Romance from a male perspective

What I am reading: HOME: Alison Parr

What I am listening to: Wild Ride, Jennifer Crusie

What I am watching: The Wire

What is making me smile: My niece's engagement.

I thoroughly enjoyed Marion Lennox’s article in the current Hearts Talk “From a Male Perspective” in which Elliot Hannay convincingly explained why he thinks Last of the Mohicans is “one of literature’s great romances.” It was insightful and entertaining. I particularly liked the bloke’s take on the romantic high point when Elliot describes how, with both of them facing almost certain death in the morning, Hawkeye puts the ‘hard word on Cora.” Refreshingly to the point, with no romantic languishing of hot, seducing eyes or brooding presence or other such nonsense.

Of course, I then had to ask my own husband what he'd class as the greatest romance and with it, the romantic high point. G. looked hunted – this is a man who reads only science fiction and philosophy. Writers like William Gibson might be brilliant, but they are not great on love stories. After a few minutes of silence as he racked his brains, I tried to find a common language in film. “Hans Solo and Princess Leia?” I suggested. No! Farscape and Firefly didn’t cut it either. Ideally, he felt, love should have the elements of tragedy within it to prove how strong it is. Last of the Mohicans certainly had that.

This reminded me of the scene in Cross Stitch where Claire is captured by Jamie’s arch enemy, Randall, who wants nothing more than to imprison and torture Jamie again, before executing him. Jamie breaks into this enemy stronghold to rescue Claire armed only with an unloaded pistol and a great line in bluff. She hasn’t even been a good wife to him up to now, is only in this predicament because she ran away from him. Yet still he risks it all…. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, G. hasn’t read the book so couldn’t comment.

We went to the DVD shelves. English Patient? Strike. Casablanca? Strike. Finally he settled, somewhat grudgingly, on Pretty Woman because Richard Gere goes against everything he personifies to pursue his love for Julia. The high point is his arrival in the Cadillac with the flowers. “Because of the car?” (G.’s also an avid car lover). G looked appalled. “No, the car is awful but he’s doing it all for her. The car, the flowers, climbing the ladder, it’s all for her. He’s putting himself aside entirely and knows he’s always going to be stigmatised for choosing her but he goes ahead anyway. His love is truly pure.”

So here’s the question to ask the men in your life. Which is the greatest romance and what is the romantic high point? Or share your own views on the subject. For the moment, I’m going with Jamie’s rescue, though I admit, I’m also off to the library to get hold of Last of the Mohicans again and am quite prepared to change my mind.