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* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both [[ShoutOut "the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, but [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized.]] When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not unfounded, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]] As of Chapter 7, it's revealed he also thought [[KillTheGod the OTHER gods were dead,]] and gets floored when Mirasol says that [[spoiler: they're mobilizing to look for him.]]
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* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both [[ShoutOut "the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, but [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized.]] When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not unfounded, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]] As of Chapter 7, it's revealed he also thought [[KillTheGod the OTHER gods were dead,]] and gets floored when Mirasol says that [[spoiler: they're the other gods are mobilizing to look for him.]]him,]] since his response is:
-->[[EverybodysDeadDave "I thought they were dead."]]
-->[[EverybodysDeadDave "I thought they were dead."]]
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* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both "[[ShoutOut the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized,]] and Haik miserably waiting for her to be reborn. When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not unfounded, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]]
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* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both "[[ShoutOut the [[ShoutOut "the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, but [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized,]] and Haik miserably waiting for her to be reborn. traumatized.]] When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not unfounded, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]] As of Chapter 7, it's revealed he also thought [[KillTheGod the OTHER gods were dead,]] and gets floored when Mirasol says that [[spoiler: they're mobilizing to look for him.]]
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* In ''Literature/ThePiratesCoveredInFur'', Michum crosses this at the end shortly after [[spoiler:Tully dies in his arms. Knowing he can't save the city, he goes back to the skate park his friends hung out at and calmly waits as several bombers destroy the city, and him as well]].
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Changed line(s) 74 (click to see context) from:
* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both "[[ShoutOut the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet any longer.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized,]] and Haik miserably waiting for her to be reborn. When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not an unfounded fear, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]]
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* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both "[[ShoutOut the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet any longer.epithet.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized,]] and Haik miserably waiting for her to be reborn. When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not an unfounded fear, unfounded, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]]
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* Haik has long passed this in ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod.'' As a sea-god of the Tagalog tribe in the Philippines, the effects of Spain's colonization on him [[ForegoneConclusion are a major theme of the story.]] Once respected and deeply loved by his people as both "[[ShoutOut the whale-rider"]] and [[CharacterTitle "the crocodile-god,"]] [[CaptainObvious Haik didn't take it well]] when the bulk of said followers were ''massacred,'' and the rest converted to Catholicism out of self-preservation. However, it was when [[ImperiledInPregnancy his heavily-pregnant mortal wife Mirasol was shot by her Spanish employer]] and [[AdultFear their whale-goddess daughter was stillborn]] that he finally plunged past the DespairEventHorizon and [[ThatManIsDead refused to answer to his "whale-rider" epithet any longer.]] By the year 2017, the now Fil-American Mirasol is TheOnlyBeliever left and their ReincarnationRomance has been saddled with a GroundhogDayLoop of reuniting, [[StarCrossedLovers getting separated]] or [[AdultFear irreparably traumatized,]] and Haik miserably waiting for her to be reborn. When Mirasol tries to get him to break the cycle, [[HopeIsScary he doesn't want to because he's afraid he'll lose her for good.]] This is not an unfounded fear, since he points out that [[AdultFear their first daughter has REFUSED to reincarnate since her death was so traumatic.]]
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* ''DarknessVisible'' has two notable examples. Most importantly, this is the reason why [[spoiler: the leader of the Dark Tide is trying to end the world. He crossed the event horizon when his wife died. Badly.]] Lewis crosses his own despair event horizon [[spoiler: in Hyde Park, when he realises that he will never survive the mental strain of closing all the rogue Thresholds. Being [[StiffUpperLip British]], he gets on with it regardless, but quite without hope for his own survival. It is only thanks to [[HeterosexualLifepartners Marsh]] getting him to a doctor immediately after his collapse that he lives.]]
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* ''DarknessVisible'' ''Literature/DarknessVisible'' has two notable examples. Most importantly, this is the reason why [[spoiler: the leader of the Dark Tide is trying to end the world. He crossed the event horizon when his wife died. Badly.]] Lewis crosses his own despair event horizon [[spoiler: in Hyde Park, when he realises that he will never survive the mental strain of closing all the rogue Thresholds. Being [[StiffUpperLip British]], he gets on with it regardless, but quite without hope for his own survival. It is only thanks to [[HeterosexualLifepartners Marsh]] getting him to a doctor immediately after his collapse that he lives.]]
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* Early into the ''Literature/SeekerBears'' book ''Great Bear Lake'', Kallik begins [[DespairEventHorizon losing her will to live]]. She has to resist the temptation to drown herself, like her mother had, and be with her. It isn't until she hears the ice spirits calling her brothers name that she regains her spirit to go on and be reunited with sibling.
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* For the surviving Hogwarts defenders near the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Despair Event Horizon is [[spoiler:seeing Hagrid carrying Harry's "dead" body.]]
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* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** As Dumbledore informs Harry during the course of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', being abandoned by Tom Riddle, Sr. is this trope for [[IJustWantToBeLoved Merope Gaunt]], to the point that she would wish for her death, which [[DeathByChildbirth takes place soon after giving birth to her son]].
** For the surviving Hogwarts defenders near the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Despair Event Horizon is [[spoiler:seeing Hagrid carrying Harry's "dead" body.]]
** As Dumbledore informs Harry during the course of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', being abandoned by Tom Riddle, Sr. is this trope for [[IJustWantToBeLoved Merope Gaunt]], to the point that she would wish for her death, which [[DeathByChildbirth takes place soon after giving birth to her son]].
** For the surviving Hogwarts defenders near the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Despair Event Horizon is [[spoiler:seeing Hagrid carrying Harry's "dead" body.]]
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* From Creator/OlegDivov's ''Literature/NightWatcher'', with a strong helping of TearJerker: Igor Dolinsky's [[spoiler: lover was turned into a vampire. He didn't know it, and so, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism being a STD]], he became a vampire himself. This led to a series of strange uncontrollable outbursts on his part, during one of which he raped his wife and tried to start a chainsaw massacre in the town (he was stopped in the nick of time). Realizing that something strange had happened to him, he resolved to combat it by tying himself up in the basement during full moons - and his amazingly dedicated wife helped, causing him to appreciate her more than ever. Only, as his condition got worse, he became alternatingly lethargic or dangerous - and thus tied up - for months at a time, and so wasn't there for her when his wife inevitably became a vampire from the rape too. Eventually, he successfully overcame his vampirism, only to discover that his wife had irrevocably embraced the vampire lifestyle and the only way to save her was to make her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a Master]], which meant that they would never see each other again, not that she could bring herself to care about him in her present state anyway.]] "Luckily", he had just enough connections to pull it off, but at that moment he hit the Despair Event Horizon ''hard'' and spent days contemplating suicide methods before coming to the horrible realization that he is simply ''too sane'' to kill himself, which made things even worse. [[FailureKnight So in the end he dedicated himself]] [[KnightInSourArmor to saving his town from the vampires]].
