History MyGodWhatHaveIDone / Literature

* In ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', [[DilligentDraftAnimal Boxer]] is remorseful when he strikes a farmhand on the head and seemingly kills him. When Snowball chastises him for expressing sympathy for the enemy, Boxer, on the verge of tears, retorts that he has no wish to take any life, not even a human life.

---> "Some of the survivors went ahead and started families. They've had children. That's the worst. We're all on the edge of starvation... and now we have children to feed. We've gotten so hungry... the children crying from hunger... that we've-" The woman on the hologram shuddered and started to cry. "[[OhMyGods May the stars forgive us]]... [[ImAHumanitarian we've fed them meat from]]--"

---> "I did a lot of things . . . horrible things." He turned his hands palm-up and stared at them for a moment, like he could see blood. "What I did to her was worst of all--especially because it was her. She came to save me from that state, and I. . ." He shook his head. "I did terrible things to her. Terrible things to others. I can't face her after that. What I did was unforgivable."

--->'''[[spoiler:Nale]]:''' Storms. Jezrien... Ishar... It is true. I've failed. (...) I failed weeks ago. I knew it then. Oh God! Oh God the Almighty!

--->''This decision will haunt me for the rest of my eternal life''

---->"He has escaped me... and I've slaughtered tens of thousands for '''''nothing'''''..."

* Cassie has one of these way too many times to count in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. ''The Departure'' is one, where she comes down hard on herself after tearing out the throat of a Hork-Bajir controller.

* In the [[Literature/TheBible Book of Daniel, Chapter 6]], Darius, having taken over Babylon, is convinced to sign a decree that no one should petition any god or man other than the king for the next thirty days, and anyone who did would be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel, who was the unspoken (at least to the king) target of the decree, heard about it, but continued to pray at his regular time without making an attempt to hide it. The phrase is not recorded to have been said (it may have been [[OhMyGods "My gods,"]] for all we know), but it does say he was "sore displeased with himself", and he tried to figure out a loophole or something until the architects of the decree reminded him that he couldn't change what he signed into law. (Of course, the lions end up not harming Daniel at all, and the king even said before they closed up the den that he hoped that would be the turnout, but the idea stands.)
* Arguably Judas Iscariot's reaction after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, whom he betrayed, supposedly earning 30 pieces of silver. He attempted to return the silver and undo the betrayal, and later [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide out of guilt]]. Quite a few adaptations runs with this interpretation, portraying Judas as mistakenly believing that Jesus at most would be imprisoned in the moment of betrayal and then [[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo becoming utterly horrified when he learns that that the Sanhedrin actually wants the Romans to have him executed]]. Some of the apocrypha, including the "Gospel of Judas", purports this to be a necessary evil. The Bible has Jesus recognize this would happen, and warn all of the Twelve Disciples, including Judas.
** Peter betrayed Jesus too [[DirtyCoward In a different way]], by [[FriendshipDenial claiming not to be an associate of Jesus']], three times, the same night, after Jesus was arrested. Unlike Judas, Peter sought and was granted forgiveness directly from Jesus.
** There are many more instances of this trope throughout the Bible, such as what caused the original UriahGambit, and how King David realized his compounded folly afterwards; in that case, aside from those described in the Old Testament, it also (by Judaism traditions) resulted in Psalm 51, a famous prayer of repentance.

* In Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's early short story "And Death His Legacy" (collected in ''Dream Songs''), the protagonist says this after the right-wing demagogue he assassinated becomes a martyr.

* John realizes too late that leading his people to war was entirely the wrong thing to do in ''Literature/DirgeForPresterJohn''. They are unable to grasp the concept of war, or even the death that accompanies it, and treat it almost like a kind of game. This ends tragically.

* Done heartbreakingly in ''Literature/{{Halvgudene}}'' when [[BrattyTeenageDaughter Trigg]] gets hurt, and another member of the guild tries to joke away her [[FreakinessShame shame over her black blood]] by licking off the blood that gets on her hands, only to die of poisoning since her [[BloodMagic blood is poisoneous]], leaving her with extreme guilt...
* ''Literature/{{Harahpin}}'': [[spoiler:Thrym]] becomes disgusted with himself when he realizes just what he did to Euron and Eyrco.

* [[TheAtoner Jean Valjean]] of ''Literature/LesMiserables'' has a HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath based on this trope after he robbed a child. The robbing happened right after his encounter with [[MessianicArchetype Bishop Myriel]], who gave him a second chance at freedom after Valjean betrayed the Bishop's trust and robbed from him. The combination of these two events cause a guilt trip several pages long.

* Amuro Ray again in the ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' ''novel''; this is however repeated later by the greenhorn Zeon pilot and Char's wingman, Lt. (jg) Leroy Gilliam [[spoiler: after one-shotting the Gundam and killing Amuro in a case of (just at that point) friendly fire from his Rick Dom.]]

--> '''Renfield:''' "Oh dear sweet Jesus. Mason, what have you done? What have ''I'' done?"
--> '''Mason:''' "Your job, of course."

* Elizabeth Bathory goes through this in ''Literature/CountAndCountess'' when she realizes [[BloodBath bathing in blood]] is ''not'' curing her epilepsy, and she has been killing young girls for no reason at all.

