History Main / TheSvengali

The TropeNamer is a character in George du Maurier's 1894 novel ''Literature/{{Trilby}}''.

* Strongly implied to be Van's relationship with Asch in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', especially with AllThereInTheManual information taken into account. Given that the RageAgainstTheMentor starts not long after the beginning of the game, that aspect of their relationship is never explored on-screen; however, interviews state that Van kept Asch isolated and uninformed in order to keep him pliable. The LimaSyndrome aspect is implied and twisted up; Van fully believes he "needs" Asch to pull off his plan [[spoiler:ignoring the replica with the same powers he himself made that, until the WhamEpisode, had UndyingLoyalty to him.]] Despite Asch repeatedly saying he would never work with him, Van is convinced he will. [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror Not helping matters is that Van himself was conditioned to see himself as a tool by all his parental figures]], [[ObliviouslyEvil meaning Van doesn't understand that controlling and manipulating Asch is not a form of parenthood]].

* Strongly implied to be Van's relationship with Asch in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', especially with AllThereInTheManual information taken into account. Given that the RageAgainstTheMentor starts not long after the beginning of the game, that aspect of their relationship is never explored on-screen; however, interviews state that Van kept Asch isolated and uninformed in order to keep him pliable. The LimaSyndrome aspect is implied and twisted up; Van fully believes he "needs" Asch to pull off his plan [[spoiler:ignoring the replica with the same powers he himself made that, until the WhamEpisode, had UndyingLoyalty to him.]] Despite Asch repeatedly saying he would never work with him, Van is convinced he will.

* In the Season 2 episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' titled "Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner?", Col. Bud Manstrong angrily calls Brock Samson "Svengali" when the colonel finds his mother [[NotWhatItLooksLike passed out in Samson's lap]].

* This is a secondary shtick of ''Franchise/TeenTitans'' villain ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}, who primarily operates as an evil SuperSoldier PsychoForHire but also makes a hobby out of playing the EvilMentor to various young heroes and villains. For a time he even led his own PsychoRangers group, the Villains For Hire.
* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW'', Onyx Prime/[[spoiler:Shockwave]] was this to both [[spoiler:Megatronus and Liege Maximo, using their skills for war and deception to ensure the timeline [[StableTimeLoop played out as he remembered it]].]]
* While originally a BigGood, ''Franchise/XMen'' founder ComicBook/ProfessorX has taken a slow but steady descent into one of these since the [[DarkerAndEdgier Dark Age]] of the '90s. While never attempting to use his students for ''financial'' gain (because he doesn't need to, being a member of Marvel's Fiction500), he has [[ManipulativeBastard manipulated]] them [[BecauseYouCanCope seven ways]] [[MoreThanMindControl from here to Sunday]], ranging from garden-variety emotional manipulation to outright memory repression, all in the name of keeping as many of his students in their X-uniforms as possible.

A common use of the term in real life is a mentor or other authority figure who manipulates and grooms their pupil for sex. This is one way, but certainly not the only way this trope can play out.

** Flashbacks show personal gain was behind her adopting Adora due to the personal power she sensed in the infant, raising the child was in part to try and access this power. With Catra being another means of controlling Adora, not out of any true parental affection.

* In the 1950 movie ''Film/AllAboutEve'', the character Bill Simpson (played by Gary Merrill) says to Eve Harrington (played by Anne Baxter) after she tries to seduce him:

* The controlling behavior of theater producer John Barrymore in ''Film/TwentiethCentury'' leads his actress, protege, and lover, played by Carole Lombard, to protest "I'm no Trilby!".

* Fagin in ''Literature/OliverTwist'' takes in street urchins and teaches them how to become accomplished thieves. He profits greatly from their thefts and simply writes them off when they get caught and executed.

* The TropeNamer, from Du Maurier's ''Literature/{{Trilby}}'' a hypnotist who makes the eponymous protagonist, tone-deaf without him, into a famous singer.