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* From Creator/OlegDivov's ''Literature/NightWatcher'', with a strong helping of TearJerker: Igor Dolinsky's [[spoiler: lover was turned into a vampire. He didn't know it, and so, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism being a STD]], he became a vampire himself. This led to a series of strange uncontrollable outbursts on his part, during one of which he raped his wife and tried to start a chainsaw massacre in the town (he was stopped in the nick of time). Realizing that something strange had happened to him, he resolved to combat it by tying himself up in the basement during full moons - and his amazingly dedicated wife helped, causing him to appreciate her more than ever. Only, as his condition got worse, he became alternatingly alternatively lethargic or dangerous - and thus tied up - for months at a time, and so wasn't there for her when his wife inevitably became a vampire from the rape too. Eventually, he successfully overcame his vampirism, only to discover that his wife had irrevocably embraced the vampire lifestyle and the only way to save her was to make her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a Master]], which meant that they would never see each other again, not that she could bring herself to care about him in her present state anyway.]] "Luckily", he had just enough connections to pull it off, but at that moment he hit the Despair Event Horizon ''hard'' and spent days contemplating suicide methods before coming to the horrible realization that he is simply ''too sane'' to kill himself, which made things even worse. [[FailureKnight So in the end he dedicated himself]] [[KnightInSourArmor to saving his town from the vampires]].
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* ''Literature/TheSpiritThief'': At the end of Spirit War, Eli, crushed with guilt over his inaction during Nara's invasion of Osera, goes into HeroicSafeMode and gives up, letting Benehime take him with no resistance.
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* Jake from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' falls into despair when his parents are infested. And then it gets even worse when Rachel and Tom die.
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* Jake from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' falls into despair when his parents are infested. And then it gets even worse when Rachel [[spoiler:Rachel and Tom die.die]].
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* ''Literature/TheWitchlands'': Merik is on the verge of losing all hope throughout most of the second book, as he grieves for Kullen and Safi, thinks his sister is villainous, believes that he's the only hope of the country and yet can't prove it and is scarred beyond belief, making him feel pain almost all the time. [[spoiler:Cam leaving him]] sends him beyond and for a while he completely stops caring what happens to him, but he manages to find resolve to pull himself back out.
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* ''Literature/KnowledgeOfAngels'': Beneditx reaches this after he becomes convinced by Palinor that God does not exist.
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* Discussed in ''Literature/WorldWarZ'', as people start going to bed at night and just not waking up, with no apparent cause other than complete loss of will to keep going.
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The key point in the definition of an event horizon is that it's impossible to come back from. If she comes back, she was never over the event horizon to begin with.
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* Before the events of the novel, Ista has already been driven over the DEH by an AccidentalMurder, the death of her husband the king, and the weight of the family curse. In ''[[Literature/{{Chalion}} Paladin of Souls]]'', We are catching her on the way ''back'', as her madness was miraculously cured at the end of the previous book.
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* ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'': Yasuke Matsuda crosses it [[spoiler: as he's dying]]. He was probably already on the way to crossing it when he realizes [[spoiler: Junko Enoshima was just using him as an UnwittingPawn]], in spite of his efforts to [[spoiler: bring her back as the girl who supported him after his mother died.]] But Junko fully pushes him over the DEH simply by [[spoiler: [[BreakThemByTalking suggesting that she may have had something to do with his mother's death, and then refusing to say anything more than that]], leaving him to die in total despair.]]
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* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss Everdeen the line in ''Catching Fire'' when she realizes Haymitch only kept his promise to Peeta. Pushed over the edge after [[spoiler:[[DoomedHometown District Twelve is nuked]]]]. She gets a bit better over the course of ''Mockingjay'', but gets hit ''hard'' again after [[spoiler:Prim's death]].
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* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss Everdeen crosses the line in ''Catching Fire'' when she realizes Haymitch only kept his promise to Peeta. Pushed over the edge after [[spoiler:[[DoomedHometown District Twelve is nuked]]]]. She gets a bit better over the course of ''Mockingjay'', but gets hit ''hard'' again after [[spoiler:Prim's death]].death]].
* ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'': Yasuke Matsuda crosses it [[spoiler: as he's dying]]. He was probably already on the way to crossing it when he realizes [[spoiler: Junko Enoshima was just using him as an UnwittingPawn]], in spite of his efforts to [[spoiler: bring her back as the girl who supported him after his mother died.]] But Junko fully pushes him over the DEH simply by [[spoiler: [[BreakThemByTalking suggesting that she may have had something to do with his mother's death, and then refusing to say anything more than that]], leaving him to die in total despair.]]
* ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'': Yasuke Matsuda crosses it [[spoiler: as he's dying]]. He was probably already on the way to crossing it when he realizes [[spoiler: Junko Enoshima was just using him as an UnwittingPawn]], in spite of his efforts to [[spoiler: bring her back as the girl who supported him after his mother died.]] But Junko fully pushes him over the DEH simply by [[spoiler: [[BreakThemByTalking suggesting that she may have had something to do with his mother's death, and then refusing to say anything more than that]], leaving him to die in total despair.]]
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* In ''Literature/ThePiratesCoveredInFur'', Michum crosses this at the end shortly after [[spoiler:Tully dies in his arms. Knowing he can't save the city, he goes back to the skate park his friends hung out at and calmly waits as several bombers destroy the city, and him as well]].
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* At the end of the Literature/NewJediOrder, the death of [[BigBad Supreme Overlord Shimrra]] sends the Yuuzhan Vong species (and particularly the warrior caste) over the Despair Event Horizon ''en masse'', with thousands of warriors committing [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled ritual suicide]] or [[TakingYouWithMe kamikaze attacks]] and the others surrendering to the Galactic Alliance. Oddly enough, this is a ''positive'' example of the trope, since it convinced the otherwise-implacable Vong that [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife the war was not worth continuing]].
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* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
** At the end of the Literature/NewJediOrder, the death of [[BigBad Supreme Overlord Shimrra]] sends the Yuuzhan Vong species (and particularly the warrior caste) over the Despair Event Horizon ''en masse'', with thousands of warriors committing [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled ritual suicide]] or [[TakingYouWithMe kamikaze attacks]] and the others surrendering to the Galactic Alliance. Oddly enough, this is a ''positive'' example of the trope, since it convinced the otherwise-implacable Vong that [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife the war was not worthcontinuing]].continuing]].
