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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Subnormality}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/subnormality_like_parent_like_spouse2.png]]]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->''"It's trite but true that a lot of young women look for a man who reminds them of their dad. Your dad fights monsters. I fight monsters. Your dad rescued your mom from a dragon. I rescued you from Arctis Tor. Seeing the pattern here?"'' |
| 7 | -->-- '''Harry Dresden''' to Molly Carpenter, ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'' |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Freudian psychology has a theory that children who have a close relationship with their parents tend to look for those properties in a mate. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | In a child's life, the first and most prominent example of men and women respectively are found in their parents. This sets the template for what to expect from that sex in general, up to and including a future mate. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | This is commonly associated with "daddy issues", and [[DisappearedDad absent]] or lackluster fathers. If she has a negative father, she'll often grab up negative boyfriends as well, so it takes a certain amount of awareness to be able to break out of that tendency. However, it can equally be found in positive relationships. If you have a ''good'' dad, and want your children to have a good dad as well, picking a partner who's like your father is one way to make that happen. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | It is most commonly associated with straight women, but it is not exclusive to them. The same goes for straight men using their mother as a guide when choosing a wife. Lesbians and gay men are likewise influenced by their same-sex parents. People who grew up without knowing their parents at all will likely find themselves subconsciously looking for other templates. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Some people find this {{squick}}y, but it's just as common in Real Life as in Fiction. See also FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother, DatingWhatDaddyHates, ParentingTheHusband. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | SisterTrope to LikeFatherLikeSon. A SubTrope of HasAType. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!Examples: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 26 | * In ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', Sakura has a crush on Yukito who looks like her father. She even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it. |
| 27 | * Subverted in ''Manga/CaseClosed'', where Satou tells Takagi that she does not have a crush on Megure, and sees him more like a ParentalSubstitute since Megure reminds her of her own father. |
| 28 | * In the ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'' anime, Nagisa mentions that Tomoya is a lot like her father. They even have almost identical hairstyles. |
| 29 | * All of Lelouch's potential {{Love Interest}}s in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' ([[AllLovingHero Shirley]], [[MysteriousWaif C.C.]], [[ActionGirl Kallen]], and Suzaku) share a trait or more with his dead mother Marianne. Kallen stands out the most as she's practically a younger version of Marianne in personality and role. |
| 30 | * Gohan from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' marries Videl, the strongest young woman on the planet. His mother Chi-Chi was the strongest woman in the world when she was 18. They were both {{Tsundere}}s and the daughters of rich martial artists, too. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4p9t1DB76Y Witness their first interaction together,]] you would swear Videl was Chi-Chi's child, rather than Gohan and Goten. |
| 31 | * ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' has Kyo, who is a FieryRedhead like Tohru's late mother Kyoko when she was his age. Uo lampshades this when Kyo first joins their class. [[spoiler:Surprisingly, [[OneDegreeOfSeparation they actually did know each other]].]] |
| 32 | * Minor example in ''Manga/FutureDiary''--Yukiteru's first crush looks very similar to his mother. |
| 33 | * ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'': Katherine Armstrong tells Havoc that she wants a man more like her brother Alex. Played for laughs because her brother is huge, musclebound, and can generate pink sparkles when he gets [[LargeHam hammy.]] Havoc's reaction is priceless. |
| 34 | * Nagi of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' has a crush on Hayate, who apparently looks very much like her mother ''and'' father. How much he looks like her mother is actually commented on by another character. |
