The best fantasy novels always have a little romance

While good writing is always an imperative element of the best fantasy novels and movies of all time, another component that also plays a consistent role is romance. A genre in and of itself, romance is what tends to drive protagonists to their goal or acts as a subplot to make our characters more human and relatable. After all, doesn’t everyone want to find the love of their life and live happily ever after, even readers of dystopian novels?

Whether we’re talking about end of the world books or family movies, romance is a recurring theme. Princes are always traveling to the ends of earth to save their Cinderellas and Snow Whites from demise and destitution. Since this week is the 70th anniversary of the classic film, Casablanca, we thought we’d look at this iconic black and white film as an ideal example to appreciate these recurring elements.

In what was one of the most quoted films of the 20th century, a nightclub owner hosts a slew of international guests in Casablanca, a way station for those trying to leave war-torn Europe— and what would have been the perfect setting for today’s uber popular dystopian literature. Characters Ilsa and Rick are reunited by chance after falling in love with each other in Paris; yet the story is not a happily ever after on. Their love is not meant to be, forbidden by the existence of Ilsa’s husband, who they did not know was alive when they were together in Paris. This is a classic portrayal of the first integral component of a romance novel: forbidden love.
The second recurring element is also prevalent in dystopian literature: the setting where the lovers live is one filled with crises. Larger global forces can therefore test the will and conviction of our characters and block them from their pursuit of love. In Casablanca, not only is it the existence of Ilsa’s husband, Laszlo, but the impending doom of the nearby battles and obstacles standing in the way of their escape.

Often times, end of the world books and movies force the main characters to make a choice between their love and a higher cause. In the case of Casablanca, Rick has the Letters of Transit that Ilsa needs them to give her husband freedom so that he can continue his work for the Resistance, which is the aforementioned higher cause.

This paves the way for the final romantic component that is present in all the best fantasy novels and films of all time—the sacrifice of the love in exchange for the pursuit of the higher cause. Despite the passionate revealing of the love between himself and Ilsa, Rick chooses the higher road, giving them the Letters of Transit they need to escape. Even more importantly, at first, Rick leads Ilsa to believe she can stay behind with him when Laszlo leaves. Even when Laszlo reveals he is aware of Rick's love for Ilsa and tries to persuade him to use the letters to take her to safety, and is then almost arrested on a trumped-up charge, Rick convinces his police friend to release Laszlo and arrest him up for a much more serious crime: possession of the letters of transit. When Renault attempts to arrest Laszlo as planned, Rick forces him at gunpoint to let them escape. Rick thus makes Ilsa board the plane to with her husband, staying behind to help further the higher cause—romance at its best!