Love Martyr: Difference between revisions

[[File:Valentines_lowrezz_9314Valentines lowrezz 9314.jpg|link=Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl|frame| And [[The Woobie|he]] [[Mad Love|would do anything]] for [[Ax Crazy|her]]. Even [[Literal Metaphor|stand her hot, burning fire.]] ]]

* Ekou of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh GX]]'', who allows Amon to kill her as a sacrifice to master Exodia the Forbidden One and is actually happy that she fits the conditions of the sacrifice (being the person he loves the most). She is reputedly named after a [[Love Martyr]] from Greek mythology, the nymph Echo.

{{quote| '''Shishio''' ''(to Kenshin)'': ... (You call this) Murder? Don't judge me with ''your'' philosophy. [[Mad Love|She fully understands me... and I understand her like nobody else in the whole world does...]]}}

* Sister Yukariko Sanada's relationship with {{spoiler|the [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative]] art teacher Ishigami}} in ''[[MaiMy-HiME]]'' makes her one of these. She genuinely loves him, but he's more concerned with {{spoiler|getting the other girls to turn against each other so that Yukariko can be the last one standing, goading her into pulling a [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit]]}}. She eventually gets fed up with having to go against her own ideals, and after her confrontation with Mai, she {{spoiler|turns her [[The Archer|bow-and-arrows]] against ''Ishigami'', while tearfully ''admitting'' her Love Martyr status as they sink into the ground along with her CHILD}}.

* Kaname Chidori from the ''[[Full Metal Panic!]] Overload'' gag manga. Due to Sousuke going through extreme [[Flanderization]], she can't actually even be considered a [[Tsundere]] in this version, considering that her reactions of lightly smacking him are an ''under reaction'' to the atrocities he commits. It's hard to understand why she even continues to have hopes that he'll return her feelings and treat her like a girlfriend, considering how many countless times he's [[Moment Killer|completely ruined their romantic moments]] without remorse and generally acted like a sociopathic [[Ax Crazy]] maniac. Funnily, after the disaster and their ruined moment, ''she'll'' be the one who has an epiphany-esque, touching moment where she thinks that she "understands him a bit better now, and should have been more open-minded." Sure, quite a bit of it is played for [[Comedic Sociopathy|comedy]], but I'll be damned if their relationship doesn't look like an abusive one.

* Platonic/Paternal example from ''[[Baccano!]]!'': Huey is [[Abusive Parents|not a very good father]]. He emotionally manipulates his daughter Chane on a regular basis and doesn't even think of her as human. Even so, Chane is [[Battle Butler|fiercely and impenetrably loyal]] to him in a way that disturbs even ''him''.

{{quote| '''Huey:''' What loyalty...She accepted my request not to share it with anyone. And Chane, my daughter, ''chose'' to [[The Speechless|lose her voice]]. Hey, Elmer...do you ever believe a pitiful guinea pig like her will ever experience happiness in it's life?}}

* ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma One Half]]'' has Mousse, whose applicability to this trope is one of the reasons why he can be considered [[The Woobie]]. Not only does he continue to long for a woman who clearly is interested in another man, but he can't bring himself to do the [[Red Sonja]] betrothal method either. Of course, it's also mentioned that he has challenged her in the past; it's just she's always been able to beat him. It's also mentioned that he can't challenge her in this manner while she's engaged to Ranma (hence his fixation on attempts to [[Murder the Hypotenuse]]) and at least ''strongly'' implied that as a fellow tribesman it would be neither needed or binding in the first place.

* Mary Magdalene in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' is mostly around to embody this trope in the [[Backstory]]. When she meets Chrono, he's a bitter and jaded soldier that even threatens that he'd kill her if Aion orders him to. However, Mary sticks with him, knowing that (as she says) Chrono really "doesn't want to hurt anyone" and continues to reach out to him until he starts to soften. It's played even straighter when it's revealed that {{spoiler|Mary, as a seer, had a reoccurring dream of a man named Chrono taking her life with tears streaming down his face. Eventually her dream comes true--he makes a [[Deal with the Devil|contract]] with her and accidentally kills her in the process.}} This is one of the examples where it works--whenworks—when we see Chrono in the present day of the story, he still has issues but he's more prone to genuinely make an effort to reach out to people. She also was the key to him betraying the [[Big Bad]] and becoming one of the good guys.

* ''[[ZeroThe noFamiliar Tsukaimaof Zero]]'': Sometimes Saito verges on this--onthis—on occasion Louise goes beyond mere [[Tsundere]]-type behavior into outright sociopathic sadism (such as the time she ''flogged him unconscious with an actual whip''), although this [[Alternative Character Interpretation|depends on your opinion,]] given that they're the [[Official Couple]].

* Arguably Doumeki in ''[[XxxHolic×××HOLiC]]'' for Watanuki. He's willing to make [[Heroic Sacrifices]] for Watanuki's sake, even though the latter makes it no secret that he's jealous of him (because he thinks his crush Himawari is in love with Doumeki) and is ''very'' much a [[Tsundere]] to him. And now, half an eye, a lot of blood, and {{spoiler|six plus years later}}, he's still devoted solely to Watanuki, who {{spoiler|is pretty much grounded ''forever'' inside Yuuko's shop, waiting for her to return}}.