** The hapless Captain Bebo in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Eaten Alive''. Losing some of his crew in a ship crash, others vanishing one by one until only one remains in the single safe place on D'vouran, he tries to warn off visitors to the world but is too grief-stricken and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslit]] by the [[ImAHumanitarian natives]] for them [[CassandraTruth to think he's anything but mad]]. Still, he keeps trying--and that last crewmember dying breaks him. It's actually this despair that gets one visitor to take him seriously and hear him out, but when he's done, rather than go with her he gives her the trinket that has kept him safe, and is killed shortly thereafter.
** In addition to portraying Anakin Skywalker's long fall to TheDarkSide, the novelization of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' makes clear that his tumble over the Despair Event Horizon has collateral damage:
*** When Sidious abandons him to be killed, Dooku realizes that all his accomplishments, victories, and plans amount to nothing because he was being bred for one sole purpose: Anakin's first murder.
*** Subverted when Mace Windu is told that Palpatine is Darth Sidious, and the whole Republic and the war is under the control of the Sith. He first despairs, having idolized the Republic as the ideal to which he fights for, but then decides to deal with the Sith Lord and so regains his resolve.
*** In his duel against Sidious, Yoda finally breaks through the cloud of the dark side of the Force, only to realize that he and all Jedi are utterly powerless against the Sith, because the Sith have evolved to the future and the Jedi haven't. He escapes with his life, but knowing he can never hope to stop Sidious.
----> "Only my pride [is wounded]," Yoda said, and meant it, though Bail could not possibly understand how deep that wound went, nor how it bled. "Only my pride."
*** Anakin's final scene outlines his thought process during the BigNo in SecondPersonNarration. He's been rebuilt as Darth Vader, and is informed that he killed Padmé. He tries to shirk off the blame, only to realize there is no one to, and that it was him committing evil all along.
----> You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved ''her'', when you could have gone away with ''her'', when you could have been thinking about ''her'', you were thinking about ''yourself...''\\
It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith--because now ''yourself'' is all you will ever have.
** At the end of the Literature/NewJediOrder, the death of [[BigBad Supreme Overlord Shimrra]] sends the Yuuzhan Vong species (and particularly the warrior caste) over the Despair Event Horizon ''en masse'', with thousands of warriors committing [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled ritual suicide]] or [[TakingYouWithMe kamikaze attacks]] and the others surrendering to the Galactic Alliance. Oddly enough, this is a ''positive'' example of the trope, since it convinced the otherwise-implacable Vong that [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife the war was not worth
** The hapless Captain Bebo in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Eaten Alive''. Losing some of his crew in a ship crash, others vanishing one by one until only one remains in the single safe place on D'vouran, he tries to warn off visitors to the world but is too grief-stricken and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslit]] by the [[ImAHumanitarian natives]] for them [[CassandraTruth to think he's anything but mad]]. Still, he keeps trying--and that last crewmember dying breaks him. It's actually this despair that gets one visitor to take him seriously and hear him out, but when he's done, rather than go with her he gives her the trinket that has kept him safe, and is killed shortly thereafter.
** In addition to portraying Anakin Skywalker's long fall to TheDarkSide, the novelization of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' makes clear that his tumble over the Despair Event Horizon has collateral damage:
*** When Sidious abandons him to be killed, Dooku realizes that all his accomplishments, victories, and plans amount to nothing because he was being bred for one sole purpose: Anakin's first murder.
*** Subverted when Mace Windu is told that Palpatine is Darth Sidious, and the whole Republic and the war is under the control of the Sith. He first despairs, having idolized the Republic as the ideal to which he fights for, but then decides to deal with the Sith Lord and so regains his resolve.
*** In his duel against Sidious, Yoda finally breaks through the cloud of the dark side of the Force, only to realize that he and all Jedi are utterly powerless against the Sith, because the Sith have evolved to the future and the Jedi haven't. He escapes with his life, but knowing he can never hope to stop Sidious.
----> "Only my pride [is wounded]," Yoda said, and meant it, though Bail could not possibly understand how deep that wound went, nor how it bled. "Only my pride."
*** Anakin's final scene outlines his thought process during the BigNo in SecondPersonNarration. He's been rebuilt as Darth Vader, and is informed that he killed Padmé. He tries to shirk off the blame, only to realize there is no one to, and that it was him committing evil all along.
----> You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved ''her'', when you could have gone away with ''her'', when you could have been thinking about ''her'', you were thinking about ''yourself...''\\
It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith--because now ''yourself'' is all you will ever have.
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* The hapless Captain Bebo in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Eaten Alive''. Losing some of his crew in a ship crash, others vanishing one by one until only one remains in the single safe place on D'vouran, he tries to warn off visitors to the world but is too grief-stricken and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslit]] by the [[ImAHumanitarian natives]] for them [[CassandraTruth to think he's anything but mad]]. Still, he keeps trying - and that last crewmember dying breaks him. It's actually this despair that gets one visitor to take him seriously and hear him out, but when he's done, rather than go with her he gives her the trinket that has kept him safe, and is killed shortly thereafter.
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* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss Everdeen the line in ''Catching Fire'' when she realizes Haymitch only kept his promise to Peeta. Pushed over the edge after [[spoiler:[[DoomedHometown District Twelve is nuked]]]]. She gets a bit better over the course of ''Mockingjay'', but gets hit ''hard'' again after [[spoiler:Prim's death]].
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* In ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'', after getting stung by a Griever and recovering some of his memories, Alby completely loses hope, knowing just what the world outside the Maze is like.
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* In ''Literature/ObsidianMirror'' Venn heavily implies he went over this after Leah died. [[spoiler: The fact that he was the one driving when the car they were both in crashed probably didn't help.]]
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* In another ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel, ''[[Literature/SpaceMarineBattles Fall of Damnos]]'', the Damnosian PDF is near broken and convinced they're just stalling for time before Ultramarines arrive. The Marines' arrival pulls some out of this mindset, but others, like colonel Sonne, are still convinced that the Necrons will slaughter them all.
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* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' novel [[Recap/NewSeriesAdventuresEnginesofWar "Engines of War"]], Cinder's death is what finally makes the Doctor willing to use the Moment to commit genocide, after risking everything to prevent the Time Lords from doing the same thing.
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Added in an example from Unbroken. I\'m not sure how to elaborate on it more without getting too detailed, so if anyone wants to edit it to improve the example, please do.
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* Unbroken: "''All I see,'' he thought, ''is a dead body breathing.''" Olympic runner Louie Zamperini's realization of the fact that his time as a POW will permanently affect the rest of his life.
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* In ''Literature/OfFearAndFaith'' the party encounters a derelict fortress full of soldiers who have crossed this and attempt to help them. Then [[FromBadToWorse things get worse]].
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* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': After [[spoiler: Corran]] is denounced as a traitor by his family and pushed off a cliff, he gives up all hope and is content to lie where he fell until he dies. [[DefiedTrope Frang isn't having any of that and inspires him to live longer.]]
