When we think of stories about forbidden love, the first thing that comes to mind is usually Romeo and Juliet (or lately, Twilight). However, since you probably won’t fall in love at first sight with someone who turns out to be a sworn (or undead) enemy any time soon, these stories aren’t as culturally relevant when it comes to forbidden love.

A more realistic barrier between two unfortunate lovers would be a discrepancy of class, religion, or (despite what Dr. Laura says … over and over again) race. For a quick fix of that good literary feasibility, here are three classic tales about forbidden love spanning the last five hundred years.

Realistic obstacle number one: class. You are an exceptionally beautiful and intelligent young woman who is in love with the Prince of Denmark. Too bad your father is just a counselor to the throne and not a royal form of royalty. That’s right: you have a reputation as Ophelia from Hamlet, and to your dismay, Dad called off your affair with Prince Hamlet out of fear that the guy won’t seek out any of your, shall we say, more royal qualities.

The thinking behind this intervention is that if Hamlet is serious about the relationship, he will have the power to marry you (or whoever he wants, really) once he becomes king. This would be a smart move if it weren’t for two things: 1) Uncle Claudius has killed Hamlet, Sr., thus leaving Hamlet, Jr., in line for the throne; 2) There is a good chance that you and Hamlet have already exchanged more than just love notes, making you particularly anxious NOT to get rid of Hamlet at this particular time. The stress of this situation, compounded by Hamlet’s accidental murder of your father, eventually drives you crazy and, ahem, you accidentally fall into a river.

Realistic obstacle number two: religion. You are a beautiful young woman with amazing embroidery skills and you have just been blessed with your first child. In prison. By the way, you’re a puritan and your husband hasn’t been seen in two years. You are Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter and you have had the great misfortune of being born in 17th century New England. But wait, it gets better.

You refuse to tell anyone who the baby’s father is because: 1) You feel it is better for him to introduce himself; 2) You are twelve different types of dignity; and 3) It just so happens that it is the reverend, which, in puritan society, means that there is no exchange of ANYTHING, including love notes. To his credit, he will eventually overcome the stigma of his indiscretion by accepting his punishment without hesitation … even after people forget what he actually did. On the other hand, if achieving social redemption means submitting to the will of an unjust patriarchy for the rest of your long life, we’ll settle for taking a chance and heading west, thank you very much.

Realistic obstacle number three: race. You are the troubled nineteen year old daughter of white trash and you have made the big mistake of falling in love with a married man. Who is black? In 1930’s Alabama. You’re Mayella Ewell from To Kill A Mockingbird, and Daddy Drinks caught you making moves with someone he considers inferior.

After receiving a savage beating, she claims that her crush, Tom Robinson, actually raped her. Either to convince his father or simply to obey him, then he presents a court case of the incident; after all, no one in 1930’s Alabama would dare acquit Tom, regardless of the groundlessness of his accusation. Unsurprisingly, Tom receives the death sentence only to be shot no fewer than seventeen times in the process of attempting to escape from prison. Tom’s wife and children must live off the charity of their community as you discover a way to live with yourself.