| 35 | * In ''Manga/KotouraSan'', Haruka's grandfather has taken care of his granddaughter after the latter suffered ParentalAbandonment, so he took the place of "parent." He is strikingly similar to Manabe, Haruka's boyfriend, for being honest guys--perversion included. |
| 36 | * ''Manga/MeruPuri'': Queen Veedua eventually comes to accept Airi is Aram's bride, partially because Airi has a fierce personality like hers and never hesitates to tell Aram off if she needs to, much like the Queen's own fierceness towards her son. |
| 37 | * Discussed in ''Manga/MeAndMyGangsterNeighbor'' when Kaori mentions that people tend to fall for people like parents after Yuuhi mentions that [[spoiler:Aoi's description of his mother sounds like Ayako, whom Kaori believes is romantically involved with him.]] |
| 38 | * The protagonist of ''Musume No Iede'' has a fat mother and father, along with the fact her step-father and father's boyfriend are fat. She's a ChubbyChaser who falls for big guys easily. |
| 39 | * In ''Literature/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected'', [[LittleSisterHeroine Komachi Hikigaya]] describes her image of her ideal man, and she ends up describing her own big brother. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 41 | ** Shikamaru Nara's mother Yoshino is [[{{Tsundere}} obstinate and rough but also has a sweet side]], similarly to Temari, his final opponent in the Chunin Exams and most frequent ally outside the Konoha 11 since. He and Temari [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend deny any relationship]] despite [[EveryoneCanSeeIt being seen together so much]]. [[spoiler:They're married with a son in the epilogue]]. |
| 42 | ** Naruto's future wife [[spoiler:Hinata]] manages to bear similarities to ''both'' of his parents, Minato and Kushina: |
| 43 | *** [[spoiler:Hinata]] matches Minato in personality: Both are [[NiceGuy quiet nice ninja]] who were the very first people to acknowledge their boisterous counterpart, and who have [[SingleTargetSexuality always loved and admired]] their boisterous counterpart [[ChildhoodFriendRomance since they were children]]. |
| 44 | *** [[spoiler:Hinata]] and Kushina both went through a lot of the same life events and share certain hobbies: Both have unique hair colors that match their respective personalities. Both were kidnapped by Kumo ninja when they were younger because of the powers they possessed. Both fell in love with their husbands because [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan their husbands are good men]] who are [[AmazonChaser attracted to their strength]], consider them very beautiful partly because of their long flowing hair, love their home cooking, and [[LoveRedeems changed them for the better]]. Both are not afraid to die to protect Naruto because of [[ActOfTrueLove their love for him]]. Both were bullied as children because of a physical feature of theirs -- Kushina's round face and red hair; [[spoiler:Hinata's Byakugan eyes]]. [[TextileWorkIsFeminine Both enjoy knitting scarves]]. Both fell in love with their husbands via RescueRomance, and both rescue scenarios utilized the RedStringOfFate. Both passed down their round face and eye shape to their sons. Finally, both are considered really scary by their sons when they get mad. |
| 45 | ** The sequel manga ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'' has a moment in which after [[spoiler:Hinata and Naruto's son]], Boruto, makes a DeclarationOfProtection to [[spoiler:Sakura and Sasuke's daughter]], Sarada, [[ShipTease which makes her blush]]. He then declares that he wants to become a ninja "like her father", which makes her blush ''even more'', and also makes her think how cool he looks. |
| 46 | * ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': |
| 47 | ** Misato [[InVinoVeritas drunkenly lets out]] that she broke up with Kaji when she noticed how he reminded her of her father, while he’s carrying her home; they reconcile and hook up again, and she becomes his [[TheConfidant confidant]]. |
| 48 | ** Shinji is initially attracted to Rei, and even comments once that she would be a good mother. [[spoiler:Rei is actually [[SurpriseIncest a clone of Shinji's own mother]].]] |
| 49 | * In ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', it's {{lampshade|Hanging}}d how Tamaki Suou and Haruhi's dad are very alike. |
| 50 | * ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''--according to ancillary material, Madoka's idea of an ideal husband is someone cool like her ''mother''. In [[VideoGame/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaPortable the PSP game]], Madoka's mom mentions that Homura reminds her of herself at that age. |