* [[Childhood Friend Romance|Sayaka Miki]] from ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' becomes a [[Magical Girl]]--committing—committing herself to an endless war against [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]--tos—to heal her childhood friend Kyousuke Kamijo, a violinist with severely injured hand whom she has a crush on. She visits the hospital every day to nurse him, believing that "miracles and magic" can bring him hope. Kyousuke, in turn, {{spoiler|does not even tell her when he is leaving the hospital and remains completely oblivious to her feelings, leading to Sayaka's mental breakdown and eventual demise}}. In the last episode, {{spoiler|she is given the chance to cancel her wish and bring herself back to life but refuses to do so [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|because she is fine just to see him play again]]. To be fair, Kamijou truly didn't know about the whole deal, and by the end he ''does'' remember her and whisper her name when he feels her presence}}.

{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Subaru:''' Even if you forgot that you killed me soon afterward. Even if I was just one of the sakura’s many victims... At least if it were you...}}}}

== ComicbooksComic Books ==

== Fan FictionWorks ==

* Caphriel, from ''[[Good Omens]]'' fanfic ''[http:/Fanfic/www.populli.net/thewritegirls/afrai/s0.html Recs|"The Sacred and the Profane".]] ''?. "Caphriel... thought he could somehow make it better, thought his love could seal the cracks in Zirah's sanity, because his love for Zirah was desperate and overwhelming and it felt like a force greater than himself, and in those first few heady centuries he'd thought he could do anything. Then he'd found that no amount of love would ever heal the permanent dislocation of Zirah's mind, but he kept kissing Zirah because... he couldn't seem to stop.?''"

* Mao from ''[[Code Geass: Mao of the Deliverance|Code Geass Mao of the Deliverance]]'' is clearly shown to be this for C.C., who lies to, tries to manipulate, and ultimately abandons him. He even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this at one point, excusing her actions because she's a [[Broken Bird]] and deciding that he doesn't care how she treated him so long as they can be together.

* In ''[[Naruto Veangance Revelaitons]]'', Sakura is willing to put up with any and all abuse [[Jerkass|R]][[Jerk Sue|o]][[Bastard Boyfriend|n]][[Author Avatar|a]][[Protagonist-Centered Morality|n]] gives her, even being willing to {{spoiler|cut off her vagina in order to prove she still loves him after she gets caught cheating on him}}.

* In ''[[Hunting the Unicorn (Fanfic)|Hunting the Unicorn]],'' [[Glee|Blaine]] is shown as this. It's not as bad as most examples since he's currently with Kurt, but what happened ''before'' is worrying. First is his platonic martyrdom, as he constantly makes excuses for his estranged father; then comes the revelation that [[But Not Too Gay|chaste]], [[Oblivious to Love|oblivious]], [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|idealistic]] Blaine {{spoiler|is not a virgin. At seventeen.}}

* The eponymous [[The Great Gatsby|Great Gatsby]] is a classic example. ''Everything'' he does after he meets Daisy -- embezzlementDaisy—embezzlement, less-than-scrupulous methods of becoming rich -- isrich—is all done to win her heart. He even {{spoiler|takes the blame for Myrtle's death in Daisy's place, and ends up dying for it}}. Of course, the truly tragic part about all this is that Daisy, while she did have feelings for Gatsby, was merely a beautiful but spoiled, self-centered, and weak-willed woman who almost certainly didn't deserve Gatsby's unconditional love and devotion.

* In ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'', Tora Ziyal was in love with Garak almost since their first meeting, despite the amount of frustration it caused her father (even pushing him to leave the station, join the Dominion, and leave her stranded on the other side of the front line). When Garak goes to see her body when he learns she was killed during the Dominion occupation of the station, Kira comments that Ziyal loved him. Garak says that he never understood why, and now he never will.

* Check out [https://web.archive.org/web/20111225051852/http://www.hulu.com/watch/19590/saturday-night-live-the-phil-donahue-show this classic Saturday Night Live parody] of the Phil Donahue Show. [[Phil Hartman]], RIP.

