I Will Wait for You: Difference between revisions

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Only not so much. Years pass and he doesn't return. Most people would have given up by this point, assuming that something has happened to their loved one and he's never going to come back. But not this woman. She's going to wait right here for the rest of her life, if necessary, because she really believes he's coming back for her someday.
Only not so much. Years pass and he doesn't return. Most people would have given up by this point, assuming that something has happened to their loved one and he's never going to come back. But not this woman. She's going to wait right here for the rest of her life, if necessary, because she really believes he's coming back for her someday.


...Even though most of the time, he really is dead. This still will often not stop her. She said she'll wait forever for him, and she ''meant'' it. Hundreds of years later, a woman-shaped rock can be seen in that spot, waiting for her love to return to her. If she knows that he is dead, [[The Mourning After]] may ensue. Or even if she believes it -- sometimes other characters think that claiming it will shake her resolve.
...Even though most of the time, he really is dead. This still will often not stop her. She said she'll wait forever for him, and she ''meant'' it. Hundreds of years later, a woman-shaped rock can be seen in that spot, waiting for her love to return to her. If she knows that he is dead, [[The Mourning After]] may ensue. Or even if she believes it—sometimes other characters think that claiming it will shake her resolve.


When the hero is being faithful, the [[Standard Hero Reward]] can lead to some very difficult to wiggle out of scenes -- [[But Thou Must!]]!
When the hero is being faithful, the [[Standard Hero Reward]] can lead to some very difficult to wiggle out of scenes -- [[But Thou Must!]]!


If she is coerced into marrying, it's [[You Have Waited Long Enough]] -- whereupon her true love will show up in time to [[Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace|save her from the wedding]]. If this trope follows a breakup, you have [[Love Will Lead You Back]]. If he does return, and she realizes she no longer loved him, it turns to [[Old Flame Fizzle]].
If she is coerced into marrying, it's [[You Have Waited Long Enough]]—whereupon her true love will show up in time to [[Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace|save her from the wedding]]. If this trope follows a breakup, you have [[Love Will Lead You Back]]. If he does return, and she realizes she no longer loved him, it turns to [[Old Flame Fizzle]].


