History Main / TheCareTaker

The Caretaker is a parent, spouse, [[PromotionToParent sibling]] or [[TheDutifulSon child]] of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, IllGirl, [[TheOphelia Ophelia]], or SquishyWizard who takes care of them. They put their lives on hold to make sure their loved one is well taken care of and hopefully happy, often when the rest of the family actively passes the ball or abandons their relative entirely.

* Lelouch of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' takes on the TheEmpire, and eventually the entire world with [[IDidWhatIHadToDo almost no qualms about the sacrifices it would take]] specifically to build a world where his [[IllGirl little sister]] can live peacefully, though he realizes that he has been using his sister as an excuse for his real motive: to make a better world.

* Reigen is a mixed bag of this for Mob in ''Manga/MobPsycho100''. It's obvious that he cares a lot about Mob and has no problem rushing into dangerous situations to save him, chewing people out for "stressing out" his [[AmbiguousDisorder "mentally weak"]] student. Unfortunately, he can also be a possessive and selfish jerk who tries to manipulate Mob and keep him from hanging out with friends. He eventually gets his comeuppance when [[spoiler: he takes things too far and Mob leaves him, and he's humiliated on national television]]. It's only after this that he realizes he's become more reliant on Mob than helpful to him and that he's lost sight of his own goals and on what's really important (namely, Mob's happiness, and [[spoiler: trust in him]]). He gets better, and becomes more of a BenevolentBoss and friend -- although he still runs into dangerous situations, and occasionally lies in order to spare Mob's feelings.

* In ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'', Nathan Wallace's wife Marni dies, leaving him to raise their newborn daughter, Shilo. He ends up keeping her locked in her bedroom for seventeen years to protect her from the outside world. [[spoiler: And then it turns out he takes the "co-dependent" and "overprotective" parts of this trope UpToEleven by administering a poison for those same 17 years to keep her bedridden and dependent, so she will never leave him. And this ''after he killed Marni trying to cure her!'' (Well, that's what ''he'' thought anyway.)]]

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* In ''Roleplay/DeptHeavenApocrypha'', it fell to Milanor to slowly and painstakingly nurse Nessiah back to health after the latter's mind finally shattered. By now Nessiah has ''mostly'' snapped out of the [[EmptyShell catatonic state]] he was originally in, but is still fairly dependent on Milanor as of chapter 10. They're lovers, and Milanor [[TheAtoner felt kind of responsible for Nessiah's state]], so Nessiah's helplessness wasn't quite as awkward as it could have been, but... Much later, when Nessiah finally gets better, he points out rather bluntly that all of this has nearly destroyed his and Milanor's relationship and that they need to start over if they want to actually stay together.
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* The backstory of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' reveals that Rosette ''almost'' took on this role for her little brother Joshua. After they [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan became orphaned]], Joshua developed holy powers which also caused him to be [[IllBoy constantly sick]]. Rosette tells Chrono that she wants to become a doctor to cure him (giving up on her dream of being an explorer), but Joshua overhears her and attempts to [[DefiedTrope defy the trope]] by agreeing to become a member of the Magdalan Order. However, Aion gets to him first and promises him the chance to gain enough power to control his illness...and kidnaps him, which sets off the events of the main storyline.

* ''Anime/MyHime'''s main character, Mai Tokiha, completely defines her life around taking care of her equally selfless IllBoy younger brother. This was brought on by an accident in which their mother saves Takumi but later dies. Before she died, she made Mai promise to always look after Takumi and she took it to heart. He eventually calls her out to find a reason to live besides him, or else he won't agree to his treatment. This can be seen in how she naturally falls into taking care of Mikoto as her roommate.

* One of [[spoiler:Akiha's]] endings in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' has Shiki Tohno playing this role toward [[spoiler:Akiha herself.]] Definitely a tragic version, as [[spoiler: poor Akiha has been reduced to a more or less mindless, catatonic, blood sucking monster, and [[IllBoy the already anemic Shiki]] insists on providing that blood himself, due to a sense of responsibility for her condition as well as love for her.]]