* Sophia Lopez, Caged Heat's lawyer on Women Of Wrestling's {{reviv|al}}ed third season, finally got the convictions of two members overturned only to then ask newly freed Delta and Loca to commit crimes for her, apparently not realizing they spent the last fourteen years claiming to be innocent because they were serious. So she instead tried to get them to cheat during matches but having lost their trust, Delta and Loca decided to wrestle clean, [[GoodIsNotSoft if still rough by WOW standards]], [[NiceJobFixingItVillain instead]]. Lopez kept trying to "help" Delta and Loca win the TagTeam Titles, but only because she thought they were still useful for, among other things, [[UnwittingPawn helping her]] entice a wrestler who could actually be controlled.[[/folder]]

* [[spoiler:Kreia]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' [[spoiler:to the main character.]] FridgeHorror sets in once you've replayed the game and seen just how much of the relationship between these two characters falls under MoreThanMindControl. Depending on the theories you subscribe to, it may have been done all for [[BestServedCold revenge]] or [[WellIntentionedExtremist for the greater good]], but only two things are really certain: firstly, [[TrueCompanions that they seem to actually care for each other in a twisted fashion]], and secondly, [[spoiler:''[[TheExtremistWasRight it worked.]]'']]

* In the Season 2 episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' titled "Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner?", Col. Bud Manstrong angrily calls Brock Samson "Svengali" when the colonel finds his mother [[NotWhatItLooksLike passed out in Samson's lap.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Tywin to Tommen, the new king due to Joffrey's death, and who Tywin clearly intends to mold into a vehicle for Lannister dominance of the Seven Kingdoms, with the side effect that Tommen could probably have become one of Westeros' ''better'' kings, whereas Joffrey was already a lost cause before he came under Tywin's influence. Remember that Tywin was Hand of the King to Aerys Targaryen II for 20 years, and despite that king's madness those years are regarded as some of the best in living memory thanks to Tywin's administration.

->''"The children who adored you as "father"... The prospects of your pupils... How many did you trample upon...? How many dreams did you exchange for riches!?"''

The Svengali is a frequent, even near-inevitable, cause of RageAgainstTheMentor. Since The Svengali's job is usually to provide their ward with worldly success and AmbitionIsEvil, WhatHaveIBecome moments (where applicable) tend to turn into What Have You Made Me moments, kind of like IHateYouVampireDad but with fewer fangs. A less malicious version is a MoochingMaster, who might take advantage of his student, but he still genuinely cares for them and doesn't actually utilize them as a pawn beyond simple personal gains.

* [[BitchInSheepsClothing Ichiryuusai Madarame]], from ''VideoGame/Persona5'', is a juggernaut of the art world who maintains his position of prominence by [[{{Gaslighting}} systematically abusing his live-in pupils,]] [[PlagiarismInFiction plagiarizing their work,]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and discarding them when they begin to question him.]] He keeps his only current student, 16-year-old Yusuke Kitagawa, in a state of impoverished semi-starvation while he secretly lives in grandeur, and his Shadow [[spoiler: later reveals [[MurderByInaction that he allowed Yusuke's mother,]] another of his former students, to die from an epileptic seizure so that he could take credit for her masterwork, the ''Sayuri'', which became the painting that launched him to international superstardom.]]

The Svengali is a manipulative, controlling mentor that exploits their student for their own gain. They control and exploit their disciple by any means possible, from just plain being a ManipulativeBastard through overt MindControl to MoreThanMindControl, often with a side of StockholmSyndrome, LimaSyndrome (or both), and MindGameShip. Typically acting as TheManBehindTheMan, The Svengali is often also TheChessmaster, or at least TheStrategist, in terms of PR campaigning. Unlike the EvilMentor, The Svengali is usually not so much trying to pass on a legacy of evil.

* In the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comics, Jodafra to his niece Destrii, who he acts as a father-figure to but uses as a pawn in his schemes. When he first appears, he looks like a LovableRogue, Destrii's only non-abusive parental figure, and possibly the nicest person in an incredibly corrupt and vicious DecadentCourt. But as things continue, his true evil nature becomes apparent, and he finally ends up beating her viciously and leaving her for dead after she stops him feeding a group of kidnapped children to an EldritchAbomination in exchange for powers.

* In the 1950 movie ''Film/AllAboutEve'', the character Bill Simpson (played by Gary Merrill) says to Eve Harrington (played by Anne Baxter), after she tries to seduce him:
--> "Names, I've been called — but never Svengali."

