Keep the Home Fires Burning: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Content added Content deleted
m (Mass update links)
(→‎Music: added example)
 
(12 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{trope}}
{{quote|''Let no tears add to their hardships''<br />
{{quote|''Let no tears add to their hardships''
''As the soldiers pass along,''<br />
''As the soldiers pass along,''
''And although your heart is breaking,''<br />
''And although your heart is breaking,''
''Make it sing this cheery song:''<br />
''Make it sing this cheery song:''
''Keep the Home Fires Burning,''<br />
''Keep the Home Fires Burning,''
''While your hearts are yearning.''<br />
''While your hearts are yearning.''
''Though your lads are far away''<br />
''Though your lads are far away''
''They dream of home.''<br />
''They dream of home.''
''There's a silver lining''<br />
''There's a silver lining''
''Through the dark clouds shining,''<br />
''Through the dark clouds shining,''
''Turn the dark cloud inside out''<br />
''Turn the dark cloud inside out''
'''Til the boys come home.''
'''Til the boys come home.''|Ivor Novello & Lena Ford, "[http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/keepthehomefiresburning.htm Keep the Home-Fires Burning]"}}
|Ivor Novello & Lena Ford, "[http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/keepthehomefiresburning.htm Keep the Home-Fires Burning]"}}




Line 19: Line 20:
* Police Officers & Firefighters: They get regular time off, and they're (usually) home for dinner, but the daily risk of death is still present.
* Police Officers & Firefighters: They get regular time off, and they're (usually) home for dinner, but the daily risk of death is still present.
* Sailors (non-military): Long deployments in a dangerous profession, but with fewer enemies actively gunning for your sailor's blood. But there's always the suspicion he's got a girl in every port.
* Sailors (non-military): Long deployments in a dangerous profession, but with fewer enemies actively gunning for your sailor's blood. But there's always the suspicion he's got a girl in every port.
* [[Superhero|Superheroes]]: Arguably the most stressful for families of all. Regular combat deployment with little warning or time off, since [[The Hero]] is always "on call"; enemies out for blood; and if [[The Hero]]'s [[Secret Identity|identity is secret]], there are few people their loved ones can turn to for support.
* [[Superhero]]es: Arguably the most stressful for families of all. Regular combat deployment with little warning or time off, since [[The Hero]] is always "on call"; enemies out for blood; and if [[The Hero]]'s [[Secret Identity|identity is secret]], there are few people their loved ones can turn to for support.


Can lead to [[Unfortunate Implications]] when the act of waiting is portrayed as passive, the spouse left to endure is [[Always Female]], or the waiting person is put in a negative light if not a perfect, patient [[Proper Lady]] -- happy to stay home while [[The Hero]] wanders afield having adventures. Can also deconstruct the facade of a proud military family by realistically depicting the [[Stepford Smiler]]-levels of emotional stress and isolation that [[My Girl Back Home]] shoulders with [[Heroic Resolve]], as well as the accepted but implicit pain caused when [[The Hero]] chooses [[Loved I Not Honor More]].
Can lead to [[Unfortunate Implications]] when the act of waiting is portrayed as passive, the spouse left to endure is [[Always Female]], or the waiting person is put in a negative light if not a perfect, patient [[Proper Lady]]—happy to stay home while [[The Hero]] wanders afield having adventures. Can also deconstruct the facade of a proud military family by realistically depicting the [[Stepford Smiler]]-levels of emotional stress and isolation that [[My Girl Back Home]] shoulders with [[Heroic Resolve]], as well as the accepted but implicit pain caused when [[The Hero]] chooses [[Duty First, Love Second]].


The [[Determined Homesteader's Wife]] can be this, if she doesn't wind up the [[Determined Widow]]. See also [[Home Sweet Home]].
The [[Determined Homesteader's Wife]] can be this, if she doesn't wind up the [[Determined Widow]]. See also [[Home, Sweet Home]].


{{examples}}
{{examples}}


== [[Advertising]] ==
== [[Advertising]] ==
* [[Lampshaded]] in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDB8p-2pcRo this] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAA USAA] ad, "Two Kinds of Heroes."
* [[Lampshaded]] in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDB8p-2pcRo this] [[wikipedia:USAA|USAA]] ad, "Two Kinds of Heroes."