* ''Literature/ScavengeTheStars'':
** Kamon Mercado becomes depressed and is even willing to have his son kill him when he learns that his distribution of fake gold coins to make himself wealthy led to his daughter being infected with an illness linked to the coins and [[spoiler:later losing her life]].
** Boon becomes depressed and starts drinking himself into a stupor after finding out his fake gold coins ended up distributed to the poor and a side effect of the materials used to make the coins led to them killing the poor residents of Moray.

* ''Literature/{{Harahpin}}'' : [[spoiler:Thrym]] becomes disgusted with himself when he realizes just what he did to Euron and Eyrco.

** He has a couple himself. In ''Proven Guilty,'' he learns that a woman he tried to save from a LawyerFriendlyCameo'd [[Film/{{Alien}} xenomorph]] bled out, and realizes he could have saved her if he hadn't been [[BloodKnight reveling in kicking the creature's ass]].
** In ''Changes'', he has this reaction preemptively to what he's about to do, when he conceives of the plan to [[spoiler:get Susan to succumb to her vampire infection, then sacrifice her to kill the Red Court.]] The last line in the chapter is a heartbreaking, "God forgive me."
** In ''Ghost Story'', he sees that his zeal in [[spoiler:saving his daughter]] in the previous book have left his apprentice ''seriously'' screwed up and has a moment like this.

In ''Literature/AlwaysComingHome'', "The Miller" ends with the titular character, who just raped a woman he was obsessed with (an incestous relationship to boot), jumping into his watermill’s wheel.

* In ''Literature/DeathStar'', MCPO Tenn Graneet, chief gunner for the [[EarthShatteringKaboom superlaser]], is hit with the enormity of what he has done, and when he is called to fire on Yavin 4, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath desperately stalls for time]].

* ''LightNovel/IveBeenKillingSlimesForThreeHundredYearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'': Azusa, without quite understanding the cultural significance of it, gets tricked into touching Flatorte's horns thinking it will help foster peace between the Red and Blue Dragons. What she didn't realize was just how completely Blue Dragons become subservient to their mistress or master, never leaving their side and not even eating or sleeping unless specifically ordered to, and if they should leave their mistress/master's side for any reason, even being ordered to, the dragon will commit suicide. Azusa is pretty understandably freaked out and compares it to actual slavery.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', after Harry, panicking and about to be Crucio-ed by Draco, unwittingly tries out his new "Sectumsempra" spell for the first time in the bathroom. The result is Draco being slashed to bits. [[OhCrap Whoops]].

** Ginny Weasley's attempt to destroy [[MailerDaemon Riddle's diary]] in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' was ([[http://alicia-chan.deviantart.com/art/HP-Penpal-problems-44206083 probably]]) a reaction to this trope. In any case, she was in full mode of this trope after being saved by Harry at the end. Poor Ginny. It must be... devastating doesn't even describe it... for an eleven-year-old to realize her actions have very nearly caused the deaths of half her friends and her crush. [[FridgeBrilliance Maybe that's why she was so sympathetic to Harry after the "Sectumsempra" incident.]]

* ''Literature/EllaEnchanted'': Lucinda, a powerful fairy, is egotistical and flashy, believing that she's doing wonderful things by giving people the gift of obedience or turning them into squirrels. When Ella is pushed one step too far by her WickedStepmother and abusive stepsisters exploiting her curse of total obedience, Mandy summons Lucinda and challenges her to last six months under those curses, three as a squirrel and three being a totally obedient child. Lucinda is a crying wreck when the six months are up and is horrified with how she's ruined so many lives, promising never to use magic so recklessly again. Though of course, that also means that she's unwilling to break Ella's curse (and the others she'd cursed) herself...

** Also Severus Snape, after he realizes his actions have inadvertently sentenced a woman he loves to death. Whoops again.

* Arguably Judas Iscariot's reaction after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, whom he betrayed, supposedly earning 30 pieces of silver. He attempted to return the silver and undo the betrayal, and later hung himself or [[ContinuitySnarl threw himself off a cliff]] out of guilt. Quite a few adaptations runs with this interpretation, portraying Judas as mistakenly believing that Jesus at most would be imprisoned in the moment of betrayal and then [[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo becoming utterly horrified when he learns that that the Sanhedrin actually wants to have the Romans execute him]]. Some of the apocrypha, including the "Gospel of Judas", purports this to be a necessary evil. The Bible has Jesus recognize this would happen, and warn all of the Twelve Disciples, including Judas.

* In ''Literature/TheMayorOfCasterbridge'', Michael Henchard sells his wife and infant daughter at auction for five guineas in a drunken haze, having never seen them as anything other than a burden. When he sobers up the next morning, he is horrified by the realisation of what he has done, but as the buyer, a sailor named Richard Newson, is not local to the area, he has no way to find him or his family, and so he swears off alcohol for twenty-one years as penance.

