Top 12 saddest moments in literature

Ah... books... what a wonderful world is that of books. Can you seriously name one better way to spend a lazy moment then warm and cozy with a mug of hot cocoa (or lazying in the shade with some ice tea near by) and with a nice book to entertain you?

You're reading this so I bet you can.

But ether way we must all agree that books are simply one of man's best inventions. Between a few written pages brand new worlds are just waiting to be discovered - some good, some bad, some simply horrifying. Ether way, a good book is a good book and fanfiction is there to prove it! Today we'll be talking about a few of the best of the best scenes in books, the scenes that move us beyond compare, the scenes which make us forget the story is all fantasy and all in all those scenes which made us bawl our eyes out.

I am of course, talking about my personal list for the top 12 saddest moments in literature.

#12. The death of Anna Karenina
(Anna Karenina - by Lev Tostoy)

Tostoy's most "cinematic" work of all time, or so it is said, the story of Anna Karenina is that of both unrequited and forbidden love, of lust, carnal pleasure, jealousy, mistrust, doubt and madness. Although Russian critics dismissed the novel on its publication as a "trifling romance of high life",Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be "flawless as a work of art"and William Faulkner described the novel as "the best ever written". I, for my part, prefer to call it a book worth reading and although it can get rather cold during some moments, I do believe that is the charm of the whole piece. A Russian novel is never complete without that feeling of the arctic wind constantly blowing somewhere close, and for that I applaud Tostoy (though I will admit I never really had the patience to read War and Peace yet).

Still, despite the more mature themes of the book, the scene of Anna's death was particularly memorable. As her confusion and vengeful anger overcomes her she commits suicide by throwing herself in the path of a train, leaving us wonder about the dark deep thenches of the human mind. We begin to wonder if such a strong and independent character like Anna had such and end, then what would we do if we were her? It made us feel sorry for Anna and made us wonder just what could have bee, as well as made us bawl our eyes out.

Tissues at the ready people! And don't use your sleaves! Your mother won't be happy with the mess you're leaving.

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

#11. The life of Black Beauty
(Black Beauty - Anna Sewell)

... Must I say more? This is the story of a horse... In the 1870's... England... from country planes to city then back again then back to town and just a never-ending twists of events leading to one of the most unstable lives I have ever read about. AND THE PROTAGONIST IS A HORSE!

Nuf' said...

# 10. The "rebirth" of Edmond Dantes
(The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas)

It saddens me to know that despite how many people know of this story there are quite few those who actually took the time to read it. Nothing beats reading the original in my opinion. The Count of Monte Cristo, though not exactly Dumas' most famous works (few things are better known in this world then The Three Musketeers) is in my opinion his absolute best. Dumas dives deep into the deepest corners of the human's mind, focusing most upon the themes of betrayal, envy, greed, hate and ultimately revenge by any cost, while at the same time showing how people will also struggle to still show compassion and a deep desire to forgive as well the ability to show remorse for acts which people know are just for their cause.

The fact that this books lies somewhere at the top of my most favourite books of all time is another matter entirely.

The story is of a simple sailor named Edmond Dantes, a responsible and honest young man which despite his less then glamorous lifetstyle is content with living a simple life caring for his old father and young fiancée, Mercedes. Still, complications which I will not speak of at this time, has pushed three individuals into trying with all their might to take him out of the picture, all for their own greedy and - if you really come to think about it - foolish reasons. Danglars, Dantes' junior officer is simply un-pleased with our main character's sense of righteousness but most of all acts out of jealousy to try and rid the company of Dantes; Fernand Mondego simply wishes for Mercedes (his cousin...) to be his wife and Gaspard Caderousse, originally a tailor, a neighbour and friend of Dantès, ends up helping the two plan out their malicious endeavours out of his own speck of jealous which was heavily fiulled by alcohol (yes, this man had absolutely no idea whatsoever what he was getting himself into). The plan ends up involving the promising young prosecutor, Monsieur de Villfort, who after promises Dantes his freedom, discovered that if he would do so, his father's career - and by extension his own - would end.

