Seems hypocritical and artistically limiting if you ask me.

Also, possibly readers like the idea of being able to stay together through anything... and they want to see it happen at least somewhere since it doesn't happen very often in real life anymore. What's the divorce rate now? 1 out of 2 marriages or somewhere around there?

No, but in all seriousness, I think a reason for this is that many readers—-and people in general—-can be described as creative and idealistic. As the other poster stated, fantasy is a growing attraction among readers. When they are lost in their reading, they do not wish to travel to a world they already know. They wish to probe in the depths of a wonderful world in which everything turns out to be a fairytale ending. Just look at Disney movies—-why do you think they're so popular? Do you think Cinderella would be as well-liked of a story as it is today if “prince charming” fell out of love with the protagonist? No, I don't think so (though I'd be one of the weird ones who would really enjoy that ending.) Anyway, the point of mentioning that story was to bring to your attention that a lot of us no matter how old we grow, still posses infantile, hopeful minds. And these minds just can’t tolerate reading works that express the real world because, let’s face it, the media fails to display how exactly the real world is.

On a slightly different note, I personally appreciate books that aren’t afraid to break free of the jolly good fantasy trap in which many feel an obligated to remain confined in. That’s a reason why I love V.C. Andrews. She’s not afraid to upset the reader (which she does quite a lot.)

I guess it's just because of what you want in a reading. If on 'parent's intuition' a mother runs down the stairs screaming her child's name, we may want the lack of response to be because the kid's listening to loud music and didn't hear her if they're likeable characters, but if that happened all the time, it wouldn't make for a very good story. If people are getting a divorce, well... I guess you're right, fairytale endings. If both characters are likeable, we want them to get a happily ever after, and what if they don't? Then it's a sad story. But sad stories are an entirely different genre, and if it's a sad story about divorce, it's probably from the child's point of view with no real explanation of the parents.

Or maybe I'm just cynical.

Have you seen the musical /Into the Woods/ (Sondheim)? If you like the idea of not-so-happy fairytales, I think you'd really like the second act--where familiar characters' happy-ever-afters fall apart in front of their eyes. It's fantastic! Well, and *realistic*, too, which is what makes it so moving.

Em

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