* In the final book of the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', [[TheHero Eragon]] [[spoiler: uses a non-verbal spell in order to defeat Galbatorix. Galbatorix holds both Eragon and his half-brother Murthag captured, using magic, and prevents them from using the ancient language. The spell Eragon then uses literally makes Galbatorix realise what he has done, by telepathically giving him the viewpoint of the situation that Eragon sees.]]
** During the darker part of his lifetime [[BigBad Galbatorix]] destroyed the entire order of Dragonriders. He has killed every last dragon except for Shruikan (his own) and three dragon eggs [[spoiler: and later revealed Glaedr, an Elder dragon hidden by the elves... He gets killed in the third book though]]. He conquered Alagaësia and formed his evil empire, although that's not as bad as the fact that he almost wiped out an entire species.
* ''Literature/EllaEnchanted'': Lucinda, a powerful fairy, is egotistical and flashy, believing that she's doing wonderful things by giving people the gift of obedience or turning them into squirrels. When Ella is pushed one step too far by her WickedStepmother and abusive stepsisters exploiting her curse of total obedience, Mandy summons Lucinda and challenges her to last six months under those curses, three as a squirrel and three being a totally obedient child. Lucinda is a crying wreck when the six months are up and is horrified with how she's ruined so many lives, promising never to use magic so recklessly again. Though of course, that also means that she's unwilling to break Ella's curse (and the others she'd cursed) herself...
* Probably the earliest ever variation is Creator/ChristopherMarlowe's ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'', to himself: "Wretch, what hast thou done?"
** Notably, even recognizing that what he's done is wrong, [[IgnoredEpiphany he still rejects his one last chance for salvation]].

** The whole series exemplifies this, to some extent. The kids agree that self-defense is justified, but the problem is when you kill a Controller, you don't just kill the Yeerk; you're also killing the host, who is completely aware but unable to stop the Yeerk. The kids debate during the entire series what is acceptable when it comes to self-preservation and exactly how far is too far. Initially the kids take a very narrowminded, black-and-white view - "We have the right to do anything we have to to win" - but as they mature and experience more in the war their moral lines become blurred to the point that they don't know the difference between right and wrong.
* ''Literature/TheStand'' by Creator/StephenKing: Harold, after he leaves Boulder post-explosion and crashes in the middle of the desert.
** Nadine too, after she's pregnant with Flagg's baby - she has one so hard that she goads Flagg into throwing her off a penthouse balcony to kill her and the baby.
* Creator/CharlesDickens wasn't averse to this sort of twist. In ''Literature/GreatExpectations'', the malignant Miss Havisham gives us the following line:
-->''"O!" she cried, despairingly. "What have I done! What have I done!"''
* Towards the end of ''Dread Locks'', Parker [[spoiler:takes off his sunglasses and looks at his best friend. Throughout the book, he had been slowly transforming into a Gorgon thanks to Tara. Once he realizes what he has done, Parker immediately regrets taking off his sunglasses.]]

* Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Legendarium]]:
** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
*** Boromir's moment, when he realizes how badly he screwed up by attempting to take the Ring from Frodo, leads directly to his RedemptionEqualsDeath.
*** The Steward's family is big on these moments. Denethor has [[FondMemoriesThatCouldHaveBeen another]] when his younger son, Faramir, is brought back dying after being wounded in a pointless battle which Denethor sent him into.
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'':
*** Túrin has this reaction after he kills Beleg and Brandir. [[spoiler: He kills himself after the second one]].
*** His father Húrin has a similar reaction when he realises his attempts to avenge his family have only helped Morgoth. [[spoiler:He too kills himself]].
*** Maedhros has one when his attempt to get the Silmarils from King Dior leads to the deaths of Dior's two young sons, and he and his brother Maglor have an ''epic'' one later when they realise that all the evil they committed in the pursuit of the Silmarils was for nothing because, after all the evils they've committed in search of the Silmarils, [[spoiler: [[HolyBurnsEvil the holy jewels burn them]]]]. [[spoiler: Maedhros then kills himself while Maglor spends the rest of time WanderingTheEarth singing laments]].
* ''Literature/KingArthurAndHisKnightsOfTheRoundTable'': After Iseult of the White Hands causes the deaths of Tristam and Iseult the Fair through her jealousy of their relationship, she repents and has them buried together.
* Creator/JoWalton's ''[[Literature/SmallChange Ha'penny]]'': Inspector Carmichael, after [[spoiler:saving Hitler's life]].
* In ''[[Literature/HonorHarrington Flag in Exile]]'', Honor Harrington is attacked by an assassin who sees her as a corrupting agent of Satan... but the beloved leader of his church [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet]] for her. Horrified, he drops the gun and falls to his knees: "My God, my God--''what have You let me do''?"
* Done hearbreakingly in ''Literature/{{Halvgudene}}'' when [[BrattyTeenageDaughter Trigg]] gets hurt, and another member of the guild tries to joke away her [[FreakinessShame shame over her black blood]] by licking off the blood that gets on her hands, only to die of poisoning since her [[BloodMagic blood is poisoneous]], leaving her with extreme guilt...
* Amuro Ray again in the ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' ''novel''; this is however repeated later by the greenhorn Zeon pilot and Char's wingman, Lt. (jg) Leroy Gilliam [[spoiler: after one-shotting the Gundam and killing Amuro in a case of (just at that point) friendly fire from his Rick Dom.]]
* The end of ''Literature/EndersGame'' sees Ender discovering that [[spoiler: the simulations he and his team mates had run in Command School weren't simulations but ansible transmissions: the ships he sacrificed to win had contained real, living soldiers, as had the enemy ships he annihilated, and by destroying what he thought was a simulation of the enemy home planet, he had actually done just that and committed xenocide without knowing it.]] He also finds out about this time that he not just defeated but actually killed [[spoiler:Stilson and Bonzo]]; he never heard about their deaths before.
** [[spoiler: The Formics get this too in the backstory when they, a hive minded species that places no value on the mindless drones used to fight wars, discovered that each and every human being they killed during their two wars with humanity was as much an individual as the Formic queens. Though they fight back when the humans invade them, they don't expect to win or even survive: they had recognized how humanity would have seen their invasions, and didn't expect to ever be forgiven for a crime of that magnitude. "The humans have not forgiven us; we shall surely perish."]]
* In the [[Literature/TheBible book of Daniel, chapter 6]], Darius, having taken over Babylon, is convinced to sign a decree that no one should petition any god or man other than the king for the next thirty days, and anyone who did would be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel, who was the unspoken (at least to the king) target of the decree, heard about it, but continued to pray at his regular time without making an attempt to hide it. The phrase is not recorded to have been said (it may have been [[OhMyGods "My gods,"]] for all we know), but it does say he was "sore displeased with himself", and he tried to figure out a loophole or something until the architects of the decree reminded him that he couldn't change what he signed into law. (Of course, the lions end up not harming Daniel at all, and the king even said before they closed up the den that he hoped that would be the turnout, but the idea stands.)

