Faulks on Lovers

I'm enjoying listening to Simon Faulks on a Saturday night ~ Faulks on Fiction on BBC2. Last week he talked about Heroes, last night it was about Lovers. Of course, dear old Darcy came into the line-up, but with an added twist ~ Faulks thinks he may have been depressed. Therefore, it follows that Lizzie's attraction was vitality, and she made him a better man, illustrating love as a force for good. Heathcliff on the other hand, is a man deranged by love, and love is shown as a negative, destructive force.

Jane Austen saw marriage as a place where love could be sustained, but Doris Lessing saw marriage as a place where love died. Lady C, he thinks, is the first novel to bring love and sex together. All in all, a fascinating resume of lovers in literature. If you missed it, catch it on iplayer.

The only caveat I have is that I found the way Faulks stalks the countryside, acting as voyeur to these lovers, a little odd. I could have enjoyed the film clips better, I think, without watching Faulks watch them.