| 51 | * ''Manga/Reborn2004'': Tsuna develops a huge crush on Kyoko, whom he [[SatelliteLoveInterest hardly interacts with or knows much about]]. One thing is very noticeable about her, however, she looks ''exactly'' like his mother. Even their ''personalities'' are very much alike. |
| 52 | * In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', it's pointed out that while Usagi's father initially doesn't like Mamoru very much, the two of them are strikingly similar. |
| 53 | * In ''Saint Dragon Girl Miracle'' it's noted several times that Ren looks exactly like Anju's father Ryuga, both by Anju herself and her mother Momoka (and Ren's best friend Ryuuji when they finally get to meet her father). [[spoiler: Anju doesn't end up with Ren however, instead ending up with Ryuuji]] |
| 54 | * ''Manga/SPYxFamily'': While they're only in a MarriageOfConvenience, Loid remarks in Mission 35 that Yor reminds him of his late mother, particularly the safety and security her presence gave, the same way Anya feels safe around Yor. |
| 55 | * A convoluted example occurs in ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle''. Syaoran [[spoiler:Jr.]]'s mother is [[spoiler:his girlfriend's clone, reincarnated ''backwards in time'' to get married to Syaoran Jr.'s clone, who becomes Syaoran Sr., meaning technically he and his dad are the same person and his mom is a copy of his girlfriend rather than the other way around]]. [[MindScrew It's complicated, OK?]] |
| 56 | * In ''Manga/ViolinistOfHameln'', Hamel's love interest Flute is stated to resemble his mother, Pandora, as they're both kind, gentle and accepting. They interchange in Hamel's dream sequences, and his best friend Raiel outright states Flute would be good for Hamel because she's like Pandora. |
| 57 | * In ''Manga/YourLieInApril'', Kousei begins to realize that his crush Kaori and his mother are quite similar; they're both obsessed with music, they're constantly pushing him into becoming a better pianist and are [[MoodSwinger prone to drastic mood swings]]. They are both also sick with unnamed diseases [[spoiler:that are fatal; Kousei's mother ended up dying from her illness and, despite the glimmer of hope, Kaori doesn't survive hers either.]] This is lampshaded in episode 16 when Kousei, Watari, and Tsubaki visit Kaori [[spoiler:in the hospital]] and Kaori yells at him for not practicing for the upcoming competition in such a way that in Kousei's eyes, the room begins to glitch and Kaori turns into his mother. |
| 58 | [[/folder]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 61 | * ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' is essentially an {{angst}}-y brooding kid with ParentalAbandonment issues so it's not surprising that this angle shows up in his messy relationships. His two most prominent love interests Talia Al Ghul and Catwoman share similarities with his mother Martha Wayne, an elegant and beautiful philanthropist. While both Talia and Selina are criminals to [[DependingOnTheWriter varying degrees]],[[note]] Talia used to not really be outright villainous but has become more that way over the years. Selina used to be more of a villain but now is more of an AntiHero who also steals stuff [[/note]] their civilian identities and private pursuits show similar philanthropic threats with Talia being outwardly the same social class as Martha and Selina being an activist turned robin-hood crook. ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' especially plays with this with the running motif of [[spoiler:Selina stealing Martha's pearl necklace which Bruce finally gives to her for real in the epilogue where he and Selina hooked up]]. |
| 62 | * In ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens'', ComicBook/HarleyQuinn's father turns out to be an incorrigible con artist constantly in and out of prison. His modus operandi is making women feel young and appreciated before taking them for everything they have, and he's smiling in almost every panel. Parallels to ComicBook/TheJoker are quite obvious. He even ''looks'' a little like Joker (specifically the Creator/JackNicholson [[Film/Batman1989 portrayal]]). |
| 63 | * ''ComicBook/{{Hound|2014}}'': Cú Cullan eventually marries Emer, who has blonde hair like his mother, Detira. Both of the women love him--without guile or manipulation on their part unlike Morrigan--and die courageously standing up to the goddess of war for him. |
| 64 | * A number of continuities have played up similarities between ''ComicBook/LoisLane'' and Superman's biological Kryptonian mother Lara and his adopted mother Martha Kent. |