** By season five the tables have turned and Chuck is now a [[Love Martyr]] for an increasingly unlikeable Blair.

{{quote| I've been a martyr for love<br />

I need to be by your side<br />

I have knelt at your feet<br />

I have felt your deceit<br />

{{quote| Well I guess, I should stick up for myself<br />

But I really think it's better this way<br />

The more you suffer<br />

The more it shows you really care,<br />

{{quote| ...Broken down, hurt again / It never ends<br />

Frightened and trembling / Did she fall again, an accident<br />

Her eyes encircled in black again / I can't believe that she's still with him<br />

For how long will you try? / How long until you walk away?<br />

{{quote| I’d catch a grenade for ya<br />

Throw my hand on a blade for ya<br />

I’d jump in front of a train for ya<br />

{{quote| This Tainted Love you give me<br />

* [[Cyrano De Bergerac]]: This play ''deconstructs'' this trope by showing us the personality necessary to be a [[Love Martyr]] and that they don't even need a [[Jerkass]] Lover to become one. This trope is ''Invoked, deconstructed and justified'' by Cyrano, but never ''played straight'' by Roxane: At Act I, he confess to Le Bret that because [[Abhorrent Admirer|he has an ugly nose]], he cannot aspire to the love of even a graceless woman. So naturally, he’s in love with the most beautiful woman, Roxane. When Le Bret ''lampshades'' that Cyrano’s charisma can win Roxane’s love and urges him to confess, Cyrano ''invokes'' this trope saying that his only fear is [[Jerkass|Roxane mocking him after that]]. After Act II, [[Dramatic Irony|is clear for the audience, but not for Cyrano]], that Roxane would never do such a heinous act. Cyrano still don’t accept it and prefers to ''invoke'' this trope again helping the fair Christian to win Roxane’s love. This trope is ''deconstructed'' and ''justified'' showing exactly [[Freudian Excuse|the type of guy]] [[Martyr Without a Cause|who can play this trope]], and that [[Master of Delusion|guy doesn’t even need a real motive (is clear Roxane never was the JerkAss lover Cyrano imagines)]]. At Act IV, after an ultimatum, Christian forces Cyrano to confess, and Cyrano seems he could ''avert'' this trope for only a moment, until he would ''invoke'' it again after Christian death. ''Justified'' because Cyrano’s [[Mommy Issues|personality]] and [[Martyrdom Culture|upbringing]] forces him to be the [[Love Martyr]].

* In ''[[Princess Maker]] 2'' you can make your adopted daughter [[Wife Husbandry|fall in love with you]] if just scold her enough after she has done something bad, but in order to make her feel guilty you have to [[Training Fromfrom Hell|overwork her to the point of near-exhaustion]], risking that she will die from sickness.

* Litchi Faye-Ling in ''[[Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'', while not openly admitting it, shows that she truly loved her colleague Lotte Carmine, despite him showing himself to be a glory-seeking man with serious inferiority complex and saw her as utterly annoying in his progress as a researcher. To the point that when he turned into [[Eldritch Abomination|Arakune]], she would stop at nothing to save him, despite other people considering him a lost cause, including subjecting herself to the same corruption he was dabbling, {{spoiler|and the corruption eventually catching up to her before she can find a cure, which leads her to [[Forced Into Evil|reluctantly join NOL]] as they have the cure for both her and him, and it's implied that they could easily destroy it if she didn't do a thing about it.}}

* ''[[Zebra Girl]]'' has most of the cast turn into this as the main character descends into her demonic side. Noticeably lampshaded [https://web.archive.org/web/20090627041635/http://zebragirl.keenspot.com/d/20090608.html here].

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130530025321/http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/love-lessons/ Deconstructed] by ''[[Bug (webcomic)Martini|Bug]]'' in "What the Movies Have Taught Me About Love".

* [[Whateley Universe]] example: Peeper and Greasy. Peeper shares a room with Greasy. Peeper beats Greasy if someone humiliates Peeper or hits Peeper, and he may hit Greasy for other reasons too. Peeper seems to only care that Greasy will do anything for him, and will work insane hours trying to build whatever Peeper wants to misuse. Peeper isolates Greasy from friends and fellow inventors, and reminds Greasy that Peeper is the only person Greasy has. It looks like the most abusive relationship in all of Whateley Academy. If Greasy isn't a [[Love Martyr]], he's got to be really, really close.

* Zuko of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is blindly devoted to his [[Evil Overlord]] [[Big Bad|father]] [[Abusive Parents|who burned his face, banished him on a wild goose chase,]] [[Complete Monster|and sent his sister to either capture or kill him]] -- just—just one of the main traits that makes him [[The Woobie]]. But because that's not sad enough, his Uncle Iroh is just as solidly devoted to a nephew who treats him like dirt (albeit on-and-off). {{spoiler|By the middle of the third season, Zuko has his head on straight and declared his full intent to bring down his father.}}

* [[The Simpsons (animation)|Marge Simpson]] is a good example of this. [[Subverted Trope|Interestingly]], Homer often ''does'' make an effort--ifeffort—if it weren't for [[Negative Continuity]] and [[Flanderization]], Marge wouldn't even be on the same continent as this trope, with all the "Homer learns to be more supportive/loving" episodes that have been done.

* More optimistically, it's also common in very devoted, non-abusive relationships, and especially can seem like this when one member of a couple is going through a difficult time. The website [https://web.archive.org/web/20100810080441/http://www.lovegivesmehope.com/ Love Gives Me Hope] has many examples.

{{quote| Love has nothing to do with what you're expecting to get, '''only what you're expecting to give - which is everything.''' What you receive in return varies, but that really has no connection with why you give. '''You give because you love and cannot help giving.'''}}