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* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': After [[spoiler: Corran]] is denounced as a traitor by his family and pushed off a cliff, he gives up all hope and is content to lie where he fell until he dies. [[spoiler: Frang]] [[DefiedTrope Frang isn't having any of that and inspires him to live longer.]]
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* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': After Corran is denounced as a traitor by his family and pushed off a cliff, he gives up all hope and is content to lie where he fell until he dies. [[DefiedTrope Frang isn't having any of that and inspires him to live longer.]]
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* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': After Corran [[spoiler: Corran]] is denounced as a traitor by his family and pushed off a cliff, he gives up all hope and is content to lie where he fell until he dies. [[DefiedTrope Frang isn't having any of that and inspires him to live longer.]]
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*''Literature/KindlingAshes'': After Corran is denounced as a traitor by his family and pushed off a cliff, he gives up all hope and is content to lie where he fell until he dies. [[DefiedTrope Frang isn't having any of that and inspires him to live longer.]]
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Debatable since we have only met her twice. She\'s still looking for Arya (questioning Merrett Frey on that) and helping orphans.
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** [[spoiler: 'Catelyn Stark' did not come back from the dead. Catelyn Stark is dead. All that's left is Lady Stoneheart, and all Stoneheart is is raw, neverending, neverceasing HATE.]]
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* Jake from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' falls into despair when his parents are infested. And then it gets even worse when Rachel and Tom die.
* High Lord Kevin falls into despair in the BackStory of the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' and renders most of the continent unlivable for centuries with the Ritual of Desecration. Think of it as the fantasy equivalent of a huge nuclear bomb. This solved the problem of the DarkLord that was winning the war but at the cost of everything Kevin was supposed to preserve. And the DarkLord turned out to be only temporarily inconvenienced, being immortal and all...
** Later on [[spoiler:the Giants of Seareach meekly let themselves be murdered]] out of horror over what had happened to some of them.
** Still later [[spoiler:Trell]] despairs also and commits his own Desecration [[spoiler:luckily on a much smaller scale than the original, so the damage is limited]]. His sanity doesn't survive it.
** This is a central theme in the ''Chronicles''; it's the chief weapon of the villain, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord Foul]], whose whole objective seems to be pushing every single person in the world over their personal Despair Event Horizon. Indeed, every inhabitant of the Land swears an Oath of Peace which amounts to saying, "No matter what, I will not cross the Despair Event Horizon."
** Covenant himself comes very close to the Despair Event Horizon at the end of ''The Illearth War'', when [[spoiler:High Lord Elena, his daughter, dies in the struggle with High Lord Kevin's specter under ''Melenkurion'' Skyweir.]] Fortunately, Foamfollower is there to pull him back from the edge.
* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', [[spoiler: George Wilson]] goes over this line after [[spoiler: Myrtle]] dies.
* Denethor in Creator/JRRTolkien's ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Return of the King]]'' has been sinking into despair for a long time, and finally snaps when Faramir is critically injured during the Siege of Gondor. In his madness, he proceeds to try to [[DrivenToSuicide immolate both himself and his son]] on a funeral pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin stop him before he can put Faramir to the torch and Denethor is subsequently burned alive. The book is more explicit than the movie in mentioning one important factor in Denethor's despair: he had long used his own Palantír (seeing-stone) for gathering information, but the Palantír also provided a direct channel for Sauron to break Denethor's originally-formidable determination by showing him the military power of Mordor and (something that's rarely noted) making Denethor believe that Sauron had obtained the Ring.
** Tolkien loved these. ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' in particular is rife with them. Fingolfin passes the point of no return when it appears that the power of the allied Elven princedoms is destroyed, which leads him to [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome challenge]] the BigBad to [[CombatByChampion single combat]], with [[SenselessSacrifice predictable results]].]] Maedhros spends almost the entire book looking like he's [[ButtMonkey about to hit it]] and then [[TraumaCongaLine keeps going]]; [[spoiler:the [[DrivenToSuicide final nail in the coffin]] is the realization that all of that [[MoralEventHorizon killing people]] was for nothing]]. Niënor doesn't take the news that she's [[spoiler:accidentally [[BrotherSisterIncest married to her brother]] [[DrivenToSuicide very well at all]]; neither does the [[HeroicBSOD brother in question]].]] Maglor, unusually, [[spoiler:survives his Despair Event Horizon]], but only by [[spoiler:[[YouCantGoHomeAgain leaving the storyline]] to WalkTheEarth and angst]].
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Fulgrim'', Fulgrim's is [[spoiler:when, having murdered Ferrus Manus, his [[EvilWeapon sword]] lets him [[HeelRealization realize]] what he has done. His despair is so great that his sword persuades him that [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] is too noble for him -- and tricks him into accepting [[AFateWorseThanDeath possession]].]]
* In TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} ''Daemon World'' by Creator/BenCounter when the daemon prince who he thought was DeusExMachina betrays him and kills his entire army.
** Ditto the ''Sons of Malice'', a traitor army that fights in [[TranquilFury complete and]] [[DissonantSerenity utter silence.]] Said to be ''extremely'' unnerving.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': In ''A Storm of Swords'', Catelyn Stark goes into [[spoiler: the Red Wedding, having lost her husband, one daughter hostage, the other missing and suspected to be dead]] and believing two of her three sons are dead. [[spoiler: So, when eldest son Robb is cut down before her, she ''completely fucking loses it'', clawing at her face and [[LaughingMad laughing hysterically]] even as her treacherous bannermen round on her. When she's later brought BackFromTheDead, well... [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge she hates]]. [[CameBackWrong Constantly]].]]
** [[spoiler: 'Catelyn Stark' did not come back from the dead. Catelyn Stark is dead. All that's left is Lady Stoneheart, and all Stoneheart is is raw, neverending, neverceasing HATE.]]
* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' is a world that has fallen below the horizon, even if the protagonist doesn't realize it until he is pushed over [[{{Room 101}} his own personal rat-related line]].
** {{Room 101}} in general is designed to make someone cross the Despair Event Horizon, by using whatever the person fears most to make them betray whatever is most important to them after first wearing them down with a long period of torture.
* In Nick Kyme's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''[[Literature/{{Salamanders}} Salamander]]'', the [[HurtingHero obviously suffering]] Fugis confesses to having lost faith at the death of their captain.
* The ghosts of all his murder victims attempt to do this to Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'' before the Battle of Bosworth, conveniently Lampshading it with the phrase "Despair and die." It doesn't really work because Richard is such a MagnificentBastard as to be beyond all shame.
* The ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/GreyKnights'' novel ''Hammer of Daemons'' has an Imperial Guardsman say that many of his comrades "finally lost the will when they" saw Alaric fighting as if a Chaos warrior.
