Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: The Damsel in Distress is offended that the bad guy(s) didn't want to molest her. Nearly always played for laughs.

  • Straight: Dirk Dastardly's men burst into Helpless Holly's room. They do not rape her. "What!" she cries, "am I not pretty enough?"
  • Exaggerated: "Are you sure you don't want to ravish me? Really? Absolutely? What if I accidentally tear my dress? No?"
  • Downplayed:
    • Holly is relieved that Dirk's men didn't ravish her but feels a slight, embarassing twinge of offense at the idea that they didn't find her appealing enough.
    • Ivy is annoyed that the men on the street don't oogle here, though she would have set her guards on them if any of them had even moved toward her.
  • Justified: Holly has taken a vow of chastity, so the only way she can ever have sex without losing her honour is if she is to be forced. When Dirk's troops raid the palace, she is dismayed to find that they believe that Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil.
  • Inverted:
    • "No," said Holly, "I'm not being ravished by you." Dirk Dastardly gave a groan of dismay. "I was looking forward to that! Am I really that ugly?"
    • "Thank heavens, I was afraid for a moment that you'd respect me."
    • Helpless(?) Holly rapes Dirk Dastardly's men.
    • As a gender flip: Dirk sends an Amazon Brigade who pillage the palace and take no notice of Bob, much to his chagrin.
  • Subverted: As Dirk and his men finish raiding the palace, Dirk cries out, "I nearly forgot!" and pins Holly to the floor...
  • Double Subverted: ..turns out he just wanted to make it easier for his men to remove Holly's jewelry.
  • Parodied: Helpless Holly is a Gonk who is actually trying to "get raped" by Dirk Dastardly's men, who responses to her advances with a combination of fear and disgust.
  • Zig Zagged: Holly complains that Dirk Dastardly and his men didn't try to rape her, but when any of the men try to make a move on her (consented or not) she gets angry or scared.
  • Averted: Holly is relieved that Dirk's men don't ravish her.
  • Enforced: The author wanted to show that the bad guys aren't that bad and or that the Holly is that stupid and vain.
  • Lampshaded: "Wait, am I actually angry that I didn't get raped?"
  • Invoked: Dirk drip-feeds Holly stories via her servants that it's wonderful to be ravished. He then organises a raid on the palace and goes on to Exploit (q.v.) this trope.
  • Exploited: Dirk orders his men to leave Holly untouched, in order to make her feel insecure about her beauty.
  • Defied: Waiting for Dirk's men to burst into the room, Holly's sister explains in no uncertain terms that being ‘ravished’, as Holly dreamily calls it, is not nice, not a compliment, and not to be invited.
  • Discussed: "We'll have rescued Holly by the end of the day, and I don't think she's in much danger of being ravished...matter of fact, that might offend her a bit!"
  • Conversed: "You would think that Helpless Holly – what a name! – wouldn't really mind not being molested. Silly book, this."
  • Deconstructed: Holly has a lighthearted view of sex. After she asks, Dirk's men do rape her, and she quickly finds out that encouraging them wasn't a good idea.
  • Reconstructed: Holly sees sex as a tool for manipulation and a way to gain power. She wants to distract Dirk's men with her body until the police arrive, and is dismayed when she finds it doesn't work.

Aren't you going to take me back to Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?