What does “Happily Ever After” mean anyway?

I recently finished reading a World War II women’s fiction novel in which one of the main characters dies a sudden, violent death. (There are many, many spoilers ahead in this blog post, but I’ll spare you on this one. I’ll just reveal that it’s one of the books I recommended on my newly published Shepherd page.) I was shocked and distressed when I read that scene, and it took me a few days to get over it. Of course, I went on with life as usual, but I couldn’t shake the vague feeling of sadness that temporarily permeated my existence. Since this is a work of fiction, the author could have saved this character if she had wanted to. What is the point of putting one’s reader into a state of grief, even if only for a brief time?

I write Historical Romance and one of the unbreakable rules of romance writing is that the hero and heroine (or hero/hero, heroine/heroine in same-sex Romances) must get their “Happily Ever After,” abbreviated in the Romance writers’ community as HEA. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in English, and have studied theories on why novelists, poets and playwrights choose to write tragedy, sometimes compelling the reader or audience member to openly weep. Scholars look to Aristotle for the rationale of annihilating a character whom the spectators have come to respect and cherish. He wrote that catharsis for the audience is achieved through emotions such as pity and fear. In modern phraseology, having a “good cry” over the death of a beloved character in fiction or film ultimately makes us feel better. Or does it?

I was originally going to title this blog post “Why do love stories always have to be so sad?” inspired by watching (for the third time at least) all three seasons of the superb PBS series Victoria. Originally produced for British television, the somewhat historically accurate drama takes us from Queen Victoria’s accession in 1837 to Prince Albert’s triumphant Great Exhibition of 1851. The series is brilliantly written, acted, directed and filmed, with the sumptuous palaces, opulent jewels, lavish costumes, and splendid scenery of nineteenth century European aristocracy, along with all the Sturm und Drang* of the British royal family, of course.

There are many love stories, some happier than others, dramatized in Victoria. (This is where the spoilers come in, so if you plan on watching the series and prefer to be surprised, do not read any further!) Victoria’s heart may be slightly wounded on being rebuffed by Lord M, but she recovers completely after finding her Prince Charming, or rather, her Prince Albert. Victoria and Albert’s romance is legendary, and though they have their trials and dark moments, their ardor is as central to the series as it was historically renowned.

Other relationships in the series are less fruitful, and many will rend the TV viewer’s heart. Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland both survive, but their love affair is as poignant and star-crossed as it is historically inaccurate. Likewise, the forbidden affaire de coeur of palace footman Joseph Weld and Sophie, Duchess of Monmouth is destined for heartbreak. A more disastrous end comes to the liaison between Edward Drummond and Lord Alfred, and though Charles Francatelli and Nancy Skerritt eventually marry, their “happily ever after” ends all too soon, when a pregnant Nancy tragically succumbs to cholera.

Season 3 ends with a cliffhanger, as Albert collapses at Victoria’s feet, and she frantically tries to rouse him. In this I see a foreshadowing of Prince Albert’s untimely death at age 42. Though that fateful event occurs outside the scope of the TV series, most of us know it’s coming, to be followed by a long and bleak widowhood for Queen Victoria. (The show is currently on hiatus, and no plans for a season 4 have been announced.) 

Which brings us to the question – just how long is a “happily ever after” supposed to last? Victoria and Albert’s marriage lasted 21 years and produced nine children. Although Albert died young, even for that era, all of their offspring survived into adulthood, quite uncommon for the nineteenth century. To qualify as an HEA, is there a threshold of time that must be crossed, or is intensity of feeling the determining factor? No one is immortal and even the longest and happiest relationships end in death. “Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky,” as the song goes, so what does “ever after” mean, after all? Queen Victoria lived another 39 years after her beloved Albert’s death, and though she likely found love later in life with manservant John Brown, he too predeceased her, leaving her bereft once again.

Perhaps it is the hope of the next generation that ultimately sustains us. In the TV series, Princess Vicky’s unexpected recovery from a deadly illness is a joyous and welcome relief for the Victoria viewer. (In real life, the Princess Royal went on to marry and have several children of her own.) We are also heartened by the poignant reunion of Sara (aka Aina) with her foster parents, Captain and Mrs. Forbes. A life of extravagance at Buckingham Palace is nothing compared to the domestic harmony of a simple and loving home for the African orphan.

Like those of both fictional and historical persons, our lives are filled with love and loss, pleasure and sorrow. Whether wedded bliss lasts but a few months (like Charles and Nancy) or many years (like Victoria and Albert), or is sadly thwarted (like Ernest and Harriet), we humans must persevere, and determine for ourselves what happiness is really all about. Like many of us, I am still working that out.

 

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* Literally “storm and stress,” the term alludes to a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music. It is used figuratively to refer to turmoil, passion and unrest. I use it in reference to the stresses and distresses of the British royal family, as valid in Charles III’s time as in Victoria’s. Of course, the same idiom could be applied to almost any family, royal or otherwise.