* For the surviving Hogwarts defenders near the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Despair Event Horizon is [[spoiler:seeing Hagrid carrying Harry's "dead" body.]]
* The titular hero in ''Bollywood/{{Devdas}}'' loses all hope after ChildhoodSweetheart Paro marries someone else. Made worse by the fact that it wouldn't have happened if he'd been able to stand up to [[ParentalMarriageVeto his father]]. And it gets worse.
* Most of [[strike: the 12th Book of]] ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is about [[TheChosenOne Rand]] [[TheDeterminator Al']][[TheHero Thor]] reaching this point. When [[spoiler: he does reach it, he comes within seconds of just wiping out all existence (or as much of it as he can manage, which is a lot as he was enhancing his power at the time) as it is all pointless, in a lovely NietzscheWannabe rant. He gets better, and the wise, calm and near saintly Rand that emerges at last seems like TheChosenOne to hope for, rather than the only option]].
** It's implied that Rand's EvilCounterpart Moridin crossed this long ago; faced with the idea of EternalRecurrance, he decided that [[OmnicidalManiac destroying the world]] was a kinder fate. [[spoiler: Pretty much confirmed in the last book, which shows that Moridin is a full-on DeathSeeker who can't bear the though of existing any longer as someone as horrible as himself, and he intends to drag the world down with him. He gets what he sought, but the world is spared]].
* From Creator/OlegDivov's ''Literature/NightWatcher'', with a strong helping of TearJerker: Igor Dolinsky's [[spoiler: lover was turned into a vampire. He didn't know it, and so, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism being a STD]], he became a vampire himself. This led to a series of strange uncontrollable outbursts on his part, during one of which he raped his wife and tried to start a chainsaw massacre in the town (he was stopped in the nick of time). Realizing that something strange had happened to him, he resolved to combat it by tying himself up in the basement during full moons - and his amazingly dedicated wife helped, causing him to appreciate her more than ever. Only, as his condition got worse, he became alternatingly lethargic or dangerous - and thus tied up - for months at a time, and so wasn't there for her when his wife inevitably became a vampire from the rape too. Eventually, he successfully overcame his vampirism, only to discover that his wife had irrevocably embraced the vampire lifestyle and the only way to save her was to make her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a Master]], which meant that they would never see each other again, not that she could bring herself to care about him in her present state anyway.]] "Luckily", he had just enough connections to pull it off, but at that moment he hit the Despair Event Horizon ''hard'' and spent days contemplating suicide methods before coming to the horrible realization that he is simply ''too sane'' to kill himself, which made things even worse. [[FailureKnight So in the end he dedicated himself]] [[KnightInSourArmor to saving his town from the vampires]].
* In ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'', this is embodied in the character of Cadrach, who is introduced as a DirtyCoward and thief, but later turns out to have played a critical role in delivering the TomeOfEldritchLore to the EvilSorcerer who kicked off the entire "summon the evil Storm King back into the world" plot. He knows this, knows he did the whole thing out of cowardice, and admits that he'd do it again, thanks to his will having [[GoMadFromTheRevelation been broken by the knowledge]] contained in that evil book.
* In ''Literature/{{Otherland}}'', the suffering endured by the Other, the quasi-AI operating system of the titular network, comes to a peak after PsychoForHire Dread takes over the system, torturing it to the point where it gives up all hope of preserving itself or its secret, and instead hatches a plot to [[DrivenToSuicide destroy itself]] [[TakingYouWithMe along with all of its tormentors]].
* In ''Literature/UseOfWeapons'', happens in a rather nasty way to [[spoiler: the original Cheradenine in one of the flashback chapters when he discovers what Elethiomel did to his sister, complete with TitleDrop for emphasis. It's strongly hinted that the same happened to Elethiomel as well which led to him becoming TheAtoner and thus the events of the rest of the book.]]
* Before the events of the novel, Ista has already been driven over the DEH by an AccidentalMurder, the death of her husband the king, and the weight of the family curse. In ''[[Literature/{{Chalion}} Paladin of Souls]]'', We are catching her on the way ''back'', as her madness was miraculously cured at the end of the previous book.
* ''DarknessVisible'' has two notable examples. Most importantly, this is the reason why [[spoiler: the leader of the Dark Tide is trying to end the world. He crossed the event horizon when his wife died. Badly.]] Lewis crosses his own despair event horizon [[spoiler: in Hyde Park, when he realises that he will never survive the mental strain of closing all the rogue Thresholds. Being [[StiffUpperLip British]], he gets on with it regardless, but quite without hope for his own survival. It is only thanks to [[HeterosexualLifepartners Marsh]] getting him to a doctor immediately after his collapse that he lives.]]
-->[[spoiler: "The disordered ranks of dark portals went on and on before me, stretching into the grey distance like an unending army. I kept my eyes on the sky, and knew with a crushing certainty that I faced my own destruction."]]
* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': Marvin is in ModeLock for this, and it's PlayedForLaughs.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero Regained]]'', Miranda is convinced that Astreus, having lost hope, will now fall prey to Hell.
* At the end of the Literature/NewJediOrder, the death of [[BigBad Supreme Overlord Shimrra]] sends the Yuuzhan Vong species (and particularly the warrior caste) over the Despair Event Horizon ''en masse'', with thousands of warriors committing [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled ritual suicide]] or [[TakingYouWithMe kamikaze attacks]] and the others surrendering to the Galactic Alliance. Oddly enough, this is a ''positive'' example of the trope, since it convinced the otherwise-implacable Vong that [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife the war was not worth continuing]].
* Mme. Raquin in ''Literature/ThereseRaquin'' experiences this when not only does she know that her niece/daughter-in-law killed her son, but she loses her one and only chance to expose Thérèse's crime.
* In the second Literature/ApprenticeAdept trilogy, Fleta reaches this point after being told by everyone she knows that there's no way she'd be allowed to be with her love, Mach.[[note]]Technically, Mach's mind in Bane's body. Long story.[[/note]] Not willing to settle for being Mach's kept woman, she decides suicide is the only answer, going so far as to demand a talisman from Adept Red that would [[ModeLock keep her from reflexively changing shape and saving herself.]] It takes a [[PowerOfLove super-powered]] AnguishedDeclarationOfLove from Mach to [[DeusExMachina overcome the talisman and save her.]]
* Literature/CiaphasCain ('''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!]]''') ends up fighting a [[DealWithTheDevil witch]] who ''[[EmotionBomb weaponizes this]]''--simply meeting [[CreepyChild the boy's]] eyes leaves a ''priest'' writhing and screaming. Cain himself ends up [[HeroicWillpower fighting to stay sane]] from an onset of ReligiousHorror until [[PowerNullifier Jurgen's aura]] gets in range.
