Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and as romance in the air, so I’ve put together a few of my favourite declarations of love. Some are short and succinct; others are so earnest and heartfelt that you can almost hear the pings from Cupid’s arrows.
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PERSUASION by JANE AUSTEN Frederick Wentworth declares his love to Anne Elliot
“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.”
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN by ANNIE PROULX Jack Twist declaring his love to Ennis Del Mar
“I wish I knew how to quit you.”
ANNE OF THE ISLAND (GREEN GABLES) by LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY Gilbert declaring his love for Anne.
"I have a dream," he said slowly. "I persist in dreaming it, although it has often seemed to me that it could never come true. I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and dog, the footsteps of friends – and you.”
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE
Sam Baldwin talking about Annie Reed.
“It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together … and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home, only to no home I’d ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like magic.”
JANE EYRE by CHARLOTTE BRONTE
Jane declaring her love for Mr Rochester
“All my heart is yours, sir. It belongs to you and with you it would remain if fate were to exile the rest of me from your presence forever.”
ATONEMENT by IAN MCEWAN Robbie Turner declaring his love for Briony Tallis.
“I’ve never had a moment’s doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.”
DIRTY DANCING by ELEANOR BERGSTEIN
Johnny Castle declaring his love for Frances “Baby” Houseman
“I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.”
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD by THOMAS HARDY
Gabriel Oak declaring his love for Bathsheba Everdene
“I shall do one thing in this life-one thing certain-this is, love you, and long of you, and keep wanting you till I die.”
THE NOTEBOOK by NICHOLAS SPARKS Noah Jr. declaring his love to Allie Hamilton
“I am nothing special; just 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 in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”
Here is a little indulgence from me. (I may have taken advantage of this being my blog, and added an excerpt from my debut novel, Arlette’s Story!)
ARLETTE’S STORY by ANGELA BARTON Saul Epstein declaring his love for Arlette Blaise
He reached for her hands and held them to his chest. ‘It was the most wonderful evening of my life and if I die tonight, I die a happy man.’
‘Please, don’t say— ’
‘No, please listen. That evening by the river when we lay beneath the trees has moulded my heart to yours as if sculptured by Auguste Rodin. It is not that which I believe to be stupid. It was my passion that obscured this possible outcome. I should have thought. I should have stopped. But this,’ he said, laying his palm against her stomach, ‘this is wonderful but also terrifying. How can we have brought a baby into this war? How can I protect my child?’
Her guilt weighed heavy. Hadn’t she tingled with anticipation when she’d walked through the woodland that evening? Hadn’t she hoped that they’d be in each other’s arms before the night was over?
‘Remember I played a part in making this baby. You mustn’t blame yourself. Besides, the war might not last much longer. No one knows.’
‘You’re right,’ said Saul. ‘And one thing I shall eternally thank the Germans for, is showing me the way to you.’
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What small flower do lovers pull white petals from and say, “He loves me. He loves me not?”
GOOD LUCK x