Further details will not be given at the time, but what I will say is that Dantes' imprison in the Chateu D'If struck me as one of the saddest moments I have ever read, just before everything spirals in one of the awesomest thing ever! Between his "sentence" and his complete transformations into the Count, Dantes went through such torment no human being should ever experience. He was not aware of the reason for his imprisognemnt, had no news of his loved one, was close to madness due to solitude, years later, after finally finding a companion in that God forsaken place and mentor, who helped him discover by logical deduction the reason why he was sent to the Chateau D'If (thus planting the seed of hate and desire to seek out revenge), said mentor died, leaving him utterly alone in the world once more. And to top it all, after he finally escapes from the place, he learns that all the people he knew and loved were ether dead (his father, who died in horrible conditions), have left (Mercedes married Montego), and Monsieur Morrel, Dantès's employer, owner of Morrel & Son and a fair man, was close to bankrupt while his enemies flourished in wealth. Everything he ever had, absolutely everything, was taken away from him, and we can but wonder just what could we have done, were we ever put in his place...

“I . . . have been taken by Satan into the highest mountain in the earth, and when there he . . . said he to me, ‘Child of earth, what wouldst thou have to make thee adore me?’ . . . I replied, ‘Listen . . . I wish to be Providence myself, for I feel that the most beautiful, noblest, most sublime thing in the world, is to recompense and punish.’”

#9. The "death" of Sherlock Holmes
(The Final Problem - Sir A. C. Doyle)

Now, this is a bit of a stretch because well... everybody now knows that he didn't actually die in The Final Problem, but at the time many devoted readers actually believed that and even Doyle himself wanted that to be the case. The greatest case of the great detective, facing Professor Moriarty - the one who it is said to rival Holmes' own intellect - was probably one of the best tales in the Sherlock Holmes cannon, and a more fitting end for a wonderful career would have been a literary stroke of genius. Still, killing off one of the most beloved literary characters in British history was madness! People were in mourning at the time and some sources say that Doyle was receiving condolence letters, hate mail and even death threads at the time (I am unsure concerning the third one's authenticity).

But one way or another, if the spoilers wouldn't have contaminated its purity, one must admit that if one was to read The Final Problem without any clue as to the existence of anything after it, one would undoubtedly shed a tear, for as socially awkward, aloof and even rude as the great detective could be, he - as a character - had this charm which made people love him despite everything that he was, because while he was not exactly a man you'd necessarily like as a neighbor (I do enjoy the idea that my walls would still lack their bullet holes when I come home, thank you very much) Sherlock Holmes is a fun character to read about and (if I may say so myself) incredibly adorable - also, we mustn't forget how absolutely brilliant he can be when showing off his deduction abilities. So seeing him gone is just... just... just... *sniff*

Please excuse me...

Still, what really struck us heard during The Final Problem was more Watson's grief rather then Holmes' death. The knowledge that his dearest friend was there one moment, then gone the next - I can't even begin to fandom just how painful that could be. What the good doctor felt upon learning of his best friend's demise was what we felt, and we felt it deeply. Our hearts flew to Watson, our eyes cried for him, and they cried for Holmes, for we loved the aloof detective, and we loved Watson, and the pain we all felt for both of them was twice as hard on us, and all in all I guess it is sure to say that The Final Problem was indeed one of the saddest moments of literature in history...

"[...] if I have now been compelled to make a clear statement of his career it is due to those injudicious champions who have endeavored to clear his memory by attacks upon him whom I shall ever regard as the best and the wisest man whom I have ever known."

#8. The grieving of Sarah Crew
(A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett)

How is it that children stories, especially those of THAT part of history, seem to be more depressing then the actual grown-up books? It is a mystery, one which I don't think should ever be solved. For one thing is certain, this particular book has something there... something which hits you right here *points at chest*

The story is of a young girl names Sarah Crew raised in India by her loving father and surrounded by dear friends. Although a bit wild, Sarah's description is that of a very interesting character - wiser beyond her years and open to see what other do not. For most, she is described as living in a far-away world, but if you are to ask me, she is one of those characters which actually know of the world they live in, the real world. Sarah is a complex character in her own right and this list will never do her enough justice, which is why I won't try to say more then what has already been said about her. The reason why I am even saying anything is because it is crucial for the reader to understand.