Not to be confused with CrustyCaretaker. Or caretakers in general, if you're British. See also LivingEmotionalCrutch. Has strong overlap with TheChampion, indeed is likely to be the same person. The CloudcuckoolandersMinder is more "babysitting a weirdo" than "caring for an invalid" and thus more comical, though they could overlap, if the invalid in question is well....weird. Compare {{Protectorate}}.

What happens next is even more of a downer. Once their loved one is cured/finds true love/dies, (One of these three always happens, there is no StatusQuoIsGod where The LittlestCancerPatient and his ilk are involved) they end up... stuck. They have no life to go back to, as care for their loved one was priority number one, and get stuck on what to do next with their lives. This often leads would be suitors or the loved one [[CallingTheOldManOut calling them out]] that [[AllTakeAndNoGive they need their sick loved one more than the loved one needs them.]]

Needless to say, this is TruthInTelevision -- however it's not sad that this happens in real life; it's sad that there are sick people who have no family (willing or living) to take this role for them. ([[{{Glurge}} Now forward this trope to fifty people!]])

* ''Anime/MyHime'''s main character, Mai Tokiha, completely defines her life around taking care of her equally selfless IllBoy younger brother. This was brought on by an accident in which their mother saves Takumi but later dies. Before she died, she made Mai promise to always look after Takumi and she took it to heart. He eventually calls her out to find a reason to live besides him, or else he won't agree to his treatment. This can be seen in how she naturally falls into taking care of Mikoto as her roommate.
* In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', Will B. Baxter tends to his catatonic wife Martha's every need without complaint or despair. She's probably not aware of the situation, and hasn't been able to move, at all, in years. At least, [[spoiler: until she gets up to see Will immediately before they both die.]]
* Shannon and Raquel are both caretaker and protector to their sister [[spoiler:not really]] Pacifica in ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess''. Though Pacifica isn't actually ill, she is hunted by agents of the state and religious authorities.
* Cornelia, for Juliet in ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet''.

** Later Joshua also gets Fiore as his caretaker--not because he's sick, but because the power Aion promised him drove him ''[[ComesGreatInsanity completely insane]]''. She seems to be around to protect other people from Joshua as much as she's around to take care of Joshua himself.

* Exaggerated in ''Manga/AChannel''. [[TheDitz Run]] is so ditzy that she pretty much [[TooDumbToLive would have gotten herself killed]] if not for Tooru, and Tooru is so protective of her that she threatens Run's male classmates with a baseball bat for simply talking to her.
* Farnese ends up taking up this role for Casca in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' when she joins Guts' group. She has something of an inferiority complex about it seemingly being the only thing she does; she's usually just as helpless as Casca in a fight. It prompts her to start learning magic so she can contribute (and gratefully, she takes her first real lesson right when Casca gets cured).
* PlayedWith in ''Manga/FruitsBasket''. [[PsychopathicManchild Akito]] frequently either pretends to be sick or conveniently gets sick (whether it's intentional or not, the root is clearly psychological) in an attempt to invoke this response. It works on [[TheStoic Hatori]], at any rate (Hatori's the family doctor, and Akito's the head of the family, so he doesn't really have a choice). Kureno also seems to think of himself as Akito's caretaker (looking more toward Akito's emotional needs), although his attempts to help really just make things worse for both of them. [[spoiler: In the end, Akito ends up getting better both emotionally and physically thanks to Tohru, and later she lets go of both Kureno and Hatori as well as the rest.]]
* In ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'', Elenore Baker is the caretaker of Margaret Burton--an amnesiac, infantile, and slightly insane last descendant of a rich family. Of course, Elenore is also a NinjaMaid who gets paid for her service, but her UndyingLoyalty to Margaret clearly goes beyond professional duty.
* Reigen is a mixed bag of this for Mob in ''Manga/MobPsycho100''. It's obvious that he cares a lot about Mob and has no problem rushing into dangerous situations to save him, chewing people out for "stressing out" his [[AmbiguousDisorder "mentally weak"]] student. Unfortunately, he can also be a possessive and selfish jerk who tries to manipulate Mob and keep him from hanging out with friends. He eventually gets his comeuppance when [[spoiler: he takes things too far and Mob leaves him, and he's humiliated on national television]]. It's only after this that he realizes he's become more reliant on Mob than helpful to him and that he's lost sight of his own goals and on what's really important (namely, Mob's happiness, and [[spoiler: trust in him]]). He gets better, and becomes more of a BenevolentBoss and friend - although he still runs into dangerous situations, and occasionally lies in order to spare Mob's feelings.

