The Ingenue: Difference between revisions

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[[The Ingenue]] is a young [[My Girl Is Not a Slut|virginal]] woman with the [[Purity Personified|purity]] [[Adult Child|of a]] [[Children Are Innocent|child]].

She is [[Horrible Judge of Character|woefully naive]], making her a prime target for a villain seeking to take advantage of her, often in an [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]] fashion. As a result, the ingenue is one of the most common [[~~Distressed~~ Damsel|Distressed Damsels]]. She is also [[Entendre Failure|immune to sexual innuendo]]. In a worst-case scenario, the character will be given no real personality beyond her [[Purity Sue|purity and innocence.]]

She is [[Horrible Judge of Character|woefully naive]], making her a prime target for a villain seeking to take advantage of her, often in an [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]] fashion. As a result, the ingenue is one of the most common [[Damsel in Distress|Distressed Damsels]]. She is also [[Entendre Failure|immune to sexual innuendo]]. In a worst-case scenario, the character will be given no real personality beyond her [[Purity Sue|purity and innocence.]]

The ingenue is a [[Stock Character]] found throughout all media, although the character type, almost always voiced by a lyric soprano, is popular in [[Opera]]. The [[Princess Classic]] is one of the most common examples of this. Nowadays, the ingenue is parodied or subverted more often than not, because in this day and age it isn't plausible for an unsheltered girl to be completely innocent. If this character is played straight and not in a traditionally romantic setting, she may be [[Wrong Genre Savvy]], and will usually [[Break the Cutie|end up getting screwed over]].

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* Charlene from ''The Little Drummer Girl'' by [[John Le Carre]] plays these roles in her theatre troupe, but is anything but.

* Iliana from the ''[[Night World]]'' novel ''Witchlight'''s behavior is explained this way by another character. "She's too pure to deal with this kind of stuff." Considering that her life has been that of a normal teenagers' in our world, but she is in fact in a world with vampires, witches, werewolves, and shapeshifters, and that she is well-liked enough that people really try to be good people around her, this is understandable. {{spoiler|And she toughens up some later.}}

* [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Sansa]] [[Horrible Judge of Character|Stark]] from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''... Until [[It Got Worse]]. She's a perfect [[Deconstruction]] of how this trope [[~~Distressed~~ Damsel|would actually play out]] in a [[World Half Empty]] and has definitely acquired some [[Jade-Colored Glasses]] since series' beginning.

* [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Sansa]] [[Horrible Judge of Character|Stark]] from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''... Until [[It Got Worse]]. She's a perfect [[Deconstruction]] of how this trope [[Damsel in Distress|would actually play out]] in a [[World Half Empty]] and has definitely acquired some [[Jade-Colored Glasses]] since series' beginning.

{{quote|'''Littlefinger:''' "[[Wrong Genre Savvy|Life is not a song]], sweetling. You may learn that one day, [[Break the Cutie|to your sorrow]]."}}

* Pippa from the ''[[Gemma Doyle]]'' trilogy. {{spoiler|At first.}}

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* For some, Jeannette Miller from ''[[Alvin and The Chipmunks]]''. Not only is she never once seen to get angry about anything and is the most calm of the girls, but in the episode when the six kids had to work out which of them was at fault for a broken statue in their school, she wasn't even a suspect.

* Lola Bunny's incarnation in ''[[The Looney Tunes Show]]'' seems to be a comically hilarious variation of this, despite being a [[Stalker with a Crush]].

* In the ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' parody episode of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', Isabella is an Ingenue ''and'' a [[Femme Fatale]], having business cards for both. "A girl has to earn a living!" (She's also a certified [[~~Distressed Damsel|~~Damsel in Distress]]. {{spoiler|And [[The Commies Made Me Do It|a Dirty Double-Crosser]]}}.)

* In the ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' parody episode of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', Isabella is an Ingenue ''and'' a [[Femme Fatale]], having business cards for both. "A girl has to earn a living!" (She's also a certified [[Damsel in Distress]]. {{spoiler|And [[The Commies Made Me Do It|a Dirty Double-Crosser]]}}.)