Forgiveness: Difference between revisions

The necessity of Forgiveness and its effects are all over the [[Sliding Scale of CynicismIdealism Versus IdealismCynicism]], while it commonly appears as the best choice, it's not anywhere near universal.

=== '''The typical aesopAesop is as follows: ==='''

# They shouldn't take revenge... but if they do, it doesn't make them monsters, and is in fact perfectly fine and justified method of gaining Justice. Usually, this story has [[Anti-Hero|Anti Heroes]]es or a [[Complete Monster]] of a bad guy.

=== '''The effects of (not) taking revenge: ==='''

* [[Turn the Other Cheek|Not taking revenge will spiritually cleanse the character]], allowing such things as [[Redemption EqualsEarns Life]] and a [[Heel Face Turn]] on the one spared and (if they weren't exactly a hero) the protagonist.

* Not taking revenge will emotionally destroy the character... at least in the short run. In the long run they might be better off, unless the overarching aesopAesop is [[The Farmer and Thethe Viper]].

Of course, a story pushing the most idealist of these by having the hero forgive and pardon the trespasser commonly has said trespasser indignantly refuse the forgiveness and outstretched hand with treachery. This being fiction, the [[Laser-Guided Karma]] from spurning their generosity results in them [[Always a Bigger Fish|getting eaten by a bigger fish]], shot/stabbed by the hero or a less forgiving companion who was on their guard, or simply [[Self -Disposing Villain|choosing to die]] rather than live with the wounded [[Pride]] of [[Ungrateful Bastard|having accepted their help.]] Which, perhaps [[Irony|ironically]], makes their death morally justifiable self defense and makes the aesopAesop more like "[[Unfortunate Implications|if you forgive, expect betrayal]], so [[Broken Aesop|don't bother]]."

See also: [[Easily Forgiven]], [[Forgiveness Requires Death]], [[Cuteness Equals Forgiveness]], and [[This Is Unforgivable!]].

** However, in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', Saji Crossroad follows Aesop 1 and tried his damnedest to get Louise Halevy to follow his footsteps. Unfortunately, {{spoiler|Louise ignores him and goes on to exact righteous vengeance on her parents' murderer Nena Trinity. She ends up in effects 4, for a short while until her mentality and moral compass gets restored by Setsuna's GN Particles, and Saji's persistence}}

* ''[[Monster (Animemanga)|Monster]]'' - the most important lesson.

* A certain <s>German</s>Roman soldier in ''[[So Ra No woWo To]]'', talking to the [[Unwitting Pawn]] who created a [[Synthetic Plague]] that was unleashed on her home:

{{quote| ''Du hast genug gelitten, deshalb vergebe ich dir, auch wenn dir sonst niemand vergeben sollte.'' {{spoiler|You have suffered enough, so I forgive you, even when nobody else will.}} }}

*** Sadly, Hamilton fell into villainy again due to a combination of feeling sidelined as Superman sought aid from other science-minded heroes like Steel and forming a crazy theory that Superman was draining the Sun of energy and bring about the end of life on Earth...4.5 billion years later.

* In ''[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/[X-Men (film)|X2: X-Men United]]'', Nightcrawler tells Storm that he didn't hate people who were scared by him when he was working at the circus; he pitied (and this probably implies that he also forgave) them instead.

* In ''[[Spider-Man (Filmfilm)|Spider-Man]]'' 3, Spider-man goes on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] on Sandman when he discovered he was the one who shot Ben Parker. But by the end of the film, Sandman explained that Ben talked him out of taking his car at gunpoint, but his partner caused him to shoot Ben by accident, and deeply regrets it every night. After hearing all that Spidy forgives him.

* In [[The Bible (Literature)|The Bible]], a woman who had committed adultery, which Jewish law of the time demanded being stoned to death, was brought before Jesus, who was asked what should be done to the woman. Jesus replied, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone." Slowly the mob left. Finally, Jesus, who canonically ''was'' without sin, didn't throw a stone, and instead sent the woman on her way with the advice, "Go now, and sin no more."

** To be honest, most of the New Testament was all about this, really.

* In ''[[Visual Novel/Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn|Memory Sorrow Andand Thorn]]'', forgiveness is literally the [[Spanner in Thethe Works]] that unravels the [[Big Bad|Storm King's]] plan to [[Omnicidal Maniac|unmake the world of Osten Ard]]. Specifically, his power is drawn in large part from the endless reservoir of hate and fear that he's inspired among mortals. When two of those mortals who are the most critical to his plan suddenly choose to give up their hatred and resentment, it critically weakens him just long enough for his [[Demonic Possession|mortal host]] to be slain.

* In [[John C. Wright]]'s ''[[Chronicles of Chaos (Literature)|Titans of Chaos]]'', Amelia is told to speak the word and the universe will be destroyed in [[Revenge]] for her killing. It is, it turns out, a [[Secret Test of Character]]; when she does not speak, they proclaim she forgives her killers and shows that a human can make correct moral judgments. Later, Quentin manages to nullify a [[Curse]] against him for killing Lamia by forgiving her for the injuries she did him.

* ''[[Harry Potter]]'': this is Dumbledore's specialty. Other characters even accuse him of being too willing to forgive. Justified by his backstory revealed in ''[[Harry Potter and Thethe Deathly Hallows (novel)|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]''.