* Benny from ''Film/BennyAndJoon''. An important subplot throughout the film is his struggle with the realization that Joon, his mentally ill sister, can take care of herself better than he thinks and that he uses her reliance on him as an excuse to not live his own life. By the end of the film he understands this, and is able to enter a real romantic relationship for the first time, while Joon is allowed to get her own apartment.
%%* ''Film/WhatsEatingGilbertGrape'' is a perfect example of this.

* Mrs. Medlock in ''Film/{{The Secret Garden|1993}}''. She watched over the young lord's "ill" son Colin assiduously, and scolded Mary for being reckless when she worsened his condition. Mrs. Medlock goes so far as to lock Mary in her bedroom and force Colin to take baths in freezing water, while he screams that he's fine. When it turns out it was years of overprotective care that left Colin unable to walk, which Mary cured, Medlock was reduced to [[HeroicBSOD a near friendless crying heap]].
* In ''Film/Molly1999'', Buck finds himself the caretaker of his autistic and intellectually impaired sister, [[CharacterTitle Molly]], after her institution shuts down. He is not happy about this.

* Jo, towards Beth in the second half of ''Literature/LittleWomen''. [[spoiler: When poor Beth dies... [[TearJerker Sniff]].]]
* Will Parry in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' starts out as a caretaker for his mother who suffers from mental illness and having to leave her for a time weighs heavily on him.

* Princess Marya in ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' acts as The Caretaker for her old father until his death, and then becomes the primary caretaker of her nephew, whose mother [[DeathByChildbirth died in childbirth]] and whose father is off to war.
* The Old Man in ''Literature/BeingThere'', with his maids, was this to the mentally challenged Chance the Gardener. The story proper begins when the Old Man dies and the now-middle-aged Chance is forced to venture out into the world for the first time, as the Old Man forbade him to leave their townhouse, with the threat of institutionalization if he did. What's particularly sad about this is the possibility that Chance is his (unknowing) son. In the movie version, the black maid Louise is a kindly caretaker and was likely closer to Chance than the Old Man... but she resents his later success as "Chauncey Gardiner" because she knows he's an idiot; as she sees it, he gained power solely because he's white.

* Many of Creator/JodiPicoult's novels have this, though usually the caretaker is somewhat narcissistic. The caretaker is always a mother taking care of her child, who has a chronic, usually life-threatening illness. They often will ignore anyone else and focus solely on the child. Sara in ''Literature/MySistersKeeper'' cares about her daughter Kate to the point of having a child specifically to donate blood and tissue to Kate and ignoring the other child. Charlotte in ''Literature/HandleWithCare'' actually sues her best friend so she can get money to take care of the child.

* Nadine Cross in ''Literature/TheStand'' to an orphan she calls "Joe" who had been rendered mute and feral due to the trauma of seeing his family die of the plague. True to the trope, she ultimately needed him much more than he needed her. Things go downhill fast the moment he recovers from his trauma and he doesn't need her to such an extent anymore.