== [[Comics]] ==
== [[Comics]] ==
* ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'': [[Fiery Redhead|Mary Jane Watson-Parker]] struggles between her desire to support [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|Peter Parker]] in his role as Spider-Man and her real fear that ''this'' time could be the night she sent her husband out to die. This is notably a factor in the [http://spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/spiderman_web/031.html Kraven's Last Hunt] storyline when {{spoiler|for two weeks MJ doesn't know if Peter is dead}}.
* ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'': [[Fiery Redhead|Mary Jane Watson-Parker]] struggles between her desire to support [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|Peter Parker]] in his role as Spider-Man and her real fear that ''this'' time could be the night she sent her husband out to die. This is notably a factor in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130827212605/http://spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/spiderman_web/031.html Kraven's Last Hunt] storyline when {{spoiler|for two weeks MJ doesn't know if Peter is dead}}.


== Film ==
== Film ==
* The French film ''[[A Very Long Engagement]]'' is about a woman (played by [[Audrey Tautou]]) trying to find out what happened to her fiance who fought in [[World War One]].
* The French film ''[[A Very Long Engagement]]'' is about a woman (played by [[Audrey Tautou]]) trying to find out what happened to her fiance who fought in [[World War I]].
* Colonel Moore's wife, Julie, in ''[[We Were Soldiers]]'' has scenes of this. In one, the taxi driver delivering death notification letters to widows stops at Colonel Moore's house to ask his wife for directions to another house. [[Tear Jerker|She initially thinks her husband has died,]] and is not pleased to find out why she just got the scare of her life.
* Colonel Moore's wife, Julie, in ''[[We Were Soldiers]]'' has scenes of this. In one, the taxi driver delivering death notification letters to widows stops at Colonel Moore's house to ask his wife for directions to another house. [[Tear Jerker|She initially thinks her husband has died,]] and is not pleased to find out why she just got the scare of her life.


== [[Literature]] ==
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Literature/You Know When The Men Are Gone|You Know When The Men Are Gone]] by [http://siobhanfallon.com/ Siobhan Fallon] is a collection of short stories focused mainly on the inner lives of U.S. military families waiting in Fort Hood. Fallon is herself a military wife.
* [[You Know When The Men Are Gone]] by [http://siobhanfallon.com/ Siobhan Fallon] is a collection of short stories focused mainly on the inner lives of U.S. military families waiting in Fort Hood. Fallon is herself a military wife.
* [http://plagiarist.com/poetry/1957/ "Penelope"], a short and searing poem by [[Dorothy Parker]], from the perspective of [[The Odyssey (Literature)|Odysseus's wife]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150918190528/http://plagiarist.com/poetry/1957/ "Penelope"], a short and searing poem by [[Dorothy Parker]], from the perspective of [[Odyssey|Odysseus's wife]].
* The poem [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/an-ancient-gesture/ "An Ancient Gesture"] by [[Edna St Vincent Millay]], also about [[The Odyssey (Literature)|Penelope]].
* The poem [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/an-ancient-gesture/ "An Ancient Gesture"] by [[Edna St. Vincent Millay]], also about [[Odyssey|Penelope]].
{{quote| Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight;<br />
{{quote|Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight;
And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light,<br />
And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light,
And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years.<br />
And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years.
Suddenly you burst into tears;<br />
Suddenly you burst into tears;
There is simply nothing else to do. }}
There is simply nothing else to do. }}


== [[Live Action Television]] ==
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Army Wives (TV)|Army Wives]]''
* ''[[Army Wives]]''
* The ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' episode "They Also Serve..." focused on the Watchers, the mysterious organization who observed and recorded the constant warfare between the immortals but (theoretically) never interfered in the ongoing fights.
* The ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' episode "They Also Serve..." focused on the Watchers, the mysterious organization who observed and recorded the constant warfare between the immortals but (theoretically) never interfered in the ongoing fights.


== [[Music]] ==
== [[Music]] ==
* The British [[World War I]] patriotic song "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_the_Home_Fires_Burning_(1914_song) Keep the Home-Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home)]."
* The British [[World War I]] patriotic song "[[wikipedia:Keep the Home Fires Burning (1914 song)|Keep the Home-Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home)]]."
* The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHXtQQlyaR0 video] for "This Is Me Missing You" by [[Music/James House|James House]].
* The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHXtQQlyaR0 video] for "This Is Me Missing You" by [[Music/James House|James House]].
* "It Sucks" by pop-punk band [[Music/The Unlovables|The Unlovables]] is about the downsides of this trope.
* "It Sucks" by pop-punk band [[Music/The Unlovables|The Unlovables]] is about the downsides of this trope.
{{quote| And in a way, I wish I was you<br />
{{quote|''And in a way, I wish I was you
Heading cross-country with a dream to pursue<br />
''Heading cross-country with a dream to pursue
I guess til now I never knew<br />
''I guess til now I never knew
How much it sucks to be the one who’s left behind<br />
''How much it sucks to be the one who’s left behind
You’re off in the great unknown<br />
''You’re off in the great unknown
When I’m stuck here all alone }}
''When I’m stuck here all alone }}
* [[The Go-Go's|Belinda Carlisle]]'s 1989 single [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmZYE8j2ZNs "Leave a Light On"] is a plea for the singer's loved one to wait faithfully for her return from a journey she's not exactly taking willingly:
{{quote|''I can't explain, I don't know
''Just how far I have to go
''But darling I'll keep the key
''Just leave a light on for me}}