| 65 | ** In the Silver Age, rather than the hard-nosed military man he later became, Lois' father Sam Lane was a farmer who had slicked back black hair and round glasses just like Clark Kent. |
| 66 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': |
| 67 | ** A few of the comics have strongly implied that the reason Aunt May gravitated to ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson to the point of being matchmaker for her and Peter, is that she saw in MJ a little of herself (i.e. a tough and determined working-class woman who didn't let the hard knocks in her life get in the way of her cheerful and helpful demeanor) and as someone who could look after Peter as and when she died (given that as an elderly widow with Peter as her only family she was quite anxious to see her adopted son settled down). The fact that Peter and MJ remained together as a married couple for a long time as a childless couple (in the main continuity) make them echo Ben and May's own relationship, and their lifelong devotion to each other. In ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' when consoling Peter about his on-off relationship with MJ, May reminds him that she and Ben had similar fights and tussles early in their relationship too. |
| 68 | ** Incidentally, Peter's mother Mary Parker shares a first name with MJ and when the comics finally dealt with their backstory, his parents were painted as SHIELD agents and a BattleCouple who tussled with threats on their own (much like Peter and MJ a few times in their marriage), and while a brunette, Mary Parker tended to look a little like MJ (though that might be because [[OnlySixFaces of the limited nature]] of Marvel's art style than anything). This is {{Lampshaded}} in Ultimate Marvel, where Ultimate May (who's initially not as much of a shipper for Peter and MJ, though Ultimate Uncle Ben was), after learning that Peter and MJ started dating, stated that his own parents were [[HistoryRepeats high-school sweethearts too]]. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 72 | * In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Susie Derkins, whom Calvin has something of a love-hate relationship with, bears a strong resemblance to his mother, both intelligent, sarcastic brunettes who don't suffer fools gladly. |
| 73 | * ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'' |
| 74 | ** April once claimed that Elizabeth's boyfriend (and eventual husband), Anthony, was exactly like their dad. |
| 75 | ** John himself compares Anthony to John. |
| 76 | [[/folder]] |
| 77 | |
| 78 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 79 | * Invoked in ''Fanfic/AnimorphsRedux'' when Tobias observes that Loren reminds him of Rachel, but Rachel asks him not to bring that up as it just makes things weird given how she feels about him. |
| 80 | * Referenced in ''Fanfic/ByAnyOtherName'', when after seeing Wu Yingtai handling the ghost arm, Lan Xichen reflects that of course Jiang Cheng wouldn't fall for a woman less dangerous than his fearsome mother. |
| 81 | * In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm,'' Jack O'Neill retains his canon attraction to Samantha Carter, a blonde [[MajorlyAwesome military woman]]. As it happens, his mother is another blonde [[FourStarBadass military woman - well, espionage-military]] (with, as it happens, coincidentally the same last name). |
| 82 | * In ''Fanfic/CodeGeassThePreparedRebellion'', Lelouch starts falling for Kallen, a girl very similar to his mother (or rather, her public face). |
| 83 | * Played with in in ''Fanfic/Digimon02TheStoryWeNeverTold'' when [[FanPreferredCouple Tai and Sora]] begin a relationship. Haruhiko (Sora's father) reveals that [[spoiler:He, Hiroaki Ishida (Matt's father), and Yukio Oikawa were among the original Digidestined. Furthermore, he was their leader and had quite the [[AnimeHair wild taste in hair style]]]] |
| 84 | * ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472917 Hair the Color of Saffron]]'' features a discussion of this trope: |
| 85 | -->'''Melisandre''': There are those who say that men are attracted to women who remind them of their mothers.\ |
| 86 | '''Stannis''': You do not remind me of my mother. Not in the least. No two women could be more different, in fact.\ |
| 87 | '''Melisandre''': Ahhhh... so you admit that you ''are'' attracted to me? |
| 88 | * The most CrossoverShip between ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Manga/FairyTail'' is Naruto and Erza, most fics make the reason due to how the latter resembles the former's deceased mother. |
| 89 | * ''WebVideo/NullmetalAlchemist'': |
| 90 | -->'''Al:''' She's [Psiren] amazing isn't she?\ |