You see, reader, after her father was called to fight for flag and country, he sent Sarah to Britain, to learn at the school her mother had learned in when she was Sarah's age. Things aren't exactly what Sarah has been used to... but for better or for worse she practically charms the entire school with her superb wit and vivid imagination. She is both bright and innovative yet remains innocent in her thoughts, reason why - and no surprise there - everyone ends up loving her... until one day, it has been announced that her father went missing in battle, presumably dead.

All of the Crew families estates and goods have been confiscated by the government and Sarah has been left peniless (... doesn't this sound odd?) and is being kept at the school to work as a servant girl "out of charity".

The next scenes of the book I find particularly beautiful in a very heart-aching way - the loss Sarah is feeling, the slow realization that her father could no longer be with her, that he was gone, never to come again. Drawing a circle around herself, Sarah still holds on to the last remaining links she has with her father, all of which lie in stories and symbols learned back in India and just the little things which to another are mere fantasies. For Sarah, these stories have become her escape, her connection to that which she had lost, and all in all, all she has left. She knows she will have to let them go, that she isn't a princess anymore and that her childhood has now ended, but for that one moment, when she calls for her father in her circle of protection, she is just the child who has lost her father, and who will now be forced to face the world alone.

"Sara...looked long and hard at his face.
'Are you learning me by heart, little Sara?' he said...
'No,' she answered. 'I know you by heart. You are inside my heart.”

#9. Erik's love for Christine
(The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux)

Oh, God! How will my heart manage to pass this one? Either way, cardiac problems aside, I have no idea how to begin this. Everybody must have heard about the Phantom of the Opera by now: a mysterious disfigured masked man and musical genius living in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House which falls in love with a certain courus girl (Christine Daaé) whom he first just wanted to help improve her voice because in his opinion that voice could be the best one in Paris. Of course, love turns to obsession and everything simply spirals out of control but I offered you enough spoilers. What is relevant to this listing is that Erik (that being the Phantom for those who are knew to the story) really did love Christine in his own twisted way, but past scars he received at the hands of society, both physical and mental, prevented him from proving his love for her, showing that he cared and all in all made Christine fear him even more. Erik was too damaged to ever understand what loving someone meant. For a man that was never loved once in his lifetime, it was impossible for him to understand, and as a person constantly exposed to hardships and anger, he never knew that he was driving Christine further and further away from him with every breakdown.

In short, Erik was much to damaged to ever love someone normally, but in his own way, he loved Christine. He loved Christine even if she didn't love him, and she loved her so much that in the end he sacrificed his one and only chance to ever find something remotely akin to a "wife to take Sundays on a walk" and all in all one small link to a life even remotely normal, for her to be happy. It's this sacrifice and pain Erik is showed to suffer at the very end that we end up feeling sympathy for him, for at the one moment he was given a chance at life, he renounced it because he just couldn't just watch all life being drained from that one child. A killer such as Erik not being able to do this one selfish task which would have brought him the ultimate happiness struck a core within us, and we can't but wonder if we could have been so strong and so loving, giving away our chance of sanity and having our hearts crushed so that the ones we love are happy... Dear readers, I do not know if I have such a heart...

"[...]....While I was at her feet...I heard her say, `Poor, unhappy Erik!' ... And she took my hand!...I had become no more, you know, than a poor dog ready to die for her....[...]"



#6. Jane leaving Thorfield Hall
(Jane Eyre - Emily Bronte)

Where do I even begin with Jane Eyre? The whole book is just so dark and twisted and delightfully beautiful that somehow I don't think I can ever say just WHAT is it that makes it such a good book to read. Of course, it has its moments and the characters suddenly jump out and shock you to the core, but despite all that, it is a story of never losing hope, of fighting depite the world and for finding your own place in the world, and for what it is, Jane Eyre is a book worthy of its place in the 1001 books to read in a lifetime.

