Archived Discussion Main / HeirClubForMen

This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.

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Working Title: Need A Male Heir: From YKTTW

Morgan Wick: Okay, after reading that intro, we so need a Trope Co version of this article.

"Pretty sure this happens in A Song Of Ice And Fire."

• I don't think it does. Be more specific.

Vampire Buddha: This article goes into considerable detail about who the trope applies to and the reasoning behind it, but doesn't say anything about what the trope actually is.

Cynthia Wakefield: It would seem to be essentially the need for an heir with specific characteristics, and therefore the rejection of the existing candidates. The existing candidates are important (otherwise this trope is hopelessly vague). I would venture that this does not fit at all:

• Yes, It's Been Done. The fifth season episode "Burns' Heir" is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.

Burns was not skipping over other candidates; if I recall correctly he was engaging in a search because there WERE no obvious candidates. (Smithers wanted it, but a personal assistant is hardly a usual or obvious choice to inherit.) Of course, considering the vagueness of the description, this trope may just refer to anyone who needs an heir of any kind.

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May I also add that I (for one) find the reflections on English history, and particularly on Katherine of Aragon, mildly offensive? Should every woman who finds herself inconvenient to her husband meekly fade away, in spite of all her principles?