Love Martyr: Difference between revisions

If the Love Martyr is literally killed because of their relationship, and the partner still doesn't make a [[Heel Face Turn]], then the Love Martyr becomes a [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog|shaggy dog]]. Unfortunately, this is the [[Real Life]] trope when a relationship ends with one or both partners dying, and shaggy dogs are the realistic and most common result of abusive relationships that the victim doesn't get out of.

 

 

 

Can be [[Truth in Television]].

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* Mikiya from ''[[Kara no Kyoukai]]'' fits this trope to a T. In the face of being completely ignored by the decidedly-unstable Shiki, he {{spoiler|sits in her garden every night, but she eventually comes out, smiles warmly, and tries to kill him with a knife. When this fails she throws herself in front of a car in a suicide attempt and ends up in a coma for three years, where he visits her every day ''even after she tried to kill him''.}} It seems to work, insofarin that she does eventually seem to care about him somewhat, but even that has the opposite effect when {{spoiler|that very caring just makes her kill another person, exactly what he told her not to do}}.

** Jean as well, with how he's always taking Nadia's [[Tsundere|hot and cold personality]].

* Dominic in ''[[Eureka Seven (Anime)|Eureka Seven]]''. His primary motivation in life is protecting and caring for Anemone, a drugged up [[Tyke Bomb]] who routinely beats the stuffing out of him. {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|It all pays off in the end.]]}}

* Fate Testarossa in the first season of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', who was fine with being whipped repeatedly by her mother for being a bad child because she remembers a time when her mother was kind and, you know, sane. Unfortunately, [[Cloning Blues|her memories aren't quite what they seem]]...

** After coming to terms with her feelings about her mother, she still loves her as the one who brought her into the world, but credits her teacher Linith and her [[Happily Adopted|adoptive mother]] Lindy with raising her.

* Soi in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi (Manga)|Fushigi Yuugi]]'' loves cold-hearted, emotionally stunted Nakago enough to let him use her for sexual healing and even {{spoiler|take a fatal sword wound for him.}}

* Spoileriffic example from ''[[Princess Tutu (Anime)|Princess Tutu]]'': {{spoiler|Rue is practically this trope incarnate. She puts up with her "[[Big Bad|Father]]'s" emotional and physical abuse, blaming herself for the Raven's behavior and believing she just needs to be a "better daughter." When she taints Mytho's heart with the Raven's blood, he begins to take on her father's abusive personality--but, as Mytho says, she "never stopped loving." In the end, her efforts are rewarded--the Raven's poison is reversed by Rue's [[The Power of Love|declaration of love]] and Mytho's pure-hearted personality is restored, and he confesses love for her in return and takes her away to be his princess.}}

* Sister Yukariko Sanada's relationship with {{spoiler|the [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative]] art teacher Ishigami}} in ''[[Mai-HiME (Anime)|Mai-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}}.

** {{spoiler|In the ending, after they're revived, they're inexplicably back together and she's pregnant with his child}}.

** In both adaptations, She gets him in the end. In the Anime, Creed even does a [[Heel Face Turn]] soon Afterward. In the manga, she gets him more as a nurse maid after he has his major [[Villainous Breakdown]].

* Kaname Chidori from the ''[[Full Metal Panic (Light Novel)|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.

** The [[Wife Husbandry|twins Yu Fang and Yu Lan]] towards [[Ax Crazy|Gauron]]. Granted, he probably did stuff with them that would make them feel that he loved them back. But all in all, he isn't shy about showing that he only really seems to care about using them for his plans to ensnare Sousuke / [[Murder the Hypotenuse|kill Sousuke's love interest]]. It's made pretty clear to them that the only one he has eyes for is the 16-year-old boy he has an [[Stalker With a Crush|unhealthy obsession]] with. The fact that he pretty much ignores all the abuse they go through because of working in Amalgam (including getting repeatedly raped by [[Psycho for Hire|Gates]] ever since they were young) seems to be a pretty good indicator that he doesn't care much for their well being. Despite all this, they are still so incredibly in love and loyal to him. "Anything for Sensei" indeed.

** Also, Lua and Ladd are a textbook case. Lua, Ladd's fiance, shows unwavering loyalty to her man, even though he's an [[Ax Crazy]] [[Psycho for Hire|serial killer]]. Somewhat subverted in the fact that he really does love her. Which in his world apparently translates to telling her how much he wants to kill her.

** For Ladd, "I'll kill you last" --> "I'm saving you for last because you're the person I'll enjoy killing the most" --> "I love you more than anyone else baby!"

** Really, depending on a viewer's sympathies, ''any'' of the characters caught up in the [[Love Dodecahedron]] could come off as a Love Martyr, as all of them honestly try to open their heart to the person they love, but none of them receive any attention from the person they desire. Even Ranma and Akane have no real clue whether or not their feelings for each other are reciprocated.

** Played for laughs in the Sleep Incense arc. In one of Akane's dreams, she's a love martyr working hard to try and please her beloved Ranma. Too bad he's a perverted [[Jerkass]] who treats her like crap and has at least 27 wives. Back in the real world, she tearfully scrubs the floor and looks dramatic, while [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] wonders what the hell she's dreaming about.

* [[Harley Quinn (Comic Book)|Harley Quinn]]. Oh, God, Harley Quinn, going back and forth between a girlfriend who treats her like dirt and a boyfriend who ''frequently tries to kill her''. She bounces back and forth between this trope and [[Mad Love]], depending on how sympathetically her romantic woes are treated in the current story.

