Extreme Doormat: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"They can't break you if you don't have a spine."''|'''Wally''', ''[[Dilbert]]''}}
Humble, [[The Quiet One|quiet]], obedient, [[The Stoic|stoic]]; the
Naturally, such a narratively empty character won't start drama, so they're usually a [[Satellite Character]], [[Battle Butler]], trusty companion, or part of a love harem for the more active hero. Part of being the Extreme Doormat is they will obey just about any command from their love/hero/superior officer short of the suicidal ones (and sometimes [[Heroic Sacrifice|even those]]). Sometimes, this can result from an [[Empty Shell]] with combat training under [[Mind Control]].
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* Rei Ayanami of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' spends most of her life being mistaken for this trope, even stating that she would commit suicide if the commander told her to do so (and if the reasons for doing so were tactically sound, as the Commander's instructions nearly always were). However, in the last few episodes, she gains some volition.
** Though that might not actually be the same Rei....considering everything.
** Shinji himself qualifies for being an
*** At least twice, he has to put himself in this position so Rei won't.
* Tohru Honda from ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' starts out like this. She constantly apologizes for the smallest of things, rarely stands up for herself, often chooses to belittle or instantly forgive very serious wrongs done to her, and is very much a [[The Pollyanna|Pollyanna]]. Much of the series centers around Tohru steadily gaining the courage to face herself and her problems and take initiate to defend what she loves.
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** A spoilery example to back that up: Hatsumi is so spectacularly doormat-like that she actually {{spoiler|apologizes to a guy while he's having her gang-raped by his friends. She's apologizing because of something her father did to the gang-rapist's mother, which prompted the gang-rapist to attack Hatsumi as a form of proxy revenge. I repeat: She's apologizing to her rapist for something she didn't even do.}} The cherry on top: {{spoiler|we later find out that it was ''someone else's'' father who wronged the gang-rapist's mother, not Hatsumi's. The whole thing was a [[Shaggy Dog Story]].}}
* Haji from ''[[Blood Plus]]'' is characterized entirely by his complete devotion to Saya and his obedience to her wishes, even when she makes him promise to {{spoiler|kill her. Her adopted brother Kai finally goads him into expressing his [[Bodyguard Crush]] at the end of the series.}}
* Lucciola in ''[[Last Exile]]'' starts out this way, but his loyalty and friendship to Dio helped him take the initiative to save him. {{spoiler|[[Tear Jerker|And then he dies. * Sniff*
* Fuyuki from ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'' qualifies most of the time. [[Beware the Nice Ones|Push him too far]], though, and he's so terrifying, the manga can't even show his face.
* Anthy from ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' is actually described as being "less forceful than a doormat", but the truth is a [[Obfuscating Stupidity|bit different]]. {{spoiler|She and her brother deliberately play up this trope in order to convince others that their plans for the future are honest, and then to convince themselves that their [[Ironic Hell|plans for her are righteous.]] And her [[Emotionless Girl]] act is a result of the '''massive''' trauma she's gone through and the way her brother keeps her emotionally anesthetized through their abusive relationship.}}
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*** Didn't that actually happen after Shampoo, the girl he is a [[Stalker with a Crush]] towards, asked him to stop using them and, upon his initial refusal, commented that she thought he was pathetic for taking advantage of items created to protect those who had no other way to fight off martial artist?
** Also [[Wholesome Crossdresser|Konatsu]] towards Ukyo (which it's shown she takes advantage of ''a lot'') and [[Canon Foreigner|Sasuke]] [[Bumbling Sidekick|towards Kuno]].
* Train from the anime version of ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'' was this for quite a few episodes during his time in Chronos. Speaking in a monotone, hardly having any opinion on anything, and being quietly [[
* The main argument people have about ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]'' is whether Aoi is just a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] or an
** Aoi does have a backbone, when she ''chooses'' to use it; otherwise, she would have never resisted her parents, time and time again. On the other hand, Taeko ''is'' an
** Other possible suspects include minor characters Saionji and Chizuru. Saionji has the excuse that we only see him in his capacity as butler / chauffeur.
* The Captain from ''[[Hellsing]]'' basically follows Major around like a big, quiet dog that doesn't do anything unless commanded to. Which sort of makes sense considering {{spoiler|he's a werewolf}}.
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* Ayumi of ''[[Gokinjo Monogatari]]''. When she's chosen as the receptionist at the fashion contest and can't move from the hall, she even gets a comment from Yuusuke, that it suits her just perfectly.
* ''[[Little House With an Orange Roof]]'': For a tsundere, Natsumi has serious problems saying "no", especially when challenged to "prove" she's worthy to marry Shoutarou. This has led to her being groped by slimy salarymen in a cabaret, and being utilized for slave labor by her in-laws, among other things.