| 91 | '''Ed:''' Well yeah. Of the women who've seen my naughty bits she ranks up there.\ |
| 92 | '''Al:''' But she's special.\ |
| 93 | '''Ed:''' Uh huh.\ |
| 94 | '''Al:''' You don't understand. She awakens a fire within me!\ |
| 95 | '''Ed:''' Lovely.\ |
| 96 | '''Al:''' I haven't been this enraptured by a woman since... ''[flashback to his mother smiling at him]'' Since...\ |
| 97 | '''Ed:''' Since... since... ''[beat]'' Wait a sec! You're attracted to her because she reminds you of mum! |
| 98 | * ''Fanfic/ServiceWithASmile'': Jaune's girlfriend Miltia is foul-mouthed and domineering, never shy about telling him when he did something wrong. When she's about to meet Jaune's mother Juniper, she reminds herself to avoid swearing. When Juniper shows up, the first thing she does is scream at Jaune "What the ''fuck'' were you thinking!?" Jaune's father sheepishly says that the men of their family have submissive genes. |
| 99 | * Carter worries about this in ''Fanfic/TithingLove''. Claire's father was a GoldDigger deadbeat who didn't work and lived off of his wife. Carter doesn't want to be like that with Claire, but he's scared that being a pastor constantly on the verge of poverty means he'll bring back bad memories for Claire. |
| 100 | * Creator/VampireMeerkat depicts the Kanker sisters as being attracted to the Ed's because they look like their dads, despite the fact [[DisappearedDad they never met their dads]]. |
| 101 | [[/folder]] |
| 102 | |
| 103 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 104 | * In ''WesternAnimation/AnExtremelyGoofyMovie'', PJ ends up with an auburn-haired, hourglass-figured woman who is normally snarky but sweet and sensitive to him, protects him from being mistreated in her presence, and is forceful enough with her voice that she doesn't need to resort to physical violence to make jerks fall in line. These traits are all shared by PJ's mother, as shown in ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop''. |
| 105 | * In ''WesternAnimation/JosephKingOfDreams,'' Joseph's wife Asenath reprises the song that his mother, Rachel, sang earlier in the movie, in both cases to urge reconciliation between him and his brothers. |
| 106 | * Meta-example in ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons:'' WordOfGod says that they used the same character model for both Lewis' birth mother and [[spoiler:adult!Franny]]. This is especially obvious if you notice their [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure ridiculously tiny waists]]. On a less meta note, [[spoiler:Lewis first comes to see adult!Franny as a mother figure before discovering that she's actually his future wife. The somewhat-icky implications are glossed over when he meets young!Franny in his own timeline and expresses more amused recognition than attraction.]] |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 110 | * In ''Film/AddamsFamilyValues,'' Wednesday and her LoveInterest, Joel, do Gomez and Morticia's "''[[GratuitousForeignLanguage cara mia/mon cher]]''" lines right before they first kiss. Later, Joel attends Pubert's birthday party dressed up like Gomez, mustache included. |
| 111 | -->'''Joel:''' How do I look?\ |
| 112 | '''Wednesday:''' Disturbing. |
| 113 | * In ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'', Marty [=McFly=] marries Jennifer Parker who is quiet, soft-spoken, and easygoing just like his father George [=McFly=]. WordOfGod used this trope to explain why Marty's mother Lorraine and his ''paternal'' great-great-grandmother Maggie [=McFly=] are both played by Creator/LeaThompson, saying that all [=McFly=] men are genetically predisposed to be attracted to women who look like Lea Thompson. This is elaborated further in the Telltale game series, where paternal grandmother Trixie Trotter (real name Sylvia Miskin) uses the same model as that of Jennifer Parker. |
| 114 | * Pushed to the extreme in the French movie ''Itineraire d'un enfant gâté'': Not only does the daughter want someone like her dad and ends up having a son from a man her father's age, then marrying a guy trained by her dad to act like him, but it's implied that it's also the case of the son. |
| 115 | * ''Film/TheFlyII'': Martin's girlfriend Beth bears a rather striking resemblance to his late mother Veronica. Which is especially odd considering that Martin has only met his mother for a few seconds before her DeathByChildbirth, though the film does show Martin displaying superhuman memory skills even as a toddler. |
| 116 | * In ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'', Paula confesses to Zack that she loves him because he reminds her of her father, a Navy aviator. |
| 117 | * ''Film/RealGenius'': Jordan has the [[MotorMouth same mannerisms as Mitch's mