Line #52 Main/DeathAndTheMaiden


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adolf_hering_death_and_the_maiden.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Uh, Lady... are you alright?]]
3
4	Even Death can feel a little lonely.
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6	A rather infamous artistic motif that came into prominence during the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] and continues to the modern day, ''Death and the Maiden'' has been popular in mediums ranging from visual art to plays, music, and even film.
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8	The details are simple: feature the personification of [[DeathTropes Death]] with a beautiful, nubile human woman. Easy peasy. How this formula differs depends on the medium. Death is often presented as a [[DemBones skeleton]] with wings or [[TheGrimReaper a cloak and scythe]] or maybe just a [[OurZombiesAreDifferent wilting corpse]]. The woman is often [[OurNudityIsDifferent nude]] or at least [[ModestyBedsheet partially so]]. Their interactions vary as well, the maiden reacting with fear or arousal at Death's touch, while Death caresses, kills, and/or whatever else the woman in question. It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
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10	This motif is commonly seen as an erotic one, two lovers making a connection in a way that even the viewer can only have limited comprehension of. Others can see it as a [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolic]] one, Death representing mortality and... well... you know, while the woman represents life and how the two [[TheDeadCanDance dance]] [[BalanceOfPower in a delicate balance]], being equal and opposite to one another. It is generally used in one of two ways. Either this represents the threat of and grief surrounding childhood illness: the maiden TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth taken before she can produce children. The other possibility is as an image of feminist resistance: the woman who commits suicide rather than enter an ArrangedMarriage.
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12	A common variant of the BeastAndBeauty trope. See also TouchOfTheMonster and PietaPlagiarism.
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14	----
15
16	!!Examples:
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
21	* In the ''Manga/BlackButler'' [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] "The Tales of Will the Grim Reaper", aspiring writer Thomas Wallis is inspired by William T. Spears to write a novel with this very premise.
22	* A motif in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', though in this case, Death ''is'' the Maiden, in this case Rukia, and Ichigo fills the role of her mortal entanglement.
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Art]]
26	* ''Death and the Maiden (Der Tod und das Mädchen)'' by Creator/AdolfHering.
27	* ''[[http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/photos/art/Denmark/Glyptotek/P1100663.jpg Death of a Maiden]]'' by Creator/ElnaBorch.
28	* ''Death and the Maiden'' by Creator/HansBaldungGrien.
29	* ''[[http://www.epilogue.net/art/20359-death-and-the-maiden Death and the Maiden]]'' by Creator/{{lorna}}
30	* ''[[http://www.egon-schiele.com/death-and-the-maiden.jsp Death and the Maiden]]'' by Egon Schiele.
31	* One of the sculptures in the [[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cimitero-monumentale-di-staglieno Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno]].
32	* Countless examples in medieval "Totentanz" series, since that dance is a very democratic thing and Death makes no exception for girls either. [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lübecker_Totentanz Here he gets a queen.]]
33	* ''Art/TheRapeOfProserpinaBernini'': The {{sculpture\|s}} depicts one of the oldest (known) stories that embody the trope, being the Roman God of the Underworld kidnapping the Goddess of Spring Proserpina. The latter, portrayed as a teenage girl, is anguished over the prospect, frantically trying to free herself. The former is depicted as an old man.
34	* ''Art/TheRapeOfProserpinaRubens'': Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld has laid his eyes on Proserpina, the goddess of spring. So he's trying to abduct her to his domain. The painting is an {{allegory}} of how LoveAtFirstSight is fierce and spontaneous.
35	* An extremely [=NSFW=] example can be found [[https://www.u-buy.com.tw/en/product/2FSQ1ORY-tvoip-creative-resin-skull-ghost-amp-beauty-sexy-statue-craft-figurines-2-posture-for-home-bar-party here]]. Apparently, it's intended as a joke gift.
36	[[/folder]]
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38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* Pre-Crisis Death from ''Creator/DCComics'' fell in love with a newly-dead woman named Margaret Brennen in ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' Volume 2 #6. She taught him to be more compassionate to those he reaps, and he let her serve as an aspect of Death alongside him.
40	[[/folder]]
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42	[[folder:Fan Works]]
43	* Hades and Persephone from the ''Fanfic/HadesAndSephSaga'' operate under this. Hades rules over the Underworld and possesses a touch of death [[spoiler:a power that his son Thanatos would possess in spades]], while Persephone creates plant life (creating various breeds of flowers that flourish in the Underworld), can reincarnate souls and is given the title of "Goddess of Life" when she is given her title.
44	[[/folder]]
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46	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
47	* Invoked in ''WesternAnimation/Charlotte2021'': Charlotte creates a painting around the Death and the Maiden motif, depicting a beautiful young girl embracing a living skeleton. It was inspired by the death of her mother. She gifts it to Alfred.
48	-->'''Alfred''': It is though she wants something from death. Something only he can provide.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
52	* ''Film/CrimsonPeak'' features Edith, who has a light, colorful motif of butterflies, in love with Thomas Sharpe TheBluebeard who is complicit in serial murders, and has a dark motif of moths (who eat butterflies).
53	* ''Film/DeathTakesAHoliday'' features Death who takes human form and falls in love with a young woman named Grazia. This very same plot would later be remade in the 1998 fantasy romance ''Film/MeetJoeBlack''.
54	* Inspired the title of ''Tod und Mädchen'', a biopic of Egon Schiele which concentrates on his unhappy relationships with women and the near-simultaneous deaths of himself and his wife in the 1918 influenza pandemic.
55	[[/folder]]
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57	[[folder:Literature]]
58	* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', the maiden is Ysabell, Death's adopted daughter, and later her own daughter Susan. There's obviously no romantic subtext, but both are very fond of him and Susan sometimes [[DeathTakesAHoliday takes over his job for a while]].
59	* ''Literature/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool'' combines this trope with ApocalypseMaiden. Tatsuya, a grim-faced soldier with apocalyptic power, always follows [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman Miyuki]]. Both of them prefer it that way- in part because it's Miyuki's duty to subdue Tatsuya if he becomes too much of a threat to the world.
60	* ''Literature/KeturahAndLordDeath'' is a novel about a maiden who slowly realizes her feelings for Death.
61	* In the cover of Dark Road of the ''Literature/VampireHunterD'' novels, and other official Yoshitaka Amano art for the franchise.
62	* The frequently-anthologized Joyce Carol Oates story "Literature/WhereAreYouGoingWhereHaveYouBeen" was originally titled "Death and the Maiden." In the story, a fifteen-year-old girl named Connie is visited by a smooth-talking, vaguely sinister stranger named Arnold Friend who offers her a ride in his car. Initially attracted to him, she slowly begins to realize that he is much older than he pretends to be.
63	[[/folder]]
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65	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
66	* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Buffy's relationship with [[RomanticVampireBoy Angel]] has overtones of this, especially given that being with 'death' isolates Buffy from her (human) friends and even her moral code. Both she and Angel note that their relationship is dangerous and hurtful to both of them.
67	-->'''Angel:''' This isn't some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after.\
68	'''Buffy:''' No. When you kiss me I want to die.
69	* In ''Series/{{Dickinson}}'', Emily often gets into Death's carriage and has long conversations with him about life, romance, and art.
70	[[/folder]]
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72	[[folder:Music]]
73	* [[GenderFlip Gender-Flipped]] in the song ''She Was So Beautiful'' by the Russian rock-band ''Splean'', in which the narrator (supposedly male) meets a [[DontFearTheReaper personification of Death who happens to be the very beautiful woman]]. Narrator wants to date her, but she says to him who she really is, and then leaves, saying "see you later" and "until the better days". [[note]] In Slavic culture, Death is female due to grammar gender.[[/note]]
74	* Music/CellarDarling's sophomore album ''The Spell'' centers around a take on this trope wherein the maiden falls in love with Death, and thus Death casts an {{Immortality}} spell on her in response. The maiden then [[SpurnedIntoSuicide attempts suicide]] [[BungledSuicide after suicide]] [[DeathSeeker just to get him to reverse the spell]] so she could finally be with him.
75	[[/folder]]
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77	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
78	* Hades and Persephone from [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greco-Roman Mythology]] have shades of this, Hades being the God of the Underworld and the Lord of the Dead, Persephone being the daughter of the Goddess of the Harvest and the bringer of spring. One of Persephone's common epithets, Kore, even means Maiden.
79	* In Myth/HinduMythology, this trope is the reason Daksha didn't understand why his daughter wanted to marry Shiva, the god of the dead. Turns out Shiva's actually a pretty nice guy, in the sense that death is just natural and a necessary part of the karmic system.
