ELEMENTS OF A WINNING STORY: Does Someone Always Have to Die?
John Bowen, a professor of 19th-century literature, suggests that readers increasingly prefer “more optimistic and comic novels, with happy endings.”
Laura Miller adds:
These days, it’s the rare filmmaker who chooses to adapt a classic novel in the tragic vein — the current version of “Anna Karenina” is a notable exception. Whether it’s “Pride and Prejudice,” “Bleak House” or Gaskell’s cozy Cranford stories, the source material almost always ends in heartwarming reconciliation and at least one wedding.
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