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Abhorrent Admirer: Difference between revisions
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The Abhorrent Admirer differs from more sympathetic characters in one key respect: the audience is expected to find her both unattractive and extremely unsympathetic, and is supposed to feel ''sorry'' for the protagonist because she has him in her sights and [[Stalker With a Crush|just won't take a hint]] or proves resistant to the [[Selective Obliviousness|clue-by-four]].
These characters tend strongly to be female rather than male, as a result of a few different gender stereotypes. For one thing, [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased]] means the mere fact that a woman takes the initiative in courting a man is often portrayed as evidence that she must have something wrong with her; for another, [[Double Standard Rape (Female On Male)|double standard rape]] means that sexually aggressive women are viewed as less threatening, and therefore more comical, than men who impose their attentions on obviously unwilling women. However, in recent years the male "undesirable suitor" has become more common in comedies.
An increasingly occurring variant of this trope is when the amorous woman in question is [[Transsexual]]--typically when a male character discovers that the lovely lady he's been chatting up in the bar either isn't ''really'' a lady, or wasn't born with [[Unusual Euphemism|the standard-issue female equipment]]. This is typically played for laughs, tending toward mocking the hapless and naive fellow.
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This trope is [[Older Than Print]]: the original might be the medieval legend of the "loathly lady", which is the basis of the Wife of Bath's Tale in [[Canterbury Tales|that thing]] by [[Geoffrey Chaucer (Creator)|Geoffrey Chaucer]]. Loathly ladies also figure in several [[Child Ballad|Child Ballads]].
May or may not overlap with [[Stalker With a Crush]], though that one usually isn't [[Played for Laughs]]. The [[Old Maid]], the [[Grande Dame]], and [[Lady Drunk]] are likely candidates to act out this trope. Compare [[Extraverted Nerd]], [[Hollywood Nerd]], [[Beauty and The Beast]]. Contrast [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]. For versions where only the personality is a problem, see [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased]], [[Romantic Runner
The whole trope usually provides a [[Broken Aesop]] in series where [[Be Yourself]] is a strong theme.
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* Creepella Von Cacklefur is this to [[Geronimo Stilton (Literature)|Geronimo Stilton]], although she is actually acknowledged to be drop-dead gorgeous. What makes her so abhorrent to Geronimo, however, is that she is a [[Perky Goth]] [[Nightmare Fetishist]] who lives in a crypt, while Geronimo is a major [[Cowardly Lion]] known for fainting at least [[Once Per Episode|once a book]].
* A sympathetic example from ''[[The Circus of Doctor Lao]]''; Mrs. Cassin is an older woman whose husband simply left her. Since she lost her looks and charm a long time ago, she has no luck in attracting men.
* The ''[[
* The ''[[Magic Kingdom of Landover]]'' book [[Everything's Better With Princesses|Princess of Landover]] has Mistaya, Ben Holiday's daughter, is proposed to by the odious Lord Laphroaig, who has been nicknamed "The Frog" for his habit of darting his tongue out of his lips when nervous and his squat body. Besides being ugly, Laphroaig's wives and children have a habit of dying from "mysterious illnesses." Correctly, Mistaya assumes Laphroaig only wishes to marry her in order to have access to Landover's throne. At the end of the book, the [[Big Bad]] forces Mistaya to marry Laphroaig through a [[Scarpia Ultimatum]] involving her current love interest.
* In ''[[The Elenium]]'' by David Eddings, [[The Hero]] gets sympathetic passage on a ship by claiming to be fleeing a wealthy but hideous heiress whom he accidentally offered to marry. He encounters the same ship in a later book; when the Captain asks what happened with the Ugly Heiress, he points to the young and beautiful Queen of Elenia and says "I married her."
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** Not to mention the girl in the 'Friendface' episode who wears too much make-up. She's not exactly hideous, but her make-up and personality are both creepy. Roy tells Jen that "It was like breaking up with the joker".
* One episode of ''[[The Jamie Foxx Show]]'' had Jamie the victim of an [[Abhorrent Admirer]] ''named'' '''''DAMN!!!'''''
** Jamie Foxx is no stranger to this trope. He played this character himself, Ugly Wanda, when he was on ''[[In Living Color]]''. The episode might have been a [[Shout
* In ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (TV)|Jeeves and Wooster]]'', it seems anyone actually interested in Bertie is off the end of one scale or another, even though none of them actually look bad.
** Honoriah Glossop is not particularly good-looking, but more importantly, large and violent. Not exactly well-suited to Bertie.
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* The Starfish loves [[Charlie the Unicorn]] and WANTS TO BE WITH HIM FOREVER!
* [[The Nostalgia Chick (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Chick]] to [[Todd in The Shadows (Web Video)|Todd in The Shadows]]. She's a pretty lady, but her [[Cute but Psycho|personality]] and [[Stalker With a Crush|behaviour]] towards him is the reason why she's seen as abhorrent.<ref> Ironically, the pair are a happy couple in [[Real Life]].</ref>
** Todd himself is this toward [[Obscurus Lupa]] (who seems to bring this out in most of the males on the site), almost to the point of [[Single
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[[Category:Admiration Tropes]]
[[Category:Abhorrent Admirer]]
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