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
** In Creator/JamesSwallow's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''[[Literature/BloodAngels Deus Sanguinius]]'', [[spoiler:Arkio]]'s first words (after [[spoiler: "Brother"]]) when he is DyingAsYourself. He is deeply moved by Rafen's ManlyTears, and while quite certain of his own damnation, begs Rafen's forgiveness.
** In Creator/BenCounter's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Galaxy in Flames'', after [[spoiler:Aximand]] kills [[spoiler:Torgaddon]], he [[TearsOfRemorse sobs]], asks what they did, and speaks of how they had been their brothers. [[spoiler:Abaddon]] (who merely thinks WasItReallyWorthIt) thinks he needs to be watched.
** In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''Fulgrim'', Fulgrim's first words after he [[spoiler: killed Ferrus Manus, were "Throne save me, what have I done?". His [[EvilWeapon sword]] lets him [[HeelRealization realize the depths of his crime]], and that his view of Ferrus Manus had been formed by spiteful misinterpretation of his deeds. ]]
* In ''Literature/MobyDick,'' Ahab has a moment like this when [[spoiler:the ''Pequod'' sinks with Starbuck aboard. Starbuck was a good man, the only man on the ship who never let himself be sucked into Ahab's mad quest or cult of personality, and therefore the only one who manifestly did not deserve such a horrible fate. Ahab himself dies moments afterward.]]
* ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'':
** In ''Literature/TheDarkElfTrilogy'' (the second book, ''Exile''), Drizzt ponders on this when he starts to realize that living on the run all the time, constantly paranoid, has caused him to start to lose his humanity, especially after [[spoiler:cutting off his sister's ''fingers'' and nearly killing his brother]]; however, it isn't until Gwehywvar looks him in the eye that he starts to realize it and tries to find ways to regain said humanity... or elfmanity.
** Gromph at the end of ''Archmage'', first book of the ''[[Literature/HomecomingDrizzt Homecoming]]'' trilogy, shortly after [[spoiler: realizing that he just summoned the Prince of Demons]] to Menzoberranzan. He almost scratches his own eyes out before fleeing to Gauntlgrym.
* In ''Literature/DeathStar'', MCPO Tenn Graneet, chief gunner for the [[EarthShatteringKaboom superlaser]], is hit with the enormity of what he has done, and when he is called to fire on Yavin 4, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath desperately stalls for time]].
-->'''Graneet''': [[TearJerker Stand by. Stand by.]]
* In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'':
** Off-page, [[spoiler: Mammon Hoole]] performed an experiment that unleashed a WorldWreckingWave on the planet he was on; only he and his coworker escaped the devastation, which killed all life on Kiva. Utterly horrified and [[ItsAllMyFault blaming himself]], he hid for four years and came out of it as an emotionally crippled [[TheAtoner Atoner]], determined to try and make ''some'' good of his life. It all came crashing back in when he was forced to return to Kiva and saw the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent furious Kivan wraiths]], who blamed him just as much as he blamed himself. [[spoiler: He didn't think the experiment would turn so catastrophic; his coworker knew but didn't tell him, wanting to see it happen.]]
** In the last book, an ApocalypticLog made by someone stranded on Dagobah is found. The last entry has this.
---> "Some of the survivors went ahead and started families. They've had children. That's the worst. We're all on the edge of starvation... and now we have children to feed. We've gotten so hungry... the children crying from hunger... that we've-" The woman on the hologram shuddered and started to cry. "[[OhMyGods May the stars forgive us]]... [[ImAHumanitarian we've fed them meat from]]-"

** The novel ''Act of War'' has Kelsey quite distraught after she realises that she had unwittingly ordered [[spoiler: Carl Bolton]] to his death.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', after Harry, panicking and about to be Crucio-ed by Draco, unwittingly tries out his new "Sectumsempra" spell for the first time in the bathroom. The result is Draco being slashed to bits. [[OhCrap Whoops]].
** Also Severus Snape, after he realizes his actions have inadvertently sentenced a woman he loves to death. Whoops again.
** And in the film version of ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'', when Harry doesn't resurface from the Hogwarts Lake for a minute or so after being given his underwater breathing apparatus (Gillyweed), Neville gasps, "Oh my God- I've killed Harry Potter!" Harry then promptly does a spectacular backflip out of the water, making everybody know he's quite alright.
** Ginny Weasley's attempt to destroy [[MailerDaemon Riddle's diary]] in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' was ([[http://alicia-chan.deviantart.com/art/HP-Penpal-problems-44206083 probably]]) a reaction to this trope. In any case, she was in full mode of this trope after being saved by Harry at the end. Poor Ginny. It must be... devastating doesn't even describe it... for an eleven-year-old to realize her actions have very nearly caused the deaths of half her friends and her crush. [[FridgeBrilliance Maybe that's why she was so sympathetic to Harry after the "Sectumsempra" incident.]]
** [[spoiler: Ariana's death - possibly at his own hands -]] was this for Dumbledore.
** Harry, when he realises his actions lead to Sirius' death; probably Sirius' reaction when he realised James and Lily died because of him.
** Presumably Percy Weasley before he [[spoiler: reconciles with his family after a three-year estrangement, which resulted from his own pomposity and selfish career ambitions]].