The story is of young Jane Eyre, abused by her aunt Reed and her children from an early age, said to be a liar and shunned because of it, while in fact being as ordinary as you or me... yes, well... maybe I should just let myself out of the equation entiearly. Ahem. Still, even in the darkest of places, Jane managed to find a friend... which later died... managed to find a proper place to work at... only to fall in love with her employer who clearly was out of her league and... but she ends up falling for him ether way and o does he fall for her and soon they are on their way to marriage... only problem is that he is already kind of married, although nor Jane or many other for that part knew of that fact... because the person he was married with was absolutely bonkers and... Jane ended up learning all that right on the day when she was supposed to be married - WITH the man. Life simply could never be easy for this girl, now could it?

But out of the entire book, the most depressing moment just had to be Jane's departure from Thornfield Hall. Leaving the place she ended up calling home, leaving the one place where she could feel like she was accepted, where she had a family, as odd and as dysfunctional as it were, leaving that safe heaven where she could at long last leave the mask and just be Jane, open up and dare to be vulnerable, was simply too much. She didn't have to do it, but she knew she must do it. It was both a selfish act and an act o kindness on her part, but it hurt too much. She almost died because of the grief, because of the betrayal, and all in all, I WANT TO HUG THAT WOMAN!


#5. The love of Romeo and Juliette
(Romeo and Juliette - William Shakespeare)

We all knew this one was coming sooner or later, didn't we? The most tragic love story of all time? Just how can you go wrong with it? Still, I am putting it rather low on the list, for purely selfish reasons, I must say.

Now, while a classic among classics, and one which calls for no further introductions, Romeo and Juliette is the ultimate love story and tear-inducing tragedy, but at the same time I found that while reading it... I was forced to admit that it was beautiful, lyrical and at another whole level of literal awesomeness. But... I don't know. As Brilliant as Shakespeare is, his works are better seen on stage where the actors can show expression and actually give life to the show. Shakespeare, in my opinion, needs not to be read, but to be seen. Lines on paper cannot give you that, but imagination gets you far, and it's not so much as what you read, but what you can do with what you read. Shakespeare give you room to think up your own scene, imagine the characters in their element, but at times such a feat can be hard. I have a certain idea impaled in my head that some moments need to silent, moments when words are not worthy of the moment. Unfortunately, in a play these things are rare and precious things. The lines in the book are beautiful but sometimes there just needs to be that magic moment of silence hovering over everything, of emotion and of feeling the love. From nothing but dialog that feeling of passionate desire one character feels for another doesn't seem to reach us the way it should.

Two souls that love each other more than life itself, two hearts kept apart by their families' rivalry, union found only in death, and all in all the saddest love story of all time... so should be seen on stage...

"For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

#4. Nell's death
(The Old Curiosity Shop - Charles Dickens)

Dedicated readers of classical literature must have seen Dickens coming a mile away. I mean, half the list should have consisted of his works alone. The man's entire work was for us poor souls to cry over. But alas, for this list good readers, you will only have this one scene, one which probably is - in my humble opinion - the saddest moment in all of his written works.

Some people might ask me: "why Nell's death? It wasn't all that traumatizing." Others might ask: "if you are to pick one thing from Dickens, why not something from Oliver Twist? That one is known for being a cry-inducer as well."

Yes, you are probably right. The Old Curiosity Shop, while still under the pen-name of Dickens and by extension something absolutely awesome, does not hold the popularity of Oliver Twist or some other great works of the master, but out of all I ever read from the man, this one seems to strike a cord unlike anything else the man has ever written.

While Oliver Twist indeed speaks of hard times (no pun intended) the story, while tragic, is not necessarily a sad one if you get what I mean. Oliver, while growing up in a heard environment where it was either fight for survival or die, was sweapt by the curent allthrough the story. He never had the freedom of choice, he was never an adult and till the end adults made the choices for him. For best or worse, the story of Oliver Twist is more the story of the adults of Oliver's life and tell us hw different people can create the personalities of many other different people. We see that clearly as Oliver is constantly switching his ways to fit the ones of the adult whom is currently in charge of him, just like all children would do. In other words, be a good man and your child will be good like you. And even if some terrible things were happening to the grown-ups and some really beloved characters have met their end, one way or another you expected them to end that way judging by their lifestyle and contacts. It was only a matter of time and as harsh as it may sound, you end up anticipating the ending from the moment the story began. Nothing really surprises you in the end and while after reading you will feel a certain pain in your heart, it is because you are aware of human nature and how easy it can be to find yourself in any of those character's shoes.

