Epic literary friendships

My current interest (ahem... obsession) in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon has led to increased thought about some of my favorite fictional friendships. Yes, I love a good romantic entanglement as much as the next person. Or a friendship that blossoms into romance. Even so, there will always be special place in my heart for literary friendships.  Friendships of story proportion. Epic friendships that transcend words on a page.

And so, without further ado, here are my top five literary friendships:

1. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson 

 

"I am lost without my Boswell." ~ "A Scandal in Bohemia"

"You have the grand gift of silence Watson...It makes you quite invaluable as a companion." ~ "The Man with the Twisted Lip"

"...and 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" ~ "The Final Problem"

If there is a Vahalla for superhuman sleuths and their all-too-human compatriots, it will allow them freedom at night to catch the racing hansom cab in the mustard fog and provide them a cozy cluttered place by day to feast upon cold pheasant and tales from the tin box. If the detective should suffer overmuch from the artistic temperament, and his fellow lodger should dwell overlong upon the fairness of a wrist or the timber of a feminine voice, so much the better, for us and them. Literature never produced a relationship more symbiotic nor a warmer and more timeless friendship. 

~ Loren Estleman's introduction to Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I

2. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, from The Lord of the Rings

"'It would be the death of you to come with me Sam,' said Frodo, 'and I could not have borne that.'

'Not as certain as being left behind,' said Sam.

'But I am going to Mordor.'

'I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I'm coming with you.'"

~ The Fellowship of the Ring

"It is no good trying to escape you. But I'm glad, Sam. I cannot tell you how glad. Come along! It is plain that we were meant to go together."

~ The Fellowship of the Ring

"For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam."

~ The Return of the King

"'Where are you going, Master?' cried Sam, though at last he understood what was happening.

'To the Havens, Sam,' said Frodo.

'And I can't come.'

'No, Sam. Not yet anyway, not further than the Havens. Though you too were a Ring-bearer, if only for a little while. Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.'"

~ The Return of the King

3. Jane and Helen, from Jane Eyre

"I was silent: Helen had calmed me; but in the tranquility she imparted there was an alloy of inexpressible sadness. I felt the impression of woe as she spoke, but I could not tell whence it came; and when, having done speaking, she breathed a little fast and coughed a short cough, I momentarily forgot my own sorrows to yield to a vague concern for her.

Resting my head on Helen's shoulder, I put my arms around her waist; she drew me to her, and we reposed in silence." 

"...though I am a defective being, with many faults and few redeeming points, yet I never tired of Helen Burns; nor ever ceased to cherish for her a sentiment of attachment, as strong, tender, and respectful as any that ever animated my heart. How could it be otherwise, when Helen, at all times and under all circumstances, evinced for me a quiet and faithful friendship, which ill-humours never soured, nor irritation ever troubled?"

"'How comfortable I am! That last fit of coughing has tired me a little; I feel as if I could sleep: but don't leave me, Jane; I like to have you near me.'

'I'll stay with you, dear Helen: no one shall take me away.'

'Are you warm, darling?'

'Yes.'

'Good-night, Jane.'

'Good-night, Helen.'

She kissed me, and I her; and we both soon slumbered."

"But a day or two afterwards I learned that Miss Temple, on returning to her own room at dawn, had found me laid in a little crib; my face against Helen Burn's shoulder, my arms round her neck. I was asleep, and Helen was--dead."

4. Raskolnikov and Razumikhin, from Crime and Punishment

"Yet for some reason he became close with Razumikhin--that is, not really close, but he was more sociable, more frank with him. However, it was impossible to be on any other terms with Razumikhin. He was an exceptionally cheerful and sociable fellow, kind to the point of simplicity. However, this simplicity concealed both depth and dignity. The best of his friends understood that; everyone loved him."

"Raskolnikov had not visited him for about four months now, and Razumikhin did not even know his address. Once some two months ago, they had chanced to meet in the street, but Raskolnikov had turned away and even crossed to the other side so as not to be noticed. And Razumikhin, though he did notice, passed by, not wishing to trouble a friend."

"'Believe me brother, I've taken this especially to heart. Because we have to make a human being out of you, after all. Let's get started: we'll begin from the top. Take a look at this little chapeau,' he began, pulling a rather nice but at the same time very ordinary and cheap cap from the bundle. 'Allow me to try it on you.'

'Later, after,' Raskolnikov spoke, peevishly waving it away.

'No, no, brother Rodya, don't resist, later will be too late; besides, I won't be able to sleep all night, because I bought it without any measurements, at a guess. Just right!' he exclaimed triumphantly, having tried it on him. 'Just the right size! Headgear, brother, is the foremost thing in an outfit, a recommendation in its way."

Am I stretching it with these two? Okay, so they don't have the perfect friendship but Razumikhin's dedication to Raskolnikov, their opposing personalities... there's just something there that I absolutely adore. For further ramblings about this friendship see, What would Raskolnikov do? and More character analysis, I apologize

5. Horatio and Hamlet, from Hamlet

"Nay, do not think I flatter;

For what advancement may I hope from thee
That no revenue hast but thy good spirits,
To feed and clothe thee? Why should the poor be flatter'd?
No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp,
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee
Where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear?
Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice
And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal'd thee for herself; for thou hast been
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing,
A man that fortune's buffets and rewards
Hast ta'en with equal thanks: and blest are those
Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled,
That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger
To sound what stop she please. Give me that man
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,
As I do thee."

~ Act 3, Scene 2

HORATIO

You will lose this wager, my lord.

HAMLET

I do not think so: since he went into France, I
have been in continual practise: I shall win at the
odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here
about my heart: but it is no matter.

HORATIO

Nay, good my lord,--

HAMLET

It is but foolery; but it is such a kind of
gain-giving, as would perhaps trouble a woman.

HORATIO

If your mind dislike any thing, obey it: I will
forestall their repair hither, and say you are not
fit.

HAMLET

Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the
readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he
leaves, what is't to leave betimes?

~ Act 5, Scene 2


"Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince:
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"
~ Act 5, Scene 2


Bonus Friendships: 
Harry, Ron & Hermione, from the Harry Potter series

Victor Frankenstein and Henry Clerval, from Frankenstein 

"'Dearest Clearval,' exclaimed I, 'how kind, how very good you are to me. This whole winter, instead of being spent in study, as you promised yourself, has been consumed in my sick room. How shall I ever repay you? I feel the greates remorse for the disappointment of which I have been the occasion; but you will forigve me.'
'You will repay me entirely, if you do not discompose yourself, but get well as fast as you can;'"

Frankenstein and Clerval are in my top ten, but did not make the top five. Mostly because Frankenstein is indirectly responsible for Clerval's death. Puts a bit of a damper on their relationship.