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Emperor Palpatine aka Darth Sidious, who used the Sith Rule of Two (there must only be two Sith alive at any given time) to his advantage. Though it isn't clear with Darth Maul, he clearly used Dooku's death as part of his plan to turn Anakin to the Dark Side, and then intended to use Anakin's death to turn Luke. Had his master plan worked out, the last part hinged on sacrificing Luke to make himself immortal.
** The expanded universe makes it clear that ''all'' Sith Masters are this trope toward their one apprentice. Every one of them got their position by outwitting and defeating a previous master who tried to do this to them, and as a result they all believe that any apprentice who can't do the same doesn't deserve success.

* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' Sauron, wearing the guise of Annatar, plays this to Celebrimbor... only to find out that the latter is under TheDulcineaEffect and thus immune to all his manipulation tactics. Unfortunately, by that point Celebrimbor has become TheMuse and Sauron has been HoistByHisOwnPetard. Celebrimbor ends up having the dubious honor of being the only person Sauron personally tortured ''to death''.

* Series/{{Frasier}}'s evil agent, Bebe Glazer. When Frasier's producer Roz was offered an opportunity for her own show, he congratulated but mentioned he would miss her. Bebe took that as her cue to sabotage Roz's opportunity to supposedly keep Frasier happy.

* UnscrupulousHero Malcolm Tucker in ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' fits this archetype perfectly, although instead of mentoring a specific person like this, he obsessively controls his entire Party. His VillainousBreakdown in Series 4 even involves him screaming at someone objecting to his plan, because he is doing it all for the Party, and no-one should dare ever question what he would do for the Party.

* UsefulNotes/ColonelTomParker is typically depicted as this towards Music/ElvisPresley. Parker maintained an iron grip on the direction of Presley's career, including steering him into the increasingly mediocre movie-musicals he became known for in the bulk of the 1960s and his Vegas residency in the 1970s, and at one point 50% of what Presley was earning was going straight to Parker, well in excess of the industry-standard 25%. Parker also heavily discouraged Presley from touring outside of the the US; the only such tour was a 1957 tour in Canada. Parker was actually an illegal immigrant, and didn't want to risk exposing himself by applying for a passport. [[note]]In 1957, US citizens did not require a passport to enter Canada.[[/note]]

* [[spoiler:Kreia]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' [[spoiler:to the main character.]] FridgeHorror sets in once you've replayed the game and seen just how much of the relationship between these two characters falls under MoreThanMindControl. Depending on the theories you subscribe too, it may have been done all for [[BestServedCold revenge]] or [[WellIntentionedExtremist for the greater good]], but only two things are really certain: firstly, [[TrueCompanions that they seem to actually care for each other in a twisted fashion]], and secondly, [[spoiler:''[[TheExtremistWasRight it worked.]]'']]

* Manfred von Karma is this to Miles Edgeworth in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' until the end of case 1-4 in the first game. The main reason why he takes in Edgeworth is because [[spoiler:he sports one hell of a grudge against Edgeworth's dad, Gregory Edgeworth, a defense attorney who managed to tarnish Manfred's perfect 'all guilty' court record by giving him a penalty. During the DL-6 incident, Karma murdered Gregory in cold blood, and molded his young son into becoming a prosecutor before framing him for a new murder years later, all in the name of petty revenge against the Edgeworth family. However, he gets his comeuppance when Phoenix Wright exposes him as Gregory's killer, and Edgeworth recognizes Karma's demonic scream as the sound that terrorized him so much as a boy, causing the aptly-named Karma to suffer an ''epic'' VillainousBreakdown]].
* Strongly implied to be Van's relationship with Asch in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', especially with AllThereInTheManual information taken into account. Given that the RageAgainstTheMentor starts not long after the beginning of the game, that aspect their relationship is never explored on-screen; however, interviews state that Van kept Asch isolated and uninformed in order to keep him pliable. The LimaSyndrome aspect is implied and twisted up; Van fully believes he "needs" Asch to pull off his plan [[spoiler:ignoring the replica with the same powers he himself made that, until the WhamEpisode, had UndyingLoyalty to him.]] Despite Asch repeatedly saying he would never work with him, Van is convinced he will.

* Ludwig in ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'' initially seemed friendly, seemingly wanting to nurture the next generation of musical talent by giving Mugman piano lessons. However, [[spoiler: upon learning that Cuphead is a piano prodigy, he ditches Mugman and takes the cup under his wing instead. He promised to pick Cuphead up on the day of the recital, only to ditch him also and steal his song in order to win the ten-thousand dollar grand prize. He gets his [[LaserGuidedKarma comeuppance]] by getting caught under Mugman's PianoDrop]].