Worst couples in literature: No.11 Charlotte Lucas & Mr Collins from Pride & Prejudice

Charlotte is sensible and intelligent and marries the conceited, pompous, and intellectually limited Mr. Collins; primarily to secure a comfortable home and avoid the social stigma of becoming an "old maid" in early 19th-century England. A pragmatic marriage of convenience then. But, I wonder, what lies in the future? Survival and status rather than romantic love, surely? A life of quiet desperation, perhaps. I hope not, I like Charlotte. And more to the point, so does Elizabeth. Great literature has produced some spectacularly bad relationships. From the dull to the manipulative. In this series you will find couples enduring quiet desperation, relationships with huge promise that self destruct, and those that are toxic, forced and villainous. 11 of the worst alliances the printed word has to offer. Delight or weep over them.