* Mr. Gosh from ''[[Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl]]'' is the epitome of this trope. He is ''killed'' by Lenore countless times, in [[Cruel and Unusual Death|the worst, possible ways]] and he still thinks that she kills him "by accident". [[Mad Love|That's how big his love for her is]]. ([[Your Mileage May Vary|or obsession, you choose]]).

* Sigyn's portrayal in ''[[The Sandman]]'' is this trope played for as much tragedy as possible. When the blinded, paralyzed Loki is returned to his prison, Odin reminds Sigyn that Loki abandoned her and that she does not need to share his punishment. Sigyn silently refuses to abandon her husband despite everything. As Loki curses her in his impotent rage at his predicament, Sigyn tearfully whispers "I am so happy that you are back, my love." Loki's response is mocking laughter and more curses.

 

* Caphriel, from [[Good Omens (Literature)/Fanfic 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 (Fanfic)|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 ''[[Hunting the Unicorn (Fanfic)|Hunting the Unicorn]],'' [[Glee (TV)|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.}}

** [[It Got Worse]]. Blaine is implied to think [[Sex Equals Love]], {{spoiler|so he lost his virginity at sixteen to a guy who either didn't notice or didn't ''care'' that he was leading Blaine on.}} Later on, we find out that {{spoiler|Blaine tried to ''invoke'' [[Sex Equals Love]]}}, which makes it [[Wide Eyed Idealist|dumber]] ''and'' [[Tear Jerker|sadder.]] And in the nineteenth chapter, after {{spoiler|waking up in a basement with Wes and David}}, the first person he tries to call is his dad. The one who [[Parental Neglect|hasn't talked to him in two years]] [[Coming Out Story|because he came out.]]

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Blades of Glory (Film)|Blades of Glory]]'' has a sister who acts as a henchgirl to her selfish and murderous older siblings and adores them despite their overt manipulations and dirt-like treatment of her.

** She adored them? This troper got the feeling that she was simply resigned to be stuck with them, coupled with the fact that they use her indirect involvement in the deaths of their parents to emotionally manipulate her.

* Diana Mayo of ''[[The Sheik]]''. Nevermind that the titular character is an abusive rapist, she falls in love with him and is willing to do anything to please him.

* ''[[Don Quixote (Literature)|Don Quixote]]'': Part II, chapter LX, Don Vicente Tornellas has been shot by his fiancée Claudia Jeronima because she believed that Don Vicente wanted to marry another woman. Don Vicente?s last words are to tell her that he was innocent, never intended to marry any other woman, and then he said before his death: ''my cruel fortune must have carried those tidings to thee to drive thee in thy jealousy to take my life; and to assure thyself of this, press my hands and take me for thy husband if thou wilt; I have no better satisfaction to offer thee for the wrong thou fanciest thou hast received from me.''

* ''[[The Last Unicorn (Literature)|The Last Unicorn]]'': While Prince Lir's beloved [[Emotionless Girl|Lady]] [[Involuntary Transformation|Amalthea]] does absolutely nothing to encourage this or harm/scorn him in any way, he puts ''himself'' through the wringer doing ridiculous things and suffering trying to "earn" her love. [[Character Development|Then events cause both of them to change emotionally.]]

* In Edmond Hamilton's short story "He That Hath Wings," David—[[Winged Humanoid|born with functional wings]]—falls for Ruth. Unfortunately, she [[But Your Wings Are Beautiful|doesn't find said wings beautiful enough to not be weirded out by them]]. {{spoiler|He has them amputated so that she'll marry him, and eventually [[Driven to Suicide|becomes suicidally depressed as a result]]}}. [[Stoic Woobie|Poor guy]].

* In ''[[Starlight Express]]'', the long-suffering dining car Dinah struggles with her undue devotion to her [[Jerk Jock]] diesel engine boyfriend Greaseball. She decides to give up on him after he dumps her for the observation car Pearl, but her friends convince her that racing with the electric engine Electra will make him jealous (and thus cause Greaseball to desire her again). {{spoiler|Eventually, Greaseball [[Character Development|gets better]], and their relationship is saved.}}

* [[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]].

 

 

* Just about any of your potential love interests should you pursue the Way of the Closed Fist in ''[[Jade Empire (Video Game)|Jade Empire]]'', who will go bad themselves, if you use the right dialogue, [[Love Makes You Evil|for love of you.]] Since for all of the initial philosophical pretenses the Closed Fist plays out in-game as pretty much 99% [[Jerkass]]/[[Lawful Stupid Chaotic Stupid|Chaotic Stupid]], your character is likely to be pretty much about as unlovable as they come.

* Dandy is a minor example in ''[[Ghost Trick (Video Game)|Ghost Trick]]''. Beauty constantly insults him, and yet he keeps talking about who to invite to their hypothetical wedding. Given some of his dialogue, he may actually enjoy the abuse.

* Litchi Faye-Ling in ''[[Blaz Blue (Video Game)|Blaz Blue]]'', 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.}}

** To Lotte's credit, in two of Arakune's endings, he pulls himself together long enough to either save Litchi from her own corruption erasing her memories of him in the process or beg her to abandon him and seek help from Kokonoe. Her love for him was at least partially reciprocated.

== Web Originals ==

* [[Whateley Universe (Literature)|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.

** Nella from [[The Nostalgia Chick (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Chick]] started out like this, taking all the punishment to make the Chick look better, but has steadily grown a backbone since the Dark Nella Saga and can now call the Chick out on her bullshit.

* Jean Teasdale of [[The Onion]] is a [[Deconstructive Parody]] of this concept. She stays with her husband Rick despite what could be called a horrible homelife.