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Patricide: Difference between revisions
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Fathers can be a terribly bothersome bunch. If you're the hero of an epic tale, [[Luke, I Am Your Father|half the time they turn out to be your worst enemy]]. If you're not such a hero, then maybe your father found his own way of pissing you off. Maybe he's [[Arranged Marriage|set you up to marry the guy you hate]], or [[Gladiator (film)|he plans to hand over his title and fortune to his favorite general rather than you, his eldest son]]. Even if the title and fortune are intended for you, they're still not yours until the old fart is dead. [[Oedipus Complex|Maybe he's got the woman you want (whether she's your real mother or not)]] or maybe he just doesn't appreciate the way you've been [[Brother-Sister Incest|ogling your sister]]. Maybe your father genetically engineered you to be a [[Super Soldier]] or [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|to power his super weapon]] and doesn't understand that you are [[A God Am I|so much more]]. [[Oedipus the King|Maybe you didn't even know it was him and he just got in your way]]. Maybe it was prophesied and [[You Can't Fight Fate]]. [[Abusive Parents|Maybe he beats you]]. [[Domestic Abuse|Or your mom]]. Maybe all of these. In any case, your old man made a big mistake when he didn't [[Offing the Offspring|off the offspring]] because his days are numbered. Daddy's goin down.
'''Patricide''', the act of killing one's father, is one of the most serious crimes [[The Oldest Ones in the Book|throughout history]] (it being one of the ''other'' things Oedipus [[Parental Incest|is famous for]]). Such a taboo is therefore bound to be found in media. Often there is a degree of [[My God, What Have I Done?]] after the deed, reflecting exactly how horrible the crime is considered.
On the other hand, if you're not so very heroic, offing your dad may simply be the next big step in your long and promising political career. It could get you the woman of your dreams. And, lets face it, when you are the hero and your father is still alive, unless he's about to get kidnapped or murdered by the bad guy, then he probably is a horrible villain who deserves to die.
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The killing of a parent is certainly very affecting and tells us a great deal about any character who would do it (And equally as much about characters who refuse to do it). When you're looking for some way of characterizing a hero as dark or causing him grieve heavily, this is always a good trope. What could be considered odd, however, is how often patricide is portrayed in fiction as opposed to matricide. As a matter of fact, try searching for a Matricide trope. You won't find it. This is probably a combination of [[Oedipus Complex]] and [[Most Writers Are Male]].
Compare with [[Self-Made Orphan]], when both parents are killed or otherwise done away with (usually
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* Morgana, on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' indirectly. She doesn't actually do the deed, but she enchants the amulet that does the deed and gives it to Agravaine to use.
* Regina, on ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]''. Sadly, she really did love him, which was ''why'' she killed him. She needed the heart of the one she loved most for the curse she wanted in order to fulfill her quest for vengeance.
== Real Life ==▼
* [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] considered patricide to be the ultimate [[Moral Event Horizon]]. From [[The Other Wiki]]: "[[Ancient Rome]] had a unique punishment for patricide. The felon was severely scourged then sewn into a stout leather bag [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|with a dog, a snake, a rooster, and a monkey]], and the bag was thrown into the river Tiber. Plutarch records that the old laws of Romulus had no penalty for patricide because it was considered [[Hilarious in Hindsight|a crime too evil ever to be committed.]]"▼
* According to [[The Histories|Herodotus]], the Persians believed that no man since the beginning of time had ever killed his own father, and that whenever this appeared to happen, it was evidence that the patricidal child was actually an impostor or changeling.▼
== Religion and Mythology ==
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== Western Animation ==
* Averted in ''[[The Lion King]]'': Simba ''thinks'' he (accidentally) killed his father, until it's revealed (to him) that his uncle Scar did it.
▲== Real Life ==
▲* [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] considered patricide to be the ultimate [[Moral Event Horizon]]. From [[The Other Wiki]]: "[[Ancient Rome]] had a unique punishment for patricide. The felon was severely scourged then sewn into a stout leather bag [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|with a dog, a snake, a rooster, and a monkey]], and the bag was thrown into the river Tiber. Plutarch records that the old laws of Romulus had no penalty for patricide because it was considered [[Hilarious in Hindsight|a crime too evil ever to be committed.]]"
▲* According to [[The Histories|Herodotus]], the Persians believed that no man since the beginning of time had ever killed his own father, and that whenever this appeared to happen, it was evidence that the patricidal child was actually an impostor or changeling.
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