First Dates in the World of Books

On Valentine’s Day, couples on dates flock in their hundreds to the restaurants of Leamington. Whether we like it or not, romance season is upon us. Restaurants are clogged with tables for two. However, it also means the Valentine’s Day Special of First Dates graces our TV screens. Imagine it was our favourite literary characters on our screens…

Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan’s date (The Great Gatsby)

He talks a lot about the parties he hosts at his house every single weekend…

A waiter walks past with two glasses of champagne and Jay reaches to take one off the tray. He doesn’t realise they are for another table because he hires people to walk around with trays of champagne at his lavish parties all the time. Daisy twirls her hair around her index finger and looks at her growing nails on the other hand. She sneezes again, inhaling too much of Jay’s overbearing perfume. He talks a lot about the parties he hosts at his house every single weekend and asks Daisy what she’s been doing over the last few years. Devastated to hear about her marriage, he gulps the champagne and grabs another glass from a second waiter.

Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) and Hermione Granger’s date (Harry Potter)

An unlikely pairing sits not too far away from Jay and Daisy in the form of Heathcliff and Hermione. Heathcliff does not know why he is there; Catherine has just married Edgar Linton, and his heart is broken. But, he has a plan. Hermione asks him all sorts of things – what he thinks about the University and Colleges Union strike, and other grand political ideas he knows nothing about. She even tries to lighten the mood with a question on how he feels now Jin’s has announced it won’t be closing. The response to every question is a grunt. He is too wrapped up in his emotions regarding Catherine Earnshaw’s marriage to Edgar Linton – how is he supposed to have room to care about a café closing?

Heathcliff shows a particular interest in her magical ability and how he can use it to execute his revenge plan

‘Tell me about your school,’ he requests, tearing the conversation away from himself and directing it in the way of his revenge plans. Hermione instantly begins talking about Hogwarts and her adventures with Harry and Ron. Heathcliff shows a particular interest in her magical ability, and how he can use it to execute his revenge plan. Level-headed as ever, Hermione refuses and uses her time-turner necklace to disappear from the sea of dates in the restaurant.

Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire’s date (The Time Traveler’s Wife)

Clare enters the restaurant late and scans the room for the last remaining empty seat. She spots a single man alone at a table. Something about him is very familiar to her, although the long-hair is quite unlike anything she has seen before. As she takes her chair opposite him, she realises exactly who he is. Not knowing how to react, she gawks at the man she’d met when he was twenty years older, but when she was just six-years-old. Clare panics as she and Henry have never discussed how she should act when they meet in the present. Should she pretend they’d never met and let things play out naturally? Or tell him she’d seen him on various occasions, when he was various ages, throughout her childhood? She opts to play it safe with the latter.

They discuss regular aspects of their lives such as their favourite books and their friends. Clare pretends she doesn’t already know all the answers to the questions she is asking Henry. In fact, she knows him better than he knows himself, because she has met his future self. They eat their meal amiably before Clare disappears to the toilet between courses. On her return, dessert has arrived but, to her horror, Henry has vanished, leaving a pool of clothes on his chair. Clare knows there’s nothing she can do but remain at the table and wait for him to return.

Image credits: designedbyjess / pixabay