bite out of each other?
Firstly, we have to define what constitutes an “old” story from a “new” story. The breakoff rate between ancient love stories and modern love stories would be from the 1700s to the 1800s, or the Age of Enlightenment. Not that there were a lot of love stories written during that time, mind you, but that’s the cutoff line that has been universally accepted by the smart people / the historians of our day and age.
Now, having established which stories are for what time, we must discuss just what each of the two stories has.
Ancient love stories were typically depressing affairs – even those that have a happy ending have sad elements in them. Many didn’t even bother to have any real happiness in them and straight up killed at least one of the lovers. A classic example is Romeo and Juliet where both of our teenage lovebirds kick the bucket for loving the other.
Interestingly, a lot of modern love stories end up with happy endings unlike those told before modern times. Maybe modern people are happier than their ancient counterparts and want to reflect that in their storytelling. Maybe people are just bummed out with being sad all the time. Either way, it’s hard to deny that most love stories now end similarly to The Notebook, where (spoiler alert) Allie chooses her first love, Noah, over her fiance before the two die together many years later. Still sad for sure, but ends much better than most tragedies.
So which is better? The tried-and- true stories from the past or the new, happier stories from the present?
The answer: Copout.
Each era has their advantages, but ultimately the only real factors are the stories themselves and those who experience them. Some find comfort from the ancient story behind the Taj Mahal, where the ruler Shah Jahan built the masterpiece after his love Mumtaz Mahal died. Others think that The Time Traveler’s Wife is extremely romantic and is the epitome of the patience of love. Some don’t even like love stories. It’s all up to you.