Lonely Funeral: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"Eleanor Rigby died in a church

''And was buried along with her name

 

So, you have this character that's important to the story. Maybe a [[Tragic Hero]], or a [[Friendly Target|family member or friend]], [[The Rival]], or a major antagonist. They're [[Killed Off for Real]], and there's a [[Meaningful Funeral|funeral]]. [[Due to the Dead|With three people attending]]. For added pathos, [[It Always Rains At Funerals|it may be raining]]. Seems only the [[True Companions]] care enough to be there.

Compare [[Dying Alone]].

 

{{examples}}

 

** It signifies how, in the end, everyone saw him as a traitor. To ''everyone''.

* {{spoiler|Sherry's}} funeral in ''[[Gungrave]]'' was attended only by {{spoiler|Harry}} mostly because all of their friends and family are dead.

 

== Comic Books ==

* During the events of the miniseries ''[[52]]'', [[Booster Gold]] appeared to have been killed; no one came to his funeral (even the heroes who carried his coffin were a bunch of [[Super Zeroes]] who were paid to do it.) Turns out he had faked his own death as part of a plan against a villain; whether the funeral was part of that or really represented the regard people had for him is unclear.

** However, in [[Booster Gold]]'s case this trope has special meaning: He needs his time-traveling life to be a [[Stable Time Loop]], which means he ''can't'' be remembered after death, because he knows he wasn't famous in the future. If he had a lonely funeral, it's because he spent his whole life ensuring it'd be that way.

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* In ''[[The Bad and The Beautiful]]'', Jonathan Shields' father had plenty of mourners at his funeral, but only because he willed the last of his money to pay for them to attend.

* ''A Carol Christmas'' had Carol's aunt Marla who had only her niece and her work partner there. Later on, Carol saw her funeral with only her assistant and her friend there.

 

== Literature ==

* Mercedes Lackey's ''Alta'': {{spoiler|Prince Toreth}}. Given an insultingly extravagant state funeral that not even his own parents attended, only his brother and {{spoiler|the other jousters of his wing}}

* In ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', Scrooge is shown in the [[Bad Future]] that he will [[Dying Alone|die alone]] and unmourned if he doesn't repent.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[All in The Family]]'': In "Edith's Final Respects," Edith—to her surprise—is the only one to attend her Aunt Rose's funeral. (This is a twist on the trope, as Aunt Rose was fairly well respected. However, Rose is also very aged and had few surviving close friends or family that were able to attend the funeral, a reflection of real life.)

* The first time Lancelot dies on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' he gets an elaborate memorial service. The second time (after Morgana brainwashes him into seducing Guinevere and then ordering him to kill himself) Merlin is the only one who attends his [[Viking Funeral]].

 

== Music ==

* "Eleanor Rigby" by [[The Beatles]]. The lonely title character dreams of someday being married, but ultimately dies, her funeral service attended only by the equally lonely Father McKenzie.

 

== Theatre ==

* In ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'', Willy Loman's funeral is attended only by his wife, his sons, Charley and Bernard. He wasn't mourned by half as many as the man who inspired him to become a salesman (and was the subject of the [[Title Drop]]).

 

* In [[L.A. Noire]], {{spoiler|Cole Phelps' funeral is sparsely populated due to making several enemies in the Marines and the police force. What's worse is that half of those are crooked cops who put him on the path leading to his death, with the guy who ruined his life delivering his eulogy. Only his former company sergeant, his ex-wife and kids, lover and handful of ex-partners are really there for him. And then there's that guy from outside that bar.}}

* In ''[[Fable]] 2'', Hammer's adopted father, the head priest of the Temple of Light is killed trying to protect Hammer. You, Hammer, and three monk's attend the funeral. Nobody from the town who's prosperity is given to them by the Monk's holy tree, attends. To make matters worse, the monks depart immediately after the prayer, ignoring Hammer as she calls them out for their callous nature and the callous "business as usual" way the world is treating the death of this man.

* {{spoiler|The Boss}} from ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]''? The only person who bothered to visit her grave and pay respect to her was Big Boss (Naked Snake). Well, at least he consistently did it, and even during {{spoiler|her final moments, he was there}}. Possibly done to show how shallow the other higher-ups were, and how they didn't really care about her sacrifice. Also, due to the nature of her final mission, she was never even given a proper funeral. She is buried as an anonymous soldier.

 

* In the ''[[Ciem Webcomic Series]]'', Eric and Patty Levens are never shown or depicted. (They are in the books.) Denny and Angie's dual-funeral is attended by Eric, Patty, Candi, and Donte in the books. But only by Candi and Donte in the comic with one minister present. Justified in that too large a gathering of Flippos or Levenses at any event [[Feuding Families|could draw in Hebbleskins like flies]]. Attendance of the public to such an event could also lead to blacklisting; and fear of Arfaas assassinating someone's cousin just because of that someone having sympathy on an already-targeted family is quite strong in a town recently ravaged by doom ships and supervillains. But also played to show that the community in Viron is spiteful and [[All of the Other Reindeer|will do anything]] [[Designated Monkey|to make Candi's life suck]].

* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209193024/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2411 Monique's death wish is trumped by her desire to avoid this.]

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* At the very beginning of ''[[Up (animation)|Up]]'', the now widowed Carl Friedricksen is actually the only mourner attending his late wife Ellie's funeral.

** The funeral is never shown - we see Carl alone with the casket, but that may be intended to underscore how alone he is without Ellie.

 

== Real Life ==