The person waiting, incidentally, is almost [[Always Female]]... or [[Hachiko|a dog]]. See also [[My Girl Is Not a Slut]], [[The Slow Path]]. Compare [[I Will Find You]] for when the speaker plans to take a more proactive stance. Contrast [[Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder]].
The person waiting, incidentally, is almost [[Always Female]]... or [[Hachiko|a dog]]. See also [[My Girl Is Not a Slut]], [[The Slow Path]]. Compare [[I Will Find You]] for when the speaker plans to take a more proactive stance. Contrast [[Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder]].
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== [[Film]] ==
== [[Film]] ==
* The protagonist of ''<nowiki>[[A.I.: Artificial Intelligence]]</nowiki>'' spends ''millennia'' at the bottom of the ocean waiting for the "blue fairy."
* The protagonist of ''<nowiki>[[A.I.: Artificial Intelligence]]</nowiki>'' spends ''millennia'' at the bottom of the ocean waiting for the "blue fairy."
* The classic French musical ''Les Parapluies de Cherbourg'' centers around this when the man goes off to war for two years, and she promises to wait for him, even if it takes forever--until the woman (played by Catherine Deneuve) discovers that she's pregnant with his child and marries someone else in act III just four months later. Unlike in American films of this type, they never get back together, not even briefly.
* The classic French musical ''Les Parapluies de Cherbourg'' centers around this when the man goes off to war for two years, and she promises to wait for him, even if it takes forever—until the woman (played by Catherine Deneuve) discovers that she's pregnant with his child and marries someone else in act III just four months later. Unlike in American films of this type, they never get back together, not even briefly.
** This film is sort of indirectly the [[Trope Namer]] - the main musical theme was also adapted into an English song with this title.
** This film is sort of indirectly the [[Trope Namer]] - the main musical theme was also adapted into an English song with this title.
* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End'', {{spoiler|Elizabeth}} apparently decides to wait for {{spoiler|Will... and he ''does'' comes back. This is helped by the fact that he expressly told her when he would return, so all she had to do was stay loyal and show up at the appointed time.}}
* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End'', {{spoiler|Elizabeth}} apparently decides to wait for {{spoiler|Will... and he ''does'' comes back. This is helped by the fact that he expressly told her when he would return, so all she had to do was stay loyal and show up at the appointed time.}}
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* In ''[[Douglas Coupland|Girlfriend In A Coma]]'', Richard continues to visit Karen for ''seventeen years'' after she goes into a coma, never once even considering breaking off the relationship.
* In ''[[Douglas Coupland|Girlfriend In A Coma]]'', Richard continues to visit Karen for ''seventeen years'' after she goes into a coma, never once even considering breaking off the relationship.
* In Joe Haldeman's ''[[The Forever War]]'', William and Marygay, who have stuck with each other through firefights, injuries, and the loss of everyone and everything they've ever known, are separated by being given different military assignments. The death toll in the war is horribly high, and [[Time Dilation]] caused by near-lightspeed travel means they can never expect to see each other again. William mourns for her as if she's dead, but doesn't take up with anyone else because in the future that he's been thrust into by the time dilation, everyone else is gay. Marygay, on the other hand, leaves a note for him to find if he survives, assuring him that she will wait forever, tells him where she's going, and {{spoiler|buys a ship which spends the next two hundred years going backwards and forwards at near-lightspeed, stopping every five years, during which time she has aged about a month... leaving her still in her late twenties when William, aged thirtysomething, catches up with her. Now that's an optimistic lady!}}
* In Joe Haldeman's ''[[The Forever War]]'', William and Marygay, who have stuck with each other through firefights, injuries, and the loss of everyone and everything they've ever known, are separated by being given different military assignments. The death toll in the war is horribly high, and [[Time Dilation]] caused by near-lightspeed travel means they can never expect to see each other again. William mourns for her as if she's dead, but doesn't take up with anyone else because in the future that he's been thrust into by the time dilation, everyone else is gay. Marygay, on the other hand, leaves a note for him to find if he survives, assuring him that she will wait forever, tells him where she's going, and {{spoiler|buys a ship which spends the next two hundred years going backwards and forwards at near-lightspeed, stopping every five years, during which time she has aged about a month... leaving her still in her late twenties when William, aged thirtysomething, catches up with her. Now that's an optimistic lady!}}
* In the [[Chivalric Romance]] ''Floris And Blanchefleur'', the lovers are forcibly separated to prevent a mesalliance. Both of them are not to be shaken by that -- even when Floris believes that she is dead.
* In the [[Chivalric Romance]] ''Floris And Blanchefleur'', the lovers are forcibly separated to prevent a mesalliance. Both of them are not to be shaken by that—even when Floris believes that she is dead.
* In the [[Chivalric Romance|Chivalric Romances]] ''King Horn'', ''Beves of Hampton'', and ''Guy of Warwick'', the heroes all win the hand of a princess by their feats. Unfortunately, Horn is in exile from the court of his true love because of [[Malicious Slander|a false accusation]], and Beves and Guy are both seeking to win renown so that the princess he is in love with will find him worthy, despite his low birth. All of them wriggle out of the marriage and (in due time) win their first loves.
* In the [[Chivalric Romance]]s ''King Horn'', ''Beves of Hampton'', and ''Guy of Warwick'', the heroes all win the hand of a princess by their feats. Unfortunately, Horn is in exile from the court of his true love because of [[Malicious Slander|a false accusation]], and Beves and Guy are both seeking to win renown so that the princess he is in love with will find him worthy, despite his low birth. All of them wriggle out of the marriage and (in due time) win their first loves.
* ''Persuasion'' by [[Jane Austen]]. Mildly subverted in that Anne was persuaded to break up the engagement. Nevertheless she waits for him, and gives an impassioned speech pointing out that women will love longer than men when all hope is gone. The hero overhears and does come back.
* ''Persuasion'' by [[Jane Austen]]. Mildly subverted in that Anne was persuaded to break up the engagement. Nevertheless she waits for him, and gives an impassioned speech pointing out that women will love longer than men when all hope is gone. The hero overhears and does come back.
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|The Master Mind of Mars]]'', Dar Tarus was assasinated in order to clear the way for the rival. (Fortunately for him, his body was sold to the [[Mad Scientist]] and he got better.) His love, Kara, fled as soon as her father was assassinated, and returned to be reunited with him.
* In [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'s ''[[John Carter of Mars|The Master Mind of Mars]]'', Dar Tarus was assasinated in order to clear the way for the rival. (Fortunately for him, his body was sold to the [[Mad Scientist]] and he got better.) His love, Kara, fled as soon as her father was assassinated, and returned to be reunited with him.