* In ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'' Paul crosses it near the end, after he lost all of his friends were in the war. He describes his feelings like this: "Let the months and years come, they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear." [[spoiler:When he's killed not much later, his facial expression is described as "calm, as though almost glad the end had come."]]
* [[spoiler:Kalthused]] suffers a preliminary one in ''Literature/WithinRuin'', [[spoiler: Ankaa's death]] driving him to abandon his morals and instead orchestrate the death of millions. It gets even worse when [[spoiler:Almi and Merill die during Virgil's rescue attempt]] he fully loses his marbles, embraces dark magic and goes on a murdering rampage.
* Lennie the sharecropper in ''Kneel to the Rising Sun'' by Erskine Caldwell led a miserable existence even before the climax of the story. His family was starving, the brutal landlord had tortured his dog, and his father was eaten alive by swine. However, he well and truly crosses the Despair Event Horizon when the sadistic landlord forces him to betray the only man who had ever really befriended him, and he watches helplessly as the local farmers hunt him down and eventually lynch him. By the end he is reduced to little more than a hopeless shell of a man, sinking powerlessly to his knees [[TitleDrop as the sun rises before him]].
* The hapless Captain Bebo in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Eaten Alive''. Losing some of his crew in a ship crash, others vanishing one by one until only one remains in the single safe place on D'vouran, he tries to warn off visitors to the world but is too grief-stricken and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslit]] by the [[ImAHumanitarian natives]] for them [[CassandraTruth to think he's anything but mad]]. Still, he keeps trying - and that last crewmember dying breaks him. It's actually this despair that gets one visitor to take him seriously and hear him out, but when he's done, rather than go with her he gives her the trinket that has kept him safe, and is killed shortly thereafter.
* During the climax of the ''Literature/GriffinsDaughter'' trilogy, elf noble Sadaiyo discovers his brother, Ashinji had survived Sadaiyo's beytral (setting him up to be captured by humans who would kill him on the spot or drag him off to be interrogated, then killed). Sadaiyo snaps and tries to kill him then and there, heeless of the fact that A) everyone would know he did it and B) they were in the middle of a battle with the humans.
* In Jack London's novel ''Literature/MartinEden'', the title character stops seeking fame and fortune as a struggling writer when he sees how the public treats the publication of a suicide friend's poem (the poem is a humongous success btw). His despair is such that he doesn't care when his [[spoiler: career finally picks up steam, so he decides to retire early and commit suicide as well]].
* In Creator/JohnMilton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', none of the devils propose admitting they are in the wrong; one ventures to raise the possibility, only to dismiss it as horrible.
* In Vikram Seth's novel ''Literature/AnEqualMusic'', Michael spends a long time teetering on the edge of this after [[spoiler:Julia tells him to stop bothering her]].
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/CountToTheEschaton'', Ctesibius does not even need guards; he will not attempt to escape. He has despaired since the day his order attempted to take over the world with [[GrayGoo Golden Goo]] and failed.
* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Edmond Dantès is imprisoned in solitary confinement for years, on unclear charges, first hoping that the mistake will be quickly cleared up, then appealing in vain to the authorities, then raging, then praying to an unlistening God... after four years he realizes that he'll never be released. Crossing the event horizon (the author uses another metaphor: thoughts of suicide are like a blue inviting lake which, when you step into it, turns out to be quicksand), he decides to starve himself to death. He carries out this intention until he's lying on his bed weak and nearly dead... when he hears a scratching noise, which turns out to be a fellow prisoner digging a tunnel. This neighbor pulls him back over the event horizon, and turns his thoughts in a new direction: escape and revenge.
** Several others experience despair horizons of their own during the story: Dantès saves at least two of them at the last minute, but experiences a new despair when his vengeance results in the death of his enemy's innocent child. (He gets better.)
* ''Literature/MoreThanThis'':
** He went though a lot, but what finally drove Seth over the edge was finding out [[spoiler:Gudmund was sleeping with Monica and was never exclusively "his"]].
** Seth's mother couldn't get over [[spoiler:Owen's death]], choosing a simulated reality over accepting it.
----
* High Lord Kevin falls into despair in the BackStory of the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' and renders most of the continent unlivable for centuries with the Ritual of Desecration. Think of it as the fantasy equivalent of a huge nuclear bomb. This solved the problem of the DarkLord that was winning the war but at the cost of everything Kevin was supposed to preserve. And the DarkLord turned out to be only temporarily inconvenienced, being immortal and all...
** Later on [[spoiler:the Giants of Seareach meekly let themselves be murdered]] out of horror over what had happened to some of them.
** Still later [[spoiler:Trell]] despairs also and commits his own Desecration [[spoiler:luckily on a much smaller scale than the original, so the damage is limited]]. His sanity doesn't survive it.
** This is a central theme in the ''Chronicles''; it's the chief weapon of the villain, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord Foul]], whose whole objective seems to be pushing every single person in the world over their personal Despair Event Horizon. Indeed, every inhabitant of the Land swears an Oath of Peace which amounts to saying, "No matter what, I will not cross the Despair Event Horizon."
** Covenant himself comes very close to the Despair Event Horizon at the end of ''The Illearth War'', when [[spoiler:High Lord Elena, his daughter, dies in the struggle with High Lord Kevin's specter under ''Melenkurion'' Skyweir.]] Fortunately, Foamfollower is there to pull him back from the edge.
* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', [[spoiler: George Wilson]] goes over this line after [[spoiler: Myrtle]] dies.
* Denethor in Creator/JRRTolkien's ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Return of the King]]'' has been sinking into despair for a long time, and finally snaps when Faramir is critically injured during the Siege of Gondor. In his madness, he proceeds to try to [[DrivenToSuicide immolate both himself and his son]] on a funeral pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin stop him before he can put Faramir to the torch and Denethor is subsequently burned alive. The book is more explicit than the movie in mentioning one important factor in Denethor's despair: he had long used his own Palantír (seeing-stone) for gathering information, but the Palantír also provided a direct channel for Sauron to break Denethor's originally-formidable determination by showing him the military power of Mordor and (something that's rarely noted) making Denethor believe that Sauron had obtained the Ring.
** Tolkien loved these. ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' in particular is rife with them. Fingolfin passes the point of no return when it appears that the power of the allied Elven princedoms is destroyed, which leads him to [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome challenge]] the BigBad to [[CombatByChampion single combat]], with [[SenselessSacrifice predictable results]].]] Maedhros spends almost the entire book looking like he's [[ButtMonkey about to hit it]] and then [[TraumaCongaLine keeps going]]; [[spoiler:the [[DrivenToSuicide final nail in the coffin]] is the realization that all of that [[MoralEventHorizon killing people]] was for nothing]]. Niënor doesn't take the news that she's [[spoiler:accidentally [[BrotherSisterIncest married to her brother]] [[DrivenToSuicide very well at all]]; neither does the [[HeroicBSOD brother in question]].]] Maglor, unusually, [[spoiler:survives his Despair Event Horizon]], but only by [[spoiler:[[YouCantGoHomeAgain leaving the storyline]] to WalkTheEarth and angst]].
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Fulgrim'', Fulgrim's is [[spoiler:when, having murdered Ferrus Manus, his [[EvilWeapon sword]] lets him [[HeelRealization realize]] what he has done. His despair is so great that his sword persuades him that [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] is too noble for him -- and tricks him into accepting [[AFateWorseThanDeath possession]].]]
* In TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} ''Daemon World'' by Creator/BenCounter when the daemon prince who he thought was DeusExMachina betrays him and kills his entire army.
** Ditto the ''Sons of Malice'', a traitor army that fights in [[TranquilFury complete and]] [[DissonantSerenity utter silence.]] Said to be ''extremely'' unnerving.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': In ''A Storm of Swords'', Catelyn Stark goes into [[spoiler: the Red Wedding, having lost her husband, one daughter hostage, the other missing and suspected to be dead]] and believing two of her three sons are dead. [[spoiler: So, when eldest son Robb is cut down before her, she ''completely fucking loses it'', clawing at her face and [[LaughingMad laughing hysterically]] even as her treacherous bannermen round on her. When she's later brought BackFromTheDead, well... [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge she hates]]. [[CameBackWrong Constantly]].]]
** [[spoiler: 'Catelyn Stark' did not come back from the dead. Catelyn Stark is dead. All that's left is Lady Stoneheart, and all Stoneheart is is raw, neverending, neverceasing HATE.]]
* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' is a world that has fallen below the horizon, even if the protagonist doesn't realize it until he is pushed over [[{{Room 101}} his own personal rat-related line]].
** {{Room 101}} in general is designed to make someone cross the Despair Event Horizon, by using whatever the person fears most to make them betray whatever is most important to them after first wearing them down with a long period of torture.
* In Nick Kyme's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''[[Literature/{{Salamanders}} Salamander]]'', the [[HurtingHero obviously suffering]] Fugis confesses to having lost faith at the death of their captain.
* The ghosts of all his murder victims attempt to do this to Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'' before the Battle of Bosworth, conveniently Lampshading it with the phrase "Despair and die." It doesn't really work because Richard is such a MagnificentBastard as to be beyond all shame.
* The ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/GreyKnights'' novel ''Hammer of Daemons'' has an Imperial Guardsman say that many of his comrades "finally lost the will when they" saw Alaric fighting as if a Chaos warrior.
* For the surviving Hogwarts defenders near the end of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the Despair Event Horizon is [[spoiler:seeing Hagrid carrying Harry's "dead" body.]]
* The titular hero in ''Bollywood/{{Devdas}}'' loses all hope after ChildhoodSweetheart Paro marries someone else. Made worse by the fact that it wouldn't have happened if he'd been able to stand up to [[ParentalMarriageVeto his father]]. And it gets worse.
* Most of [[strike: the 12th Book of]] ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is about [[TheChosenOne Rand]] [[TheDeterminator Al']][[TheHero Thor]] reaching this point. When [[spoiler: he does reach it, he comes within seconds of just wiping out all existence (or as much of it as he can manage, which is a lot as he was enhancing his power at the time) as it is all pointless, in a lovely NietzscheWannabe rant. He gets better, and the wise, calm and near saintly Rand that emerges at last seems like TheChosenOne to hope for, rather than the only option]].
** It's implied that Rand's EvilCounterpart Moridin crossed this long ago; faced with the idea of EternalRecurrance, he decided that [[OmnicidalManiac destroying the world]] was a kinder fate. [[spoiler: Pretty much confirmed in the last book, which shows that Moridin is a full-on DeathSeeker who can't bear the though of existing any longer as someone as horrible as himself, and he intends to drag the world down with him. He gets what he sought, but the world is spared]].
* From Creator/OlegDivov's ''Literature/NightWatcher'', with a strong helping of TearJerker: Igor Dolinsky's [[spoiler: lover was turned into a vampire. He didn't know it, and so, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampirism being a STD]], he became a vampire himself. This led to a series of strange uncontrollable outbursts on his part, during one of which he raped his wife and tried to start a chainsaw massacre in the town (he was stopped in the nick of time). Realizing that something strange had happened to him, he resolved to combat it by tying himself up in the basement during full moons - and his amazingly dedicated wife helped, causing him to appreciate her more than ever. Only, as his condition got worse, he became alternatingly lethargic or dangerous - and thus tied up - for months at a time, and so wasn't there for her when his wife inevitably became a vampire from the rape too. Eventually, he successfully overcame his vampirism, only to discover that his wife had irrevocably embraced the vampire lifestyle and the only way to save her was to make her [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a Master]], which meant that they would never see each other again, not that she could bring herself to care about him in her present state anyway.]] "Luckily", he had just enough connections to pull it off, but at that moment he hit the Despair Event Horizon ''hard'' and spent days contemplating suicide methods before coming to the horrible realization that he is simply ''too sane'' to kill himself, which made things even worse. [[FailureKnight So in the end he dedicated himself]] [[KnightInSourArmor to saving his town from the vampires]].
* In ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'', this is embodied in the character of Cadrach, who is introduced as a DirtyCoward and thief, but later turns out to have played a critical role in delivering the TomeOfEldritchLore to the EvilSorcerer who kicked off the entire "summon the evil Storm King back into the world" plot. He knows this, knows he did the whole thing out of cowardice, and admits that he'd do it again, thanks to his will having [[GoMadFromTheRevelation been broken by the knowledge]] contained in that evil book.
* In ''Literature/{{Otherland}}'', the suffering endured by the Other, the quasi-AI operating system of the titular network, comes to a peak after PsychoForHire Dread takes over the system, torturing it to the point where it gives up all hope of preserving itself or its secret, and instead hatches a plot to [[DrivenToSuicide destroy itself]] [[TakingYouWithMe along with all of its tormentors]].
* In ''Literature/UseOfWeapons'', happens in a rather nasty way to [[spoiler: the original Cheradenine in one of the flashback chapters when he discovers what Elethiomel did to his sister, complete with TitleDrop for emphasis. It's strongly hinted that the same happened to Elethiomel as well which led to him becoming TheAtoner and thus the events of the rest of the book.]]
* Before the events of the novel, Ista has already been driven over the DEH by an AccidentalMurder, the death of her husband the king, and the weight of the family curse. In ''[[Literature/{{Chalion}} Paladin of Souls]]'', We are catching her on the way ''back'', as her madness was miraculously cured at the end of the previous book.