== [[Mythology]] ==
== [[Mythology]] ==
* Ithaca's queen [[Determined Homesteader's Wife|Penelope]] in ''[[The Odyssey (Literature)|The Odyssey]]'', of course.
* Ithaca's queen [[Determined Homesteader's Wife|Penelope]] in ''[[Odyssey|The Odyssey]]'', of course.


== [[Web Original]] ==
== [[Web Original]] ==
* [http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/40324.html Dogs Welcoming Home Soldiers.] "These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. [[Precious Puppies|They'll also make you want a dog.]]"
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100420070941/http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/40324.html Dogs Welcoming Home Soldiers.] "These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. [[Precious Puppies|They'll also make you want a dog.]]"


== [[Truth in Television]] ==
== [[Truth in Television]] ==
Line 73: Line 79:


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Superhero Tropes]]
[[Category:Superhero Tropes]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
[[Category:Keep The Home Fires Burning]]
[[Category:Trope]]

Latest revision as of 15:14, 3 April 2023

Let no tears add to their hardships
As the soldiers pass along,
And although your heart is breaking,
Make it sing this cheery song:
Keep the Home Fires Burning,
While your hearts are yearning.
Though your lads are far away
They dream of home.
There's a silver lining
Through the dark clouds shining,
Turn the dark cloud inside out
'Til the boys come home.

—Ivor Novello & Lena Ford, "Keep the Home-Fires Burning"


Lots of stories are about The Hero and comrades as They Fight Crime. This story focuses on The Hero's lovers, family, and friends back home, often in a Lower Deck Episode, as they try keep normal life together and not go crazy from loneliness and worry. British examples will exhibit lots of Stiff Upper Lip. Romantic partners will find renewed determination that I Will Wait for You or succumb to Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder.

The usual portrayal involves families of the military and other warriors: soldiers are subject to long, distant deployments with little contact back home, and combat situations always involve the fear of injury and death. Families of police officers, sailors, and superheroes can also feel like this.

  • Police Officers & Firefighters: They get regular time off, and they're (usually) home for dinner, but the daily risk of death is still present.
  • Sailors (non-military): Long deployments in a dangerous profession, but with fewer enemies actively gunning for your sailor's blood. But there's always the suspicion he's got a girl in every port.
  • Superheroes: Arguably the most stressful for families of all. Regular combat deployment with little warning or time off, since The Hero is always "on call"; enemies out for blood; and if The Hero's identity is secret, there are few people their loved ones can turn to for support.

Can lead to Unfortunate Implications when the act of waiting is portrayed as passive, the spouse left to endure is Always Female, or the waiting person is put in a negative light if not a perfect, patient Proper Lady—happy to stay home while The Hero wanders afield having adventures. Can also deconstruct the facade of a proud military family by realistically depicting the Stepford Smiler-levels of emotional stress and isolation that My Girl Back Home shoulders with Heroic Resolve, as well as the accepted but implicit pain caused when The Hero chooses Duty First, Love Second.

The Determined Homesteader's Wife can be this, if she doesn't wind up the Determined Widow. See also Home, Sweet Home.

Examples of Keep the Home Fires Burning include:


Advertising

Comics

Film

Literature

Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight;
And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light,
And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years.
Suddenly you burst into tears;
There is simply nothing else to do.

Live-Action TV

  • Army Wives
  • The Highlander the Series episode "They Also Serve..." focused on the Watchers, the mysterious organization who observed and recorded the constant warfare between the immortals but (theoretically) never interfered in the ongoing fights.

Music

And in a way, I wish I was you
Heading cross-country with a dream to pursue
I guess til now I never knew
How much it sucks to be the one who’s left behind
You’re off in the great unknown
When I’m stuck here all alone

  • Belinda Carlisle's 1989 single "Leave a Light On" is a plea for the singer's loved one to wait faithfully for her return from a journey she's not exactly taking willingly:

I can't explain, I don't know
Just how far I have to go
But darling I'll keep the key
Just leave a light on for me

Mythology

Web Original

Truth in Television

  • Ask any career military family.
  • Or any police officer's family.