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Lionblaze does this a lot in the latter half of ''Power of Three'', usually after he loses control of himself, or during one of his homicidal NightmareDreams.
** Brambleclaw also thinks this when he accuses Leafpool of revealing to the other medicine cats of the badger attack. Bonus points for realizing that he made things worse by telling Hawkfrost, who told [=ShadowClan=] in return. Because of this, he couldn't apologize to Leafpool or else he would reveal he and his brother were visiting Tigerstar.
** Clear Sky gets this at the end of ''The First Battle'', realizing that his fear of others dying had made him a monster, obsessed with order and borders. He, along with the other founders, promises to make things right after the battle at Fourtrees.
* ''Literature/ThePoisonwoodBible'': Nathan, after [[spoiler:Ruth May dies unbaptized]] due to his desire for a dramatic conversion of the village.
* In ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', Jim strikes a little girl for not listening to him when he told her to close the door. It turns out she couldn't listen ''at all''. She was deaf.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Rand has one [[spoiler: when he almost kills his father during a heated argument in ''The Gathering Storm''. Quite a few of his friends have been telling him in book after book that he's [[WhatTheHellHero going too far in his actions and losing it]], but it doesn't sink in until this confrontation]].
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Golden Age]]'', Helion tells Phaethon his origin: he had been a character in a scenario who [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds destroyed a planet]]. His My God, What Have I Done? reaction caused him to brood over questions of existence, and the brooding caused him to [[InstantAIJustAddWater become a self-aware personality]], no longer just a character.
* In Creator/AaronAllston's ''Literature/GalateaIn2D'', the hero [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]] one of the villain's mooks to try to get information from another. He slackens off without getting everything he wanted, realizing that she didn't know anything and that he was invoking WhatMeasureIsAMook. That thought horrifies him -- [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman just because they were]] [[ArtInitiatesLife two paintings who came to life]], and whom the villain had sent to kill him didn't mean torturing them was all right. [[spoiler: In the end, the villain is killed, but the hero tells the mooks that if they stay out of his way, he won't bother them.]]
* Appears near the end of ''Film/ManonDesSources'' for Papet. [[spoiler:He discovers that Jean, the man who he had ruined in the first part of the duology, was actually his son. Florette hadn't rejected him, as he thought, but was pregnant and had tried to move on when he didn't respond to her letter (a letter he obviously never received). Watching the look on Papet's face when this fact sinks in will quickly show the viewer why this movie launched Yves Montand to worldwide critical acclaim.]]
* ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'': "Almighty God! Enough! Enough!"
* Creator/JaneAusten loves to have characters suffer a dramatic, emotionally devastating disillusionment where they realize how blind and misguided they've been about a certain topic:
** ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'': Catherine Moreland experiences this trope when she realizes ThisIsReality, and she's been foolish to view the world and people through the lens of Gothic fiction.
** ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'': Marianne experiences this trope when she regrets the excess of [[EmoTeen Emo]] {{Wangst}} that almost killed her.
** ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'': Elizabeth's turn comes when she reads Mr. Darcy's letter and realizes how flawed her judgment of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham has been and that she herself is guilty in this area of the pride and vanity she so abhors.
** ''Literature/MansfieldPark'': Sir Thomas (the heroine's uncle) deeply regrets how he raised his daughters to be spoiled, vain, [[BrainlessBeauty Brainless Beauties]] and what a stern, cold father he was when he sees the effects such an education has had on them.
** ''Literature/{{Emma}}'': Emma is horrified over the mischief and pain her matchmaking efforts cause.
** ''Literature/{{Persuasion}}'' provides a subversion (in the correct use of the term): Near the beginning, Anne looks back with regret on breaking her engagement to Captain Wentworth, but the book ends with her realizing she was wrong and deciding IRegretNothing. Captain Wentworth himself plays it straight when he realizes what a mistake he made never coming back to ask Anne to marry him again after he began to make his fortune.
* Non-lethal/non-romantic example: A widower-turned-priest in the ''Literature/BrotherCadfael'' series spent an entire novel trying to marry off his daughter to a man she didn't even like, because he thought that having her around would hinder his advancement in the clergy. Eventually she runs off to Dublin with a Danish youth to escape the ArrangedMarriage; hearing this, her father contentedly proclaims that he'll never see her again ... and then pauses, and says it again in tones of grief, as the belated realization that he'd loved and will miss her hits home.
* Susan's aunt from ''Literature/WizardAndGlass'' may have ''died'' of this trope, as it's speculated that her fatal heart attack occurs when she comes out of her enraged trance and realizes that [[spoiler: she's just gotten her innocent, and pregnant, niece burned at the stake]].
* In ''Literature/OverTheWineDarkSea'' Sostratos tells Menedemos a story of a Pancrationist (one of the nastiest combat sports invented) in Athens who kills his opponent (a very easy thing to do in Pancration) and goes mad with rage because of it.
* In Creator/AdrianTchaikovsky's ''[[Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt Dragonfly Falling]]'', Fenise asks "What have I done?" as she realizes why she won't kill Thalric.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero Lost]]'', Miranda leads a boat that is pursuing hers on a route that ends with his crashing and dying. In ''Prospero In Hell'', she learns he wasn't an enemy. Nearly has TearsOfRemorse.