* ''DarknessVisible'' has two notable examples. Most importantly, this is the reason why [[spoiler: the leader of the Dark Tide is trying to end the world. He crossed the event horizon when his wife died. Badly.]] Lewis crosses his own despair event horizon [[spoiler: in Hyde Park, when he realises that he will never survive the mental strain of closing all the rogue Thresholds. Being [[StiffUpperLip British]], he gets on with it regardless, but quite without hope for his own survival. It is only thanks to [[HeterosexualLifepartners Marsh]] getting him to a doctor immediately after his collapse that he lives.]]
-->[[spoiler: "The disordered ranks of dark portals went on and on before me, stretching into the grey distance like an unending army. I kept my eyes on the sky, and knew with a crushing certainty that I faced my own destruction."]]
* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': Marvin is in ModeLock for this, and it's PlayedForLaughs.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero Regained]]'', Miranda is convinced that Astreus, having lost hope, will now fall prey to Hell.
* At the end of the Literature/NewJediOrder, the death of [[BigBad Supreme Overlord Shimrra]] sends the Yuuzhan Vong species (and particularly the warrior caste) over the Despair Event Horizon ''en masse'', with thousands of warriors committing [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled ritual suicide]] or [[TakingYouWithMe kamikaze attacks]] and the others surrendering to the Galactic Alliance. Oddly enough, this is a ''positive'' example of the trope, since it convinced the otherwise-implacable Vong that [[WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife the war was not worth continuing]].
* Mme. Raquin in ''Literature/ThereseRaquin'' experiences this when not only does she know that her niece/daughter-in-law killed her son, but she loses her one and only chance to expose Thérèse's crime.
* In the second Literature/ApprenticeAdept trilogy, Fleta reaches this point after being told by everyone she knows that there's no way she'd be allowed to be with her love, Mach.[[note]]Technically, Mach's mind in Bane's body. Long story.[[/note]] Not willing to settle for being Mach's kept woman, she decides suicide is the only answer, going so far as to demand a talisman from Adept Red that would [[ModeLock keep her from reflexively changing shape and saving herself.]] It takes a [[PowerOfLove super-powered]] AnguishedDeclarationOfLove from Mach to [[DeusExMachina overcome the talisman and save her.]]
* Literature/CiaphasCain ('''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!]]''') ends up fighting a [[DealWithTheDevil witch]] who ''[[EmotionBomb weaponizes this]]''--simply meeting [[CreepyChild the boy's]] eyes leaves a ''priest'' writhing and screaming. Cain himself ends up [[HeroicWillpower fighting to stay sane]] from an onset of ReligiousHorror until [[PowerNullifier Jurgen's aura]] gets in range.
* In ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'' Paul crosses it near the end, after he lost all of his friends were in the war. He describes his feelings like this: "Let the months and years come, they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear." [[spoiler:When he's killed not much later, his facial expression is described as "calm, as though almost glad the end had come."]]
* [[spoiler:Kalthused]] suffers a preliminary one in ''Literature/WithinRuin'', [[spoiler: Ankaa's death]] driving him to abandon his morals and instead orchestrate the death of millions. It gets even worse when [[spoiler:Almi and Merill die during Virgil's rescue attempt]] he fully loses his marbles, embraces dark magic and goes on a murdering rampage.
* Lennie the sharecropper in ''Kneel to the Rising Sun'' by Erskine Caldwell led a miserable existence even before the climax of the story. His family was starving, the brutal landlord had tortured his dog, and his father was eaten alive by swine. However, he well and truly crosses the Despair Event Horizon when the sadistic landlord forces him to betray the only man who had ever really befriended him, and he watches helplessly as the local farmers hunt him down and eventually lynch him. By the end he is reduced to little more than a hopeless shell of a man, sinking powerlessly to his knees [[TitleDrop as the sun rises before him]].
* The hapless Captain Bebo in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: Eaten Alive''. Losing some of his crew in a ship crash, others vanishing one by one until only one remains in the single safe place on D'vouran, he tries to warn off visitors to the world but is too grief-stricken and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslit]] by the [[ImAHumanitarian natives]] for them [[CassandraTruth to think he's anything but mad]]. Still, he keeps trying - and that last crewmember dying breaks him. It's actually this despair that gets one visitor to take him seriously and hear him out, but when he's done, rather than go with her he gives her the trinket that has kept him safe, and is killed shortly thereafter.
* During the climax of the ''Literature/GriffinsDaughter'' trilogy, elf noble Sadaiyo discovers his brother, Ashinji had survived Sadaiyo's beytral (setting him up to be captured by humans who would kill him on the spot or drag him off to be interrogated, then killed). Sadaiyo snaps and tries to kill him then and there, heeless of the fact that A) everyone would know he did it and B) they were in the middle of a battle with the humans.
* In Jack London's novel ''Literature/MartinEden'', the title character stops seeking fame and fortune as a struggling writer when he sees how the public treats the publication of a suicide friend's poem (the poem is a humongous success btw). His despair is such that he doesn't care when his [[spoiler: career finally picks up steam, so he decides to retire early and commit suicide as well]].
* In Creator/JohnMilton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', none of the devils propose admitting they are in the wrong; one ventures to raise the possibility, only to dismiss it as horrible.
* In Vikram Seth's novel ''Literature/AnEqualMusic'', Michael spends a long time teetering on the edge of this after [[spoiler:Julia tells him to stop bothering her]].
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''Literature/CountToTheEschaton'', Ctesibius does not even need guards; he will not attempt to escape. He has despaired since the day his order attempted to take over the world with [[GrayGoo Golden Goo]] and failed.
* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Edmond Dantès is imprisoned in solitary confinement for years, on unclear charges, first hoping that the mistake will be quickly cleared up, then appealing in vain to the authorities, then raging, then praying to an unlistening God... after four years he realizes that he'll never be released. Crossing the event horizon (the author uses another metaphor: thoughts of suicide are like a blue inviting lake which, when you step into it, turns out to be quicksand), he decides to starve himself to death. He carries out this intention until he's lying on his bed weak and nearly dead... when he hears a scratching noise, which turns out to be a fellow prisoner digging a tunnel. This neighbor pulls him back over the event horizon, and turns his thoughts in a new direction: escape and revenge.
** Several others experience despair horizons of their own during the story: Dantès saves at least two of them at the last minute, but experiences a new despair when his vengeance results in the death of his enemy's innocent child. (He gets better.)
* ''Literature/MoreThanThis'':
** He went though a lot, but what finally drove Seth over the edge was finding out [[spoiler:Gudmund was sleeping with Monica and was never exclusively "his"]].
** Seth's mother couldn't get over [[spoiler:Owen's death]], choosing a simulated reality over accepting it.
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