Tears

Although I’ve seen the miniseries twice and knew exactly what was going to happen, I found myself weeping as I read North and South today. How can Margaret be so cold hearted to Mr. Thornton?

Please forgive me for digressing a bit from my usual topic (books) to mention a few other scenes that turn on my waterworks. I find that reading books and watching movies produces my best and most cathartic cries. What can make me cry? Just about anything. Here are my greatest cries ever:

• Jane Eyre: In both the book and Timothy Dalton movie version, it breaks my heart, and burns my eyes, when Jane leaves Mr. Rochester. I am particularly moved by Mr. Rochester’s pleading. He loves Jane and wants so much for her to stay, and so do I. Mr. Rochester weeps, and I find male tears absolutely contagious (even on paper). If I see a man crying, I immediately join him in sympathy.
• Sense and Sensibility: The moment Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson) discovers Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) isn’t married after all, she bursts into tears. Sitting in the movie theater, I cried along with her.
• The Fulfillment of Mary Gray: I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I watched this made-for TV movie and just sobbed. The story is absolutely scandalous. Mary lives on a farm with her husband. They want to have a child, but a childhood disease left Jonathan sterile. Instead, he suggests his brother impregnate his wife. Oh my! Why this clearly trashy movie made me weep is a mystery.
• The Professional: First, I have only seen this movie on television, so I was saved from some of the violence and language that may have detracted from a very sweet story about a young girl and a hitman. After finishing the film, I cried uncontrollably. Once again, I have to wonder about my emotional stability.
• Pocahontas: Almost everyone I know dislikes this Disney movie, but I am somehow heartbroken by the thwarted (and fictionalized) love of Pocahontas and John Smith.

This is perhaps my most embarrassing post ever. But I can now acknowledge a deep need for therapy—and some real-life romance.