What
Kirk said. Sometimes the romance comes from the tragedy of the characters and their story. You feel their emotions more. Which ties into this next:
Quote from: nakymaton on June 05, 2006, 02:19:00 pm
(I also think that the tragedy - the restrained, understated tragedy - is part of why I respond so strongly to the story. I'm kind of worried about what that says about me, actually. I say that I want a happy ending... but, you know, I'm perfectly aware that a lot of fan fiction writers have given them happy endings. But I haven't read any of the stories, because I think, at some level, that I don't like happy endings, or don't believe that they really happen. Even though I don't have a particularly unhappy or tragic life myself to make me feel that way. And it feels... well, wrong, a bit, to appreciate suffering more than happiness. I'm still trying to work through whether I'm a Bad Person for enjoying the sadness.)
Don’t feel bad. We all respond more strongly to tragedy than happy endings. Most of the great literatures are tragedies. Love and lost is the forever topic that most people can relate to. It’s not that we appreciate suffering more than happiness; it’s through the suffering that we understand Ennis and Jack, and hence the empathy. The story will not have the same impact had it been a happy ending. We all learn to care for these characters deeply as our heart aches with their 20 years journey, and then you start to think about the what ifs and wish them a happy ending.