* ''Literature/TheLastDaysOfKrypton:'' Tyr-Us spends his last few moments numbly taking responsibility for his role in [[spoiler:Krypton's destruction.]]
* [[TheAtoner Jean Valjean]] of ''Literature/LesMiserables'' has a HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath based on this trope after he robbed a child. The robbing happened right after his encounter with [[MessianicArchetype Bishop Myriel]], who gave him a second chance at freedom after Valjean betrayed the Bishop's trust and robbed from him. The combination of these two events cause a guilt trip several pages long.
* Tsion Ben-Judah's reaction in in the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' book ''Desecration'' when he realizes he has given away the location of where the Israeli Jews would flee to according to what the Literature/BookOfRevelation says about the matter (the deserted city of Petra), fearing that he has messed up God's plan. He gets some reassurance from one of the Tribulation Force members that God may have intended for Tsion to let slip the location of where the Jews would flee to in order to lure Nicolae Carpathia's forces into a trap God has set up for them, which is all according to the Word of God.
* In ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', Marcia has this reaction after she accidentally Banishes Alther to the Darke Halls in ''Darke''.
* Elizabeth Bathory goes through this in ''Literature/CountAndCountess'' when she realizes [[BloodBath bathing in blood]] is ''not'' curing her epilepsy, and she has been killing young girls for no reason at all.
* Creator/StephenFry's ''The Stars' Tennis Balls'' has its vengeance-obsessed hero break free of his island prison and return to Britain to pursue a drawn-out violent campaign against those whom he sees responsible. After various horrific killings, he looks forward to reuniting with his college sweetheart. ''But she knows what he's done''. The close of the book has him voluntarily returning to the prison he escaped, in all likelihood to stay there until he dies.
* The concentration camp commander in ''Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas''. [[spoiler:Losing your son because of his naivete in regards to the camp ''you commanded'' can't be a good experience for anyone.]]

* John realizes too late that leading his people to war was entirely the wrong thing to do in ''Literature/DirgeForPresterJohn''. They are unable to grasp the concept of war, or even the death that accompanies it, and treat it almost like a kind of game. This ends tragically.
* The titular doctor in ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' experiences this feeling immediately after bringing his creation to life. After working himself to the bone for months over this project, the realization that he has created a hideous mess of a creature instead of the ideal man he had intended sends him into a bout of brain fever lasting for months.
** [[spoiler: The monster himself]] has one at the end when[[spoiler: he discovers that Victor Frankenstein has died of exhaustion from chasing him all over Europe. After realizing that killing Victor's innocent family members and family friend out of anger at his creator was all for nothing, and that he has become the monster everyone thought he was, he plans to commit suicide in order to atone for his crimes]].

* In ''Omega Rising'', Jenny has one of these when she realises that [[spoiler:Knight is really Ethan]] after she helps in his capture.
* Invoked by Tessa in ''[[Literature/TheInfernalDevices The Clockwork Princess]]'', when she realizes exactly why and how Mortmain wishes to use her.
* In ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'', Hamnet has this when [[spoiler: while trying to drive the rats out of the Garden of the Hesperidies, he permanently floods the garden, destroying the apple trees, drowning countless rats, bats, humans, and even the rat pups who had been taken into the cave to escape the fighting]], leading to him fleeing Regalia to live in the jungle.
* Ishmael feels this way in ''[[Literature/DontCallMeIshmael Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel]]'' after [[spoiler:drunkenly kissing Sally, his best friend's girlfriend.]]
* In Creator/HarryTurtledove's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken_(short_story) The Road Not Taken]] an alien race called the Roxolani attempts to invade Earth...and fails miserably. The thing of it is, the secret of the Roxolani's antigravity and FTL technology turned out to be so absurdly simple that it left their race in a kind of MedievalStasis, halting their technology at the level of cannons and black powder muskets. Somehow, Earth completely missed the secret of antigravity and FTL, forcing them to exploit every other area of science and technology. After the Roxolani invasion fails miserably, the survivors are taken prisoner and questioned. The captives take note of the fact that humans seem extremely advanced in all areas of science, except they never discovered the secret of interstellar travel. When one of the captives points out that now the humans ''do'' know the secret because of the failed invasion, the Roxolani turn to each other and ask themselves, [[OhCrap "What have we done?"]]
* In the ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' series, in Jennifer the Hairstylist Fairy's book, Rachel and Kirsty accidentally wreck a goblin's wig while trying to help Jennifer. Upon seeing his saddened reaction, they feel incredibly guilty and agree to restore it if he gives back the magic hairbrush.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''
** Harry Dresden postulates to Michael Carpenter, a Paladin serving G-D, [[spoiler:the reason the Fallen Angels avoid churches isn't because GoodHurtsEvil and just standing there is uncomfortable, as Michael suspects, but it makes them ''feel'' Him and remember their time loving Him and serving Him. Remembering those times makes them feel sad. They question their choices in their existence, and after a million years or more of steadfast belief you were in the right, and it turns out you were wrong and everything you did was for nothing, it is not an easy revelation to handle on one's conscience]].
** He has a couple himself. In ''Proven Guilty,'' he learns that a woman he tried to save from a LawyerFriendlyCameo'd [[Film/{{Alien}} xenomorph]] bled out, and realizes he could have saved her if he hadn't been [[BloodKnight reveling in kicking the creature's ass]].
** In ''Changes'', he has this reaction preemptively to what he's about to do, when he conceives of the plan to [[spoiler:get Susan to succumb to her vampire infection, then sacrifice her to kill the Red Court.]] The last line in the chapter is a heartbreaking, "God forgive me."
** In ''Ghost Story'', he sees that his zeal in [[spoiler:saving his daughter]] in the previous book have left his apprentice ''seriously'' screwed up and has a moment like this.
* In Creator/GeorgeRRMartin's early short story "And Death His Legacy" (collected in ''Dream Songs''), the protagonist says this after the right-wing demagogue he assassinated becomes a martyr.
* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'' book ''Fall of the Heroes'', after Alex unleashes his powers full blast and causes [[spoiler: Julie, with her claws fully extended, to collide with Phantom, mortally wounding her]], he feels this; he's not even certain that it was an accident and wonders whether he would do it again.

* ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'':
** Tris reacts this way [[spoiler:after Al commits suicide as a result of her refusing to forgive him]], though she eventually learns to live with the fact that she's not a forgiving person, and no one blames her given [[spoiler:Al assisted in an attempt on her life and molestation]].
** The Dauntless army as a whole [[spoiler:reacts this way along with MassOhCrap when Tobias ends the simulation brainwashing them as a mindless army, forcing them to remember the senseless murder they've just committed]].
* ''Literature/KnowledgeOfAngels'': Severo reacts this way after he realizes what is going to happen with Palinor after he turned him over to the Inquisition.
* Dimitri's general reaction after [[spoiler:he is changed from a Strigoi back into a dhampir]] by Lissa in ''Literature/SpiritBound''.
---> "I did a lot of things . . . horrible things." He turned his hands palm-up and stared at them for a moment, like he could see blood. "What I did to her was worst of all--especially because it was her. She came to save me from that state, and I. . ." He shook his head. "I did terrible things to her. Terrible things to others. I can't face her after that. What I did was unforgivable."

* In ''Literature/TheDiscreetPrincess'', Rich-Craft's last request is for Bel-à-Voir to marry Finette and then kill her as soon as possible. [[spoiler:He stabs her in the heart... and since he fell in love with her by then, he is so regretful that he intends to kill himself at once as well. The only thing that stops him is that the princess was ProperlyParanoid enough to use a SleepingDummy.]]
* In ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict'', Nikita has this moment after [[spoiler:killing Ture on her mother's orders]], realizing that [[spoiler:even after all those years, she's still Irena's puppet, and that she should've ''helped'' Ture.]] In an inversion of the usual course of events, the realization makes her stronger.

* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'':
** In the novella ''Literature/{{Edgedancer}}'', one of the villains has this reaction when he realizes that he's been serving the wrong cause all along.
--->'''[[spoiler:Nale]]:''' Storms. Jezrien... Ishar... It is true. I've failed. (...) I failed weeks ago. I knew it then. Oh God! Oh God the Almighty!
** In Literature/{{Oathbringer}}, [[spoiler: Venli]] starts to have this reaction over the course of the book as [[spoiler: she realises how bad an idea it was to bring her people's gods back and how she basically got her people, including her sister and her sort-of-husband, killed as well as screwing over the entire population of the planet.]]
** Dalinar has this reaction when he [[spoiler:accidentally kills his wife Evi, because she was a prisoner unbeknownst to him when he ordered The Rift burned down and the inhabitants killed. He even killed her personally by lighting the fire to a room that he believed was a safe room for the leader of the city, when it was really converted into a prison.]]
* In ''Literature/TheReader2016'', Sefia is absolutely traumatized after taking a life, even though it was in self-defence, and for a long time doubts she'd ever be able to do it again.
* In the ''Literature/DreambloodDuology'', Ehiru's first Gathering during the story going horribly awry eats almost all of his confidence away until he becomes convinced to be unable to perform his duties anymore.
* In ''Literature/TheEveOfRUMOKO'', the protagonist has his moment near the end, after the RUMOKO project goes wrong and [[spoiler:destroys an entire city, killing everyone in it including the protagonist's love interest]]. The protagonist had worked security on the RUMOKO project and spent most of the story foiling a saboteur who had been trying to shut the project down to prevent exactly that outcome.
* Discussed in ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'': TheDevil actually prefers people to ''not'' commit egregious sins that evoke this reaction, as the ensuing HeelRealization is likely to lead to them [[HeelFaithTurn repenting and trying to get right with God]], which of course is the opposite of what the Devil wants.
* In a flashback in ''Literature/TerraIgnota'', Mycroft has a breakdown when he is wheeled into [[spoiler:Madame's parlor and realizes he didn't have to kill Apollo and the Mardis to prevent a world war, as there were already mechanisms being put in place to prevent it.]] This leads him to become the ActualPacifist he is by the time of ''Too Like the Lightning''.
* ''Literature/TheSwamplingKing'': Duke Lenoden is horrified when he unleashes the deeplings on the Plateaus. After, though, [[NeverMyFault he still blames Josen for "forcing" him to it]] What did Josen do to deserve this? He survived Lenoden's assassination attempt and then told people what had happened.
* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', the hero Eidolon, who suffers from ChronicHeroSyndrome and has powers that let him combine other heroes' powers together, has one of these when he learns that the Endbringers, colossal {{Kaiju}}-esque monsters that he has been fighting and who have killed hundreds of millions of people across the globe, are [[spoiler: created by his own powers and his need to find and fight a WorthyOpponent]]. [[HeroicBSOD This revelation leaves him virtually catatonic as a result.]]
* In ''Literature/TheMayorOfCasterbridge'', Michael Henchard sells his wife and infant daughter at auction for five guineas in a drunken haze, having never seen them as anything other than a burden. When he sobers up the next morning, he is horrified by the realisation of what he has done, but as the buyer, a sailor named Richard Newson, is not local to the area, he has no way to find him or his family, and so he swears off alcohol for twenty-one years as penance.
* In ''Literature/TheWhitePlague'', the villian is [[BigBad John Roe O'Neill]]. O'Neill is an ordinary molecular biologist driven insane when his family is killed in front of him by an IRA car bomb while on vacation in Ireland. His personality fragmenting, he designs a plague that infects everyone, making men carriers and killing all women, with the intent of using it to punish the Irish (for creating the bomb), the English (for driving the Irish to terrorism), and the Libyans (for training the terrorists) by killing their wives and daughters. [[spoiler:At the end of the book the poor man goes *sane*. He ends up a legend in Ireland as "The Madman", a tragic figure who you hear screaming in the night and leave food out for.]]
* In the ''Literature/FortunesOfWar'' books, Piper's misguided attempt to help Sarda's career basically ruined his life. She is intensely guilty over this, and one of the main plot points of the overall story, especially in ''Dreadnought!'', is her clumsy efforts to try to make things right with him.

