"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages," said philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The texts in this collection depict happy and unhappy marriages—and those that fall somewhere in between.
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Jewish Literature
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Community, Self Discovery
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Gothic Literature, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Holidays & Occasions, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1695
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality
Tags Play: Comedy / Satire, Love / Sexuality, Restoration, British Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction
William Congreve (1670-1729) briefly studied law before pursuing a career as a playwright. Love for Love, one of his comedies, was first produced in 1695, and was followed by a string of other works including The Way of the World (1700) until Congreve retired from writing for the stage in 1701. He spent the rest of his life occupying minor government posts and pursuing failed business ventures. He died in 1729 at the age of... Read Love for Love Summary
Publication year 1943
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Identity: Femininity, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Chinese Literature, Historical Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Asian Literature, History: World, Romance, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1719
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Romance, Love / Sexuality, British Literature, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Aging, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Post Modernism, Latin American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
Love in the Time of Cholera is a classic work of literary fiction by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. It was published in Spanish in 1985 and translated into English in 1988 by Edith Grossman. The novel was adapted into a film in 2007, which was nominated for several awards including an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Plot SummaryLove in the Time of Cholera is set in... Read Love in the Time of Cholera Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Publication year 1598
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, British Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Romance, Humor
Love’s Labour’s Lost is an early Shakespearean comedy, produced in the burgeoning theatrical culture of Elizabethan London. It tells the story of four Lords, led by the King of Navarre, who swear to dedicate three years to study and avoid women. However, they immediately fall in love with four ladies, led by the Princess of France. The play follows their attempts to woo the ladies, while a host of comedic characters in the subplot squabble... Read Love's Labour's Lost Summary
Publication year 1989
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love
Tags Romance, African American Literature
“Love Song for Alex, 1979” is a lyric sonnet that Margaret Walker wrote for her husband. The poem is frequently labeled a sonnet because of its 14 lines, though it doesn’t follow the strict rhyme scheme of a traditional sonnet. In the style of lyric poetry, the poem expresses Walker’s warm feelings for her husband. Though it doesn’t reveal a narrative, we can glean some details about the couple’s relationship from the poem.Poet BiographyMargaret Walker... Read Love Song for Alex, 1979 Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Art, Self Discovery, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Identity: Femininity, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags History: World, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Arts / Culture
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Luckiest Girl Alive, the 2015 debut novel of Cosmopolitan writer/editor Jessica Knoll, is a psychological thriller that investigates the long-term impact of emotional trauma. The book, which addresses women’s sexual rights, the pressures of adolescent bullying, and the dark psychology of school shootings, became an immediate New York Times best seller and was optioned as a film project for Netflix with Knoll serving as screenwriter. This study guide uses the 2015 Simon & Schuster paperback... Read Luckiest Girl Alive Summary
Publication year 1856
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy
Tags Classic Fiction, French Literature, Realism
Madame Bovary is a foundational realist novel. Authored by the esteemed French writer Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880), Madame Bovary was first released through serialization in 1856, and then formally published as Flaubert’s debut novel in 1857. Madame Bovary is one of the earliest examples of realism in literature and is credited with helping to develop the importance of psychological realism in literature. It is a love story, a vociferous critique of the ways in which society... Read Madame Bovary Summary
Publication year 1903
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage
Tags Satire, Irish Literature
In an epistolary preface to Man and Superman (1903), Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw writes a letter to Arthur Bingham Walkley, his friend and a theatre critic for The Times, who had inspired the play by asking Shaw why he had never written a play based on Don Juan, the legendary fictional Spanish lothario. This presented a particular challenge for Shaw, who had been writing works that challenged the popular romanticism that dominated theatre at... Read Man And Superman Summary
Publication year 1921
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Values/Ideas: Art
Tags Romance, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1952
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 2023
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Race, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags History: U.S., Race / Racism
Publication year 1953
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage
Tags Black Arts Movement, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Education, Education, American Literature, Classic Fiction
Maud Martha (1953) is a fictional narrative by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. The book is written in an experimental style combining poetic language and a nonlinear narrative. Each chapter is a vignette, a quick glimpse into an everyday scene in the life of the title character. Brooks’s only novel, Maud Martha was praised for its depiction of ordinary people and everyday life in Chicago. This guide is based upon the 1993 Third World Press... Read Maud Martha Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Romance, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Joy, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Mythology, Play: Tragedy, Classic Fiction, Ancient Greece, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy
Medea is a tragic play written by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It was composed in 431 BCE as Euripides’s entry for the Dionysia, an important religious festival and theatrical competition in the city of Athens. Though Medea placed third in the competition that year, it has since become one of Euripides’s most popular works, enjoying special attention for its nuanced treatment of revenge and domestic strife and for the complexity of its lead character... Read Medea Summary