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Old Maid: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''Always being one.
''Never being two.
''Re-arrange the furniture,
''There's nothing else to do.
''Keep an empty house.
''Watch your brothers wed.
''Dream an empty dream at night
''Upon an empty bed.
''Old maid! Old maid!''|'''Lizzie''', ''[[110 in the Shade]]'', "Old Maid"}}
When a female character reaches a certain vaguely-defined age threshold, she will eventually be subjected to the most terrible of insults: "[[Old Maid]]". The underlying assumption is, of course, that a woman's value exists only in how successfully she serves and pleases her husband and family, so a woman who is unable to snag a husband is a pathetic worthless failure at life who deserves contempt and ridicule, particularly in older stories from times where traditional gender roles were more strongly enforced. A woman doesn't even have to be called an old maid outright to be threatened; even the hint that someday she ''might become'' an old maid - usually because she's not acting in a sufficiently conformist way - is enough to make her either conform or fall into despair.
The insult is still used today, but mostly as a generic inflammatory comment towards women that the speaker doesn't like. Reference will often be made to [[Crazy Cat Lady|cats]], homely appearance, unlikable demeanor, loneliness, and uselessness. Nosy parents who are [[I Want Grandkids|wanting for grandkids]] or are worried about their child's happiness are a rife source of this, as well.
Old Maid is a [[Super-Trope|parent trope]] to the following [[Sub-Trope|subtropes]]:▼
▲[[Old Maid]] is a [[Super-Trope|parent trope]] to the following [[Sub-Trope|subtropes]]:
* [[Christmas Cake]]: Old Maids forced to deal with personal or familial angst pertaining to the mostly outdated Japanese cultural idea that a woman is unmarriageable after the age of 25.
* [[Maiden Aunt]]: Old Maids that have remained unmarried and (theoretically) virginal into their twilight years, who instead dote on their siblings' children.
All other examples should be listed here.▼
▲All other examples should be listed here.
{{examples}}
== Film ==
* The title character in the 1930s film ''[[The Old Maid]]''.
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== Games ==
* In the card game of the same name, the point is to avoid being stuck with the Old Maid card, the only unmatched one in the deck.
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