With Nell on the other hand, we are no longer talking by a mere child swept by the current, but about a child who - as all children - has few choices to make, yet still forces herself to grow up into a young lady whom her grandparent can seek stability in. She is the guideline, she is the tread that keeps the story together and the one who makes due with everything while at the same time striking me as a child who can be a very good judge of character, yet at the same time will always see the best in people and of the situation she's been thrown in.

Whle still a story of gownups and how their choices influence the lives of children, how these choices shape the young ones and how helpless they seem in front of these things, Nell remained most faithful to only one adult whom she loved with all her heart, and kept on her ways no matter whom she met and what she was doing at the time. No matter where you saw her or with whom, she was always Nell. As stated somewhere above, she was the guideline, the one stabile thing which kept everyone going and the one character who was content with what was right under her feet.

The scene where she names a cemetery "their garden" is one moment where, quite inexplicably, I had to stop reading. Seeing life in such a dead place... Nell was an extraordinary character. That was why her death struck so heard... the knowladge that such a pure, strong girl was taken from this world, and simply... simply... the thought that Nell was dead...

I LOVED THAT LITTLE GIRL SO MUCH! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DIE?! WHY, DIKENS, WHY?!?

"From the death of each day's hope another hope sprung up to live to-morrow."

#3. The Secret Garden
(by Frances Hodgson Burnett)

Yes, Frances Hodgson Burnett again... and I find myself confused with my own choice. For those who do not know, The Secret Garden is not that of murder, treason, obsession love, mistreatment or whatnot. Unlike with most of the stories on this list, this story is actually one of the happiest ones, which just gets better and better with every world you read. It is a book on healing and how a purpose, even a small one at that, which you give yourself in life can save you from the darkness.

The story begin with Mary Lenox, age ten, whose parents - too caught up in their daily life to even notice they ever had a daughter - suddenly die without Mary even noticing. The house just kept getting emptier and emptier, until one day she was the only one left. Afterwards, she was shipped off to England to her uncle Craven whom apparently doesn't care much about her. At first, Mary is her usual self, sour, disliking the large house, the people within it, and most of all the vast stretch of moor, which seems scrubby and gray after the winter. She is told that she must stay to her two rooms and that nobody will bother much with her and she must amuse herself, which ultimately lead to the finding of the secret garden and her cousin Colin, who everyone believed to be close to dying and too weak to walk. Mary quickly convinces him otherwise and visits almost every day that week, distracting him from his troubles with stories of the moor, of Dickon (a boy who practically lives on the moor) and his animals and of the garden, though she doesn't admit that she's found it yet. When he throws a tantrum after she refuses to be ordered by him, she throws his attitude back and surprises him out of his fit. They reconcile and it is decided what he needs is fresh air and the secret garden, which Mary finally admits she has access to. Colin is put into his wheelchair and brought outside into the garden, the first time he's been outdoors in years.

From that point on, everything seems to focus on healing, and for some reason, at the ending, I cried like a baby... IN THE MIDDLE OF A LECTURE!

Thank the Lord it was one of the most boring lectures of the year and everyone was either sleeping or further preoccupied with doing something else or else my goose was cooked. Cry over The Secret Garden, a book for kids where the ending is no doubt a tragedy and everything in the book is just like watching spring bloom to life after a cold, dark winter. IT'S MADDENING!

This book is supposed to be happy, yet it made me cry so hard... I cannot understand it. Maybe it was that after finishing it I became aware of just how damadged everyone was and how working together on bringing life to a forgotten garden ultimately gave life to the people in it. :ife bloomed in these children and almost everyone around them. Past fears have wiltered away and in the end everyone was as fine as anyone else can possibly hope to be. I'm not sure if it's place should really be on this list, but seeing thse children grow and then having to know that at the end of the book you will just have to let it all go, know that it all ended, hurt so much.

The Secter Garden reaches another kind of sadness. It is not a tragedy but a simple children's book which speaks of healing, and for someone like me, reading about how children learn how to become children when they were never children to begin with warms my heart and at the same time breaks it. I never want to let go of this book because frankly I fear that if I do something would happen to these children, and no, I feel like I need to protect them, I feel happy for them and am worried for them and wish to see them grow - and for that, this story what I call perfect.

It's really hard to explain, reason why I will just say read the book. It's worth the read and if by the end you won't shed at least one tear drop, you ain't human.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”


#2. Les Miserables
(by Victor Hugo)

Just... just Les Miserables! There is nothing in this book that won't reduce you to tears. The whole thing, in its great immensity, is nothing more but the biggest test a human heart can take before ultimately shattering into a million different pieces.

All its characters are so beautifully damaged, like precious gems which shattered over time. Everything and everyone in this book gives someone a valid reason to cry. If not for the priest, then for Fantine, if not for Cosette, then for Eponie, and if not for Jean Valjean, then for Javert. EVERYTHING in this book kills you a little inside while at the same time holding such beauty in its misery that you can't help but cry all over again once it all ended... BECASE IT ENDED!

Les Miserables folks - read it, and read it in the most latinazied and close to French language you can understand, because then your tears will probably double their size...

"Without any doubt, in the gloom, some mighty angel was standing, with outstretched wings, waiting for the soul."

#1. Every single bloody Harry Potter book written by J.K. Rowling

YES! It counts! It counts! Oh, it so counts! And before anyone will say "SACRILEGIOUS!" or "How can this thing top Phantom of the Opera or even Les Miserables?!" I will say that... because nobody saw it coming.

These books are suppose to be the ultimate fairytale, with dungeons and dragons and princes (yes, it counts!) and magic and kids and school and elves and it has comedy scenes, complex characters, awesome characters, believable characters and... it was so depressing. Theoretically, this is a series of stories for kids, but then why do we seem to always have death and abuse and betrayal and murder and intrigued plots and felony and death again and... I need to see a psychotherapist.

But seriously, the books are filled with all these little details which always seem to escape most people's notices. Unlike most fairytales, this story treats problems in a very serious fashion while still keeping its links to childhood issues, but the characters themselves are forced to grow up in such an alarming rate, by no fault of their own, that the fantasy shatters before it even has a chance to begin.

Once you look past the fantasy and the magic, the actual story of Harry Potter is more complex then most children stories I have EVER had the chance to read. It shows us that the hero is not always glorious, that the road to victory is paved by sacrifices and that, in the end, everything you have worked so hard to change somehow always remains the same. The books treat the reader as a responsible human who is on the right path to understanding life. Slowly, the illusion of fairytales is has made way for reality and the burdens which they bring. It shows war is no child's place and there is no gain without first paying a price for it.

The series also familiarize us with death better than most adult books as well probably because while unlike any other book, when you first pick up one of the books, you don't expect such a thing to happen. And in the end, it shows just how easy it is to kill and how hard it is to live. The whole conflict with death has ultimately reached such a level that you have virtually no idea who to pitty more and for who you should cry the hardest.

It's almost too much to think about, but what I think that set these books as #1 in my list, is becase unlike most of the books on this list this series has characters which you can difine yourself as. It covers most human personalities and presents us with mundane probelms which hold a deep bond with our everyday activities. While keeping magic, the Harry Potter books have given us an insight on war, death and most importantly life and how important it is to fight for it.

Also... CHARACTERS YOU LOVE DIE!!!

"Do not pity the dead, Harry, pity the living. Above all, pity those who live without love. By returning you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed and fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say goodbye for the present."

God may help me but this is my top 12 list of some of the saddest moments in classic literature. Of course, there are probably many more great books out there which require attention, but for a personal list, this gets as good as it can. I hope you enjoyed and well... tissues at the ready!