80	* The poet of Ynglingatal invoked this when he uses having sex with the goddess Hel as a metaphor for death.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Theatre]]
84	* A common interpretation of ''Theatre/DukeBluebeardsCastle'' paints Bluebeard as Death and Judith as a Persephone-like figure, best exemplified by the ending where she becomes his wife of the night.
85	* ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'' has Death and Sisi in the same pose as the picture at the end (both are fully clothed in white), after he's [[spoiler: kissed her.]]
86	* The English-language UrExample may be ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' when the titular Juliet begs the priest for a poison so that if she cannot marry Romeo, she can marry Death: i.e. commit suicide. She fakes her death, and when her family discovers her her father comments that death has married his daughter and is now his heir.
87	[[/folder]]
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89	[[folder:Video Games]]
90	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', the [[SummonMagic Esper]] Zalera the Death Seraph is depicted as a horned [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]]-like monster carrying a semi-naked woman in his right arm. According to the lore surrounding him, he was tasked with judging the souls of the damned but rebelled against the gods, and the woman is a shamaness who he abducted in a bid to increase his powers.
91	* In one of the bonus rooms of the ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' remake, there's a sculpture titled "Tryst With Death" depicting a young woman and a skeleton embracing. It's implied to be one of Guertena's last works before his death.
92	* In the UpdatedReRelease of ''VideoGame/Persona3'', [[spoiler: Ryoji]] is immediately smitten with the female protagonist, and he’s the only male character that isn’t a party member to be PromotedToLoveInterest. [[spoiler: Not only do his feelings come from the crush on her he developed while under the identity of Death Social Link Pharos, but he’s also an avatar for Nyx, the embodiment of death itself.]] His Social Link also implies a gay version of this trope, as he tells the female protagonist that [[SingleTargetSexuality he’d fall in love with her even if she was a boy]], heavily implying he also had feelings for the male protagonist despite his lack of a Social Link in the male route.
93	* In ''VideoGame/SixAges'', an important myth in Rider culture is the story of Death's predatory "love" for Erissa, the gentle, beautiful goddess of healing. Though Death looks like a handsome youth (the Riders are a ''warrior'' clan, after all), Erissa rejects his courtship when she realizes what he is, refusing to ignore the threat he poses to her family and worshippers.
94	[[/folder]]
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96	[[folder:Webcomics]]
97	* ''Webcomic/DeathAndTheMaiden'': The Girl had a NearDeathExperience and is thus aware of how Death works (he needs to be called by a name). So when she picks him up accidentally as [[ItMakesSenseInContext he hitchhikes across the country]], she decides to run, causing him to be alarmed and dedicated to reap what he couldn't in the past. What sounds terrifying is actually a hilarious comedy, not only because Death tries to cheat wherever he can and regularly runs amok, the girl is also a brilliant DeadpanSnarker. BelligerentSexualTension ensues. [[spoiler: They actually begin to falling in love towards the end, [[NoKillLikeOverkill causing Death to commit a mass murder]] [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim to drive her away]]]].
98	* In ''Webcomic/GrimTalesFromDownBelow'', Grim haunts Mandy's life, having fallen in love with her and the evil she has accomplished into adulthood. He finally faces her and gives her a choice; marry him or finally face death. She agrees and becomes his wife, even having children with him [[spoiler:even though they [[IAmNotYourFather aren't actually ''his'' kids]]]].
99	* Deconstructed in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Lord English, the monsterous skeletal being who is known as the apocalypse-bringer and lord of the angels of death, always has a woman as his [[TheDragon dragon]]. It's made clear however, that both of the ones we see loath him and what he uses them for, and it's implied that the reason he chooses women to serve him in destroying reality is because of a complex stemming from his hatred of his [[HeManWomanHater "weak"]] sister whom he murdered to gain control of [[TwoBeingsOneBody their shared body]].
100	[[/folder]]
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102	[[folder:Web Original]]
103	* ''WebVideo/PushingUpRoses'' tries to woo Death in ''VideoGame/TheSims'', but it's not possible to get him to sleep with you without cheats.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Western Animation]]
107	* Odd example in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Death is dating Life, a snake-woman with two heads. He tries to make a mixtape for her.
108	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "[[Recap/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandyS2E5 Grim In Love]]", Grim falls in love with a Goth woman named Malaria. She shares his sadistic sense of humor and they both enjoy their company. By the end, he reveals to her that he is the real Grim Reaper and that all of his friends are actual monsters, leading her [[spoiler:to run away in sheer terror]].
109	[[/folder]]

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