** The ''Harry Potter'' series in general has a strong [[Power of Love]] and forgiveness [[Aesop]]. There's Snape spying for Dumbledore {{spoiler|because he was in love with Lily Evans}}, Narcissa Malfoy {{spoiler|lying to Voldemort to protect Draco}}, Regulus Black {{spoiler|trying to destroy a horcrux}}, Kreacher {{spoiler|changing his allegiance when he found out what Regulus did}}, Percy Weasley {{spoiler|realizing the Ministry was corrupt and reuiniting with his family}} ... just about every antagonist that was more than just a [[Mook]] did some form of [[Heel Face Turn]], aside from the [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]]s.

* ''[[Someone Else's War (Literature)|Someone Elses War]]'': A Muslim boy living in a landlocked country where Christian extremists reign supreme. He loses his entire family and most of his friends to the war. And still he learns how to forgive the people who took them away.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* The recurring theme in ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' is that the cycle of revenge between man and machine is perpetuated because neither is capable of forgiveness, season 4 seems to be building up to an alliance between humans and rebel Cylons that ''may'' be capable of breaking the cycle. As of the end of the series {{spoiler|Roslin forgives Baltar and lets him live (and keeps his terrible secret, no less). Not only does it help her heal emotionally, it also helped cement the rebel Cylon/Colonial alliance and ensure their mutual survival. So all in all, aesop 1 and bullet point 1. Which is surprising considering the tone of the series.}}

* This is shown fully in the end of series 3 of the new ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]''. After being imprisoned, humiliated and tormented for a year, not to mention seeing {{spoiler|the Earth decimated (literally), the Doctor disarms the Master, corners him and says that the Master knows what happens now. He says "I forgive you"}}.

* In the ''[[Babylon Five5]] '' episode "A Late Delivery From Avalon''" Veryshown very heartwarmingly shown between David [[Mc Cantyre]]McCantyre's "King Arthur" and Delenn. That is the soldier who had fired the shot that killed Dukhat and the Satai who had ordered the Minbari declaration of war.

== TheaterTheatre ==

* In [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]' ''The Emperor Constantine'', Constantine discusses with his mother how he had pardoned but not forgiven his enemies before. He realizes that he may not pardon his wife's treachery, but he must forgive her.

* ''[[BioBioShock Shock(series)|BioShock]] 2'' lets the player practice this with a few characters, notably Grace Holloway (who [[Voice Withwith an Internet Connection|Sinclair]] tells you is merely a misguided old lady who loves Eleanor as much as you do) and Stanley Poole (who Eleanor tells you is responsible for you two becoming what you are). {{spoiler|Your actions will ultimately influence whether or not Eleanor chooses to save her mother or kill her.}}

* Another one from ''[[Bio WareBioWare]]'': This is the end of {{spoiler|Carth's}} arc in [[Knights of the Old Republic]]. He gets to have the violent kind of revenge and realizes it brought him no peace at all. Even though he's got a laundry list of reasons to want revenege against {{spoiler|the [[Player Character]] for his / her actions as Revan}}, he decides the path of forgiveness is the only way either of them will have peace.

* ''[[Chrono Trigger (Video Game)|Chrono Trigger]]'' presents a particularly mixed example when {{spoiler|Janus aka Magus offers to join your party. By this point, Janus is responsible for killing Glenn's mentor, permanently shapeshifting Glenn into a frog monster, leading a war against humanity to further his own (noble but misguided) ends, and trying to kill the party. Glenn then steps forward indignantly, Janus says that they must move on,}} and the player must choose whether he decides to [[Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand|go one-on-one with his hated rival once and for all or let it drop forever]].

* Forgiveness is a theme that is relevant for Presea in ''[[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia]]''. She finds out that {{spoiler|Regal}} was the one who killed her sister Alicia around the same time that she learns that {{spoiler|Alicia turned into a monster and begged Regal to kill her}}. She decides to continue to fight alongside him in spite of that fact, and her personal trial in Welgaia involves her finally letting go of her resentment toward {{spoiler|Regal and Altessa, the latter of whom had experimented on her}}.

** In "Playtime at Tolee's" on ''[[Ni Hao, Kai -Lan]]'', Rintoo accidentally rips Tolee's painting. Even though he fixes it so that it's as good as new, Tolee won't forgive him. Then, Tolee learns that "When someone says they're sorry / Tell them that's okay so that they won't feel bad."

** ''[[Adventures From the Book of Virtues (Animation)|Adventures Fromfrom the Book of Virtues]]'' has an episode called "Responsibility", in which Zach accidentally challenges Annie to race with him while bicycling. This causes Annie's new bike to crash into a rock in the ground during their race, so she falls off, along with two cakes that Annie's mom has baked for her at a bakery to deliver, and slides down a cliff. But then Socrates the bobcat swoops in and [[Not the Fall That Kills You|saves]] Annie from getting killed, although Annie's new bike gets wrecked, and the cakes fall on both her and Sock. Realizing that her bike and cakes were destroyed, Annie [[Never My Fault|gets mad at Zach for prompting her to race with him, but Zach keeps telling her that he didn't ask her to race,]] [[Feud Episode|which leads to an argument between both of them.]] Later on, at the end, Annie forgives Zach, and goes back to the bakery with him to bake a new cake, while her bike is being repaired.

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