* In Jan Guillou's ''Knight Templar'' series Cecilia patiently waits for Arn for more than twenty years while he's off making penance as a knight templar. Slightly subverted since she too has been sentenced to make penance and spends twenty years at a convent, but it kicks in for real once she's done her time and has to wait to see if he will ever return home.
* In Jan Guillou's ''Knight Templar'' series Cecilia patiently waits for Arn for more than twenty years while he's off making penance as a knight templar. Slightly subverted since she too has been sentenced to make penance and spends twenty years at a convent, but it kicks in for real once she's done her time and has to wait to see if he will ever return home.
* Worked out pretty easily and straightforwardly in [[The Death of the Vazir Mukhtar]] (also combined with [[Jail Bait Wait]], at least presumably).
* Worked out pretty easily and straightforwardly in [[The Death of the Vazir Mukhtar]] (also combined with [[Jail Bait Wait]], at least presumably).
* In [[Sidney Sheldon]]'s ''The Other Side of Midnight'', Larry Douglas promises to return to poor, sweet Noelle Page when he has to return to his pilot duties -- he leaves her an apartment and some money, encourages her to buy a wedding dress and even gives her a time and place for their reunion. When he doesn't show up, she continues to wait as weeks pass and she learns she's pregnant with his child. She finally tracks down his whereabouts...it turns out he's seeing other women now and never intended to return. She vows that she will exact horrible, horrible [[Revenge]] on him, starting with how she handles the matter of the pregnancy, and this drives the remainder of the novel.
* In [[Sidney Sheldon]]'s ''The Other Side of Midnight'', Larry Douglas promises to return to poor, sweet Noelle Page when he has to return to his pilot duties—he leaves her an apartment and some money, encourages her to buy a wedding dress and even gives her a time and place for their reunion. When he doesn't show up, she continues to wait as weeks pass and she learns she's pregnant with his child. She finally tracks down his whereabouts...it turns out he's seeing other women now and never intended to return. She vows that she will exact horrible, horrible [[Revenge]] on him, starting with how she handles the matter of the pregnancy, and this drives the remainder of the novel.
* Played heartbreakingly straight in the ''Dragonlance'' short story "Love and Ale" with the in-universe poem "The Song of Elen Waiting" in which the eponymous singer laments that her love went off to war, but she still waits for him as her friends grow up and fall in love and have children and grow old while she waits for her love until she dies old and alone.
* Played heartbreakingly straight in the ''Dragonlance'' short story "Love and Ale" with the in-universe poem "The Song of Elen Waiting" in which the eponymous singer laments that her love went off to war, but she still waits for him as her friends grow up and fall in love and have children and grow old while she waits for her love until she dies old and alone.
* Deliberately induced in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story ''A Case of Identity''. The client's stepfather courts the client under an assumed identity, then has that persona disappear on their wedding day. Because of this, the man knows his stepdaughter will wait for years for her beloved to return before she will consider accepting another suitor, during which time he can continue to supplement his income with his stepdaughter's trust fund dividends.
* Deliberately induced in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story ''A Case of Identity''. The client's stepfather courts the client under an assumed identity, then has that persona disappear on their wedding day. Because of this, the man knows his stepdaughter will wait for years for her beloved to return before she will consider accepting another suitor, during which time he can continue to supplement his income with his stepdaughter's trust fund dividends.
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Wait beyond eternity for me... }}
Wait beyond eternity for me... }}
* [[Scissor Sisters]]' Other Side is about waiting for someone [[Together in Death|from beyond the veil]]:
* [[Scissor Sisters]]' Other Side is about waiting for someone [[Together in Death|from beyond the veil]]:
{{quote|[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[[AIFU 8 rf F 7]]_c If it takes another life
{{quote|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[[AIFU 8 rf F 7]]_c If it takes another life
I'll wait for you
I'll wait for you
On the other side...]] }}
On the other side...] }}
* ''In The Hills of Shiloh'' is a haunting ballad of a woman waiting in her bridal gown for her beloved to return to her, running up and down the hills, written by [[Shel Silverstein]].
* ''In The Hills of Shiloh'' is a haunting ballad of a woman waiting in her bridal gown for her beloved to return to her, running up and down the hills, written by [[Shel Silverstein]].
* [[Insane Clown Posse]]'s "Under the Moon" subverts this: the girl promised the song's character (when he went to prison for killing her attempted rapist) that she would wait for him. He knows she made herself into a liar. He is not happy.
* [[Insane Clown Posse]]'s "Under the Moon" subverts this: the girl promised the song's character (when he went to prison for killing her attempted rapist) that she would wait for him. He knows she made herself into a liar. He is not happy.
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** And [[wikipedia:Shep (American dog)|Shep]].
** And [[wikipedia:Shep (American dog)|Shep]].
** And recently, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/loyal-dog-refuses-leave_n_1107561.html?ref=impact this dog in China].
** And recently, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/loyal-dog-refuses-leave_n_1107561.html?ref=impact this dog in China].
* Under traditional Jewish law, this can happen involuntarily to wives who are abandoned by their husbands (or whose husbands simply vanish). A divorce is only valid if the husband signs it, and there's no "legally dead" clause--a woman is not a widow unless there are ''witnesses'' to her husband's death. If a husband simply vanished, his wife would be considered legally married to him, and unable to marry anyone else.<ref>The same applies if the husband doesn't vanish, but simply moves out and refuses to support or divorce her. The descriptive term for such a woman is "agunah", meaning "chained".</ref> The custom was that if a man went into a dangerous situation where he might vanish without a trace--for example, fighting in war or sailing the sea--he would leave behind a signed certificate of divorce, which could be delivered to his wife if he were lost for a long enough period. Presumably these sailors [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|wanted their beloved to be happy]].
* Under traditional Jewish law, this can happen involuntarily to wives who are abandoned by their husbands (or whose husbands simply vanish). A divorce is only valid if the husband signs it, and there's no "legally dead" clause—a woman is not a widow unless there are ''witnesses'' to her husband's death. If a husband simply vanished, his wife would be considered legally married to him, and unable to marry anyone else.<ref>The same applies if the husband doesn't vanish, but simply moves out and refuses to support or divorce her. The descriptive term for such a woman is "agunah", meaning "chained".</ref> The custom was that if a man went into a dangerous situation where he might vanish without a trace—for example, fighting in war or sailing the sea—he would leave behind a signed certificate of divorce, which could be delivered to his wife if he were lost for a long enough period. Presumably these sailors [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|wanted their beloved to be happy]].


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
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