He suppresses any irrational blame for River and is never too smothering, though very affectionate. He is very protective and those who might harm her find that he is also a PapaWolf when necessary. And to top it all off, he manages to have characteristics beyond caretaker ones - the show and TheMovie make him a DeadpanSnarker with a [[MomentKiller somewhat bumbling approach to love]]. He does acknowledge that he's been ignoring what he wanted for himself by the end, though.
** And [[BadassAdorable River]] ''inverts'' it in TheMovie, by [[spoiler: [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend saving him]] and [[TrueCompanions the entire crew]] by willingly locking herself in a room with an army of Reavers.]] Needless to say, [[TooDumbToLive those stupid Reavers]] [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend get their asses kicked.]]

* {{Dogged Nice Guy}} Dan spends a couple decades being this for his wife Diana in ''Theatre/{{Next To Normal}}'', bordering on {{Heroic BSOD}} himself.

* Lisa Garland, the nurse who [[spoiler:who took care of Alessa]] in ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. In exchange for her care, she was granted a degree of protection from the horrors of the DarkWorld of Silent Hill, which she couldn't leave [[spoiler: because Kaufman had killed her, trapping her there. Fan theories speculate Alessa cared for Lisa, and was using her to manipulate Harry into ceasing his search for Cheryl. In the end, she reverts to a blood covered monster when Harry rejects her and she realizes what she is. She does get a comeuppance by killing Kaufman in the Good + ending, though.]]
** In [[Film/SilentHill the movie]], she was just an ordinary nurse who curiously looked at Alessa while agonizing after being near burned to death. Alessa responded by "blasting" her eyes and upper face with third degree burns that remain on her permanently even in the DarkWorld. Alessa does seem to regret it though... the evil inside her admits Lisa wasn't guilty of anything, and while she doesn't (can't?) heal her, she keeps her nearby instead of having Pyramid Head kill her.

* The end of the A route in ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion'' shows Nessiah supporting Gulcasa in a combination of this role and LivingEmotionalCrutch, as it falls to him (the only one who knows enough about Brongaa's blood and its effects) to make sure Gulcasa regularly [[HumanSacrifice kills something to sate his natural bloodlust]] (no matter how much Gulcasa himself does not want to) and nurse him back to health should he fall ill from [[BlessedWithSuck overusing or underusing his powers with his body still unstable]]. He also takes Siskier's place as Gulcasa's confidante and adviser, as well as becoming his love interest. In a variation on the trope, Nessiah shows no sign of minding having to do this for three years; after all, [[spoiler:when he's [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide strung out after using Brongaa's power]], Gulcasa is awfully easy to manipulate]], so Nessiah has plenty to gain from being devoted.
** Though there are some [[BecomingTheMask emotional]] [[ConflictingLoyalty attachments]] Nessiah makes in the process that cause him problems in the end.
* Big Daddies in ''VideoGame/BioShock'' protect the Little Sisters from any Splicer that wants to get their hands in the [[AppliedPhlebotinum ADAM]] they produce. And given how they are giant men in diving suits with either: a drill equipped with a grappling hook, a giant riveting gun that doubles as a machine gun and mines, a giant laser gun, or remotely controlled mini-turrets and a rocket launcher, ''and on top of all that'', sometimes [[MagicByAnyOtherName Plasmids]]; Splicers rightly consider attacking the Protectors suicide.

* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'' reveals that Richter, the man who was sent to shoot Jacket in the first game, is actually a pretty decent guy, with his main redeeming trait being that his mother is stricken with an illness of some sort and he has to help her with her daily activities.

* In ''VisualNovel/{{Air}}'', Haruko takes care of the weak [[spoiler:and cursed]] Misuzu, and her feelings conflict between protecting her from herself and loving her.

* Daniel in ''Webcomic/TheGuideToAHealthyRelationship'' claims to be this for his mentally ill romantic partner Julian, except he abuses and gaslights them all the time. Julian actually has a much more caring relationship with their childhood best friend Apollo; the two of them tend to take turns in looking out for one another: Apollo for Julian in that they eat enough and stay grounded, Julian for Apollo by being his guide when his bad eyesight is getting the worse of him and he can't navigate foreign terrain.