* In ''Literature/TheWorstThingAboutMySister'', when Marty accidentally knocks out Melissa, she feels very guilty and afraid that Melissa may die.

* In ''Literature/SamBangsAndMoonshine'', Sam cries with guilt after her lie leads to Thomas and Bangs nearly drowning.

* ''Literature/{{Forbidden}}:'' Because of the [[BrotherSisterIncest nature]] of their relationship, both Lochan and Maya have this reaction at various stages when they think about the harm they could do to their family and each other. Kit also has a pretty major one after he, in a moment of misdirected anger, [[spoiler:tells their mother about them and she calls the police.]]
* ''Literature/TheHundredDresses'' has a big one. The whole class, including Maddie and Peggy, have been teasing Polish girl Wanda for claiming she has a hundred dresses when she wears the same frock to school. They instantly become ashamed when her father pulls her out of school a few days later and says in the big city no one will be calling his daughter funny names. What makes it worse is the teacher calmly reads the letter, and then says, "I trust that no one would have been intentionally cruel" but to consider this a learning experience, while barely holding herself together. No one is happy for the rest of the day. Maddie thinks to herself that she ought to have said something, and Peggy is the one to suggest that they should see if Wanda is still at home so they can apologize. [[spoiler:It's too late; the family's moved out]].
* ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'': Bastian, after turning to the dark side for a while and nearly killing Atreyu....in fact, he thought he flat-out HAD killed Atreyu, which makes his "My God, What Have I Done?" even more dramatic.
* ''Literature/MonsterOfTheMonthClub'': In book 2, Burly accidentally makes Chelsea sick when he takes her out of the water and she stays out too long. He's horrified when Rilla points this out to him.
* ''LightNovel/IveBeenKillingSlimesForThreeHundredYearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'': Azusa, without quite understanding the cultural significance of it, gets tricked into touching Flatorte's horns thinking it will help foster peace between the Red and Blue Dragons. What she didn't realize was just how completely Blue Dragons become subservient to their mistress or master, never leaving their side and not even eating or sleeping unless specifically ordered to, and if they should leave their mistress/master's side for any reason, even being ordered to, the dragon will commit suicide. Azusa is pretty understandably freaked out and compares it to actual slavery.
* ''Literature/EllenAndOtis'': Twice in ''Ellen Tebbits''.
** Ellen has this reaction in the first chapter of the book when she lashes out at Austine, who has just moved to Portland from California, for talking about California all the time. She apologizes afterward and the two become friends.
** Later, she has this reaction immediately after slapping Austine across the face for allegedly untying the sash of her dress, thus seemingly ending their friendship. It doesn't help later when she finds out that [[spoiler: the culprit was Otis, and not Austine]].

* ''JourneyToChaos'': [[spoiler: The true immensity of Nunnal's gamble at the climax of ''Mana Mutation Menace'' doesn't hit her until after its over.]]

* In Harry Turtledove's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Not_Taken_(short_story) The Road Not Taken]] an alien race called the Roxolani attempts to invade Earth...and fails miserably. The thing of it is, the secret of the Roxolani's antigravity and FTL technology turned out to be so absurdly simple that it left their race in a kind of MedievalStasis, halting their technology at the level of cannons and black powder muskets. Somehow, Earth completely missed the secret of antigravity and FTL, forcing them to exploit every other area of science and technology. After the Roxolani invasion fails miserably, the survivors are taken prisoner and questioned. The captives take note of the fact that humans seem extremely advanced in all areas of science, except they never discovered the secret of interstellar travel. When one of the captives points out that now the humans ''do'' know the secret because of the failed invasion, the Roxolani turn to each other and ask themselves, [[OhCrap "What have we done?"]]