* Yukiteru Amano of ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'' starts out as an
* Soubi in ''[[Loveless]].'' Ritsuka tries to break him out of it, but Seimei would prefer he stay that way.
* Rodoreamon from ''[[Simoun]]'' starts like this, then grows a spine as the series progresses. By the [[Distant Finale]], she's become the [[Iron Lady]].
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== Film ==
* ''[[Titanic]]'': When it comes down to it, this is what Ruth and Cal wanted to turn Rose into. For Ruth, the obedient, well-behaved daughter. For Cal, the perfect little wife who exists to love, obey, and honor him.
* In ''[[Coming to America]]'', the woman Prince Akeem was to enter an [[Arranged Marriage]] was groomed to be an
* George McFly was like this in ''[[Back to The Future]]'' before Marty helps him [[Took a Level In Badass|take a level in badass]] in 1955.
* Harry in ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]''. Throughout the movie, he comes off as a little smarter and more sensible than Lloyd but for the most part goes along with everything Lloyd does partly because he's just very passive.
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* Catherine from the [[Malory Towers]] series. However, the other characters dislike her strongly because she's always so kind and friendly and helpful- for instance, she once sharpened all of Belinda's pencils for her without asking. However, Belinda used them for her art and kept some of them blunt on purpose, and so she definitely didn't thank her. They nickname her 'Saint Catherine' at one point and use it mockingly.
* ''[[In Death]]'' series: ''Purity In Death'' reveals that Donald Dukes' wife is this. She knows what he's doing and seems unable or unwilling to do much about it. Eve Dallas, considering her [[Dark and Troubled Past]], has little patience for people like this.
* Bertie of ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'' is the epitome of
{{quote|''Anybody can talk me round. If I were in a Trappist monastery, the first thing that would happen would be that some smooth performer would lure me into some frightful idiocy against my better judgment by means of the deaf-and-dumb language.''}}
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** In season four, Sam stops just short of {{spoiler|choking Dean to death after Dean [[Berserk Button|calls him a monster]] on top of Sam's hallucinations of Dean loathing him}} in one episode. Guess who calls to apologize to whom. Of course, that might be as much practicality, since Dean needed to get Sam to {{spoiler|go to back to Bobby's to continue the incredibly painful process of detox. Or at least stop following Ruby's plan.}} His apology probably would have had the desired effect, too, {{spoiler|if the angels hadn't meddled with the message.}}
** It gets ''so'' much worse in Seasons 5 and 6. {{spoiler|No wonder Famine accused him of being empty: he's got nothing left to give, not even to Lisa and Ben,}} because he's given it all to his family, who never needed him as much as he needed them.
** Angels are implied to supposed to be
** Castiel can also be an
* The Actives on [[Dollhouse]] are pretty much like this when in "blank slate" mode. They act like [[Purity Sue
* Darryl Morris on ''[[Charmed]]'' has done everything for the Charmed Ones. He even forgave them after Phoebe and Paige {{spoiler|stole his soul.}} He had managed to grow a spine after getting put through the wringer one too many times without a thank you and put some distance between him and the girls. They didn't understand why.
** He's pretty much the trope namer, at least according to [[Television Without Pity]]
* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'': Anya MacPherson was an
* Played with in ''[[The Fast Show]]''. One of Paul Whitehouse's characters tries to have opinions about the topic du jour whilst talking with his mates in the pub, but refuses to disagree with any of them for fear of offending. As a result he fails to come to a conclusion about anything and lives his life in a state or perpetual bewilderment.
* In a ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus|Monty Python]]'' sketch, a couple goes to marriage counseling. The counselor instantly seduces the wife right in front of the husband, who can't bring himself to utter a word of protest.
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== Music ==
* [[Virtual Celebrity|2-D]] of the [[Gorillaz]] is an
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== Theater ==
*
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== Web Original ==
* "Handy" from ''[[Void Dogs]]'' doesn't even consider herself to be a person. Considering that her real name is a serial number, this might not be surprising.
* Several characters from ''[[Tales of MU]]'' show levels of doormat affinity, but two in particular have fit the definition of
** Two the Golem was set free with an order to do what she wants, but she was created with only one desire: to do as she's told. Her growth out of being an
** The [[Lizard Folk]] use communal decision making, so Hissy holds no strong opinions of her own. Human missionaries decided she should go to school, the school decided she should join the skirmish team. Her response to all of it is simply that she has no objection. As a background character, her
* Weasley Crusher of The [[Binder of Shame]] was constantly bullied by the other players, on one occasion being pushed into buying pizza with money he said he needed for insulin.
* Although he likes starting arguments, [[The Nostalgia Critic]] constantly succumbs to peer pressure because he desperately wants to be loved and those arguments nearly always end with him crumbling for not much reason.
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