* Benny from ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' looked after his mentally ill sister, and is Hyper's OnlyFriend.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/KOn'' with Yui and Ui. Ui seems to exist to fulfill her sister Yui's every need, and has become hyper-competent because of it (which is thoroughly lampshaded by the rest of the cast), but has no idea what to do with herself when Yui isn't around. It's especially ironic since Ui is actually the ''younger'' of the two, and Yui's [[ChildishOlderSibling childish behavior]] doesn't help. Late in the second season, their positions are briefly reversed, letting Yui learn AnAesop about appreciating what you have.

* Jenny, the sister to blind Virgil in ''At First Sight''. She was incredibly overprotective, but got to justify her reactions as years of disappointment of quack doctors, as well as receiving a PromotionToParent for her brother at a young age. Though she was called out on her faults, she got a chance to see them and mend her ways while her brother was temporarily cured of his blindness.

* ''Lorenzo's Oil'' has a startling two parents work as Caretakers for Lorenzo, all while being Activists and independently researching a possible cure for his slow mental shutdown and helping dozens of others as the ending {{Montage}} advertises. Needless to say they were able to pull it off because they could rely on each other to care for Lorenzo, but they (especially Michaela) did become overprotective on his behalf. You also get an example of how not to be a Caretaker by watching Nancy (Jennifer Dundas) who assumes Lorenzo has no mind left whatsoever and treats him like an inanimate object.

* ''Anime/MaiHime'''s main character, Mai Tokiha, completely defines her life around taking care of her equally selfless IllBoy younger brother. This was brought on by an accident in which their mother saves Takumi but later dies. Before she died, she made Mai promise to always look after Takumi and she took it to heart. He eventually calls her out to find a reason to live besides him, or else he won't agree to his treatment. This can be seen in how she naturally falls into taking care of Mikoto as her roommate.

* As in canon, the Emperor of Mankind in ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'' is [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport interred on the Golden Throne, unable to move]], and so the job of Caretaker was made to look after him. [[EmbarassingNickname Kitten]] mostly keeps him company and informs him about the state of the Imperium, but other duties include sponging down his immobile body and cleaning out the sewers.

* Played for comedy in ''Manga/KOn'' with Yui and Ui. Ui seems to exist to fulfill Yui's every need, and has become hypercompetent because of it (which is thoroughly lampshaded by the rest of the cast), but has no idea what to do with herself when Yui isn't around. Late in the second season, their positions are briefly reversed, letting Yui learn AnAesop about appreciating what you have.

* Creator/CSLewis married a woman to protect her from her abusive husband; he later found out she was going to die of cancer but chose to take care of her.

* Farnese ends up taking up this role for Casca in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' when she joins Guts' group.

* According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "more than 50 million people provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year" in the United States. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caregiver The Other Wiki]] has more information on caregiving. If the U.S. figures are indicative of the post-industrial world as a whole, about 17 out of every 100 people are this trope for a relative or friend. Meaning, if there are 1,000 active tropers present on this site (a conservative estimate), 170 of us could potentially be The Caretaker in real life.

* According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "more than 50 million people provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year" in the United States. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caregiver The Other Wiki]] has more information on caregiving. If the U.S. figures are indicative of the post-industrial world as a whole, about 17 out of every 100 people are this trope for a relative or friend. Meaning, if there are 1,000 active tropers present on this site (a conservative estimate), 170 of us could potentially be {{The Caretaker}} in real life.

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith the musician Music/TheCaretaker.

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith the musician [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caretaker_%28musician%29 The Caretaker.]]

* In [[Film/TheHaunting1963 the original film]], and the booked it's based on, it's Eleanor that was the caretaker, even to living as a recluse -- the haunting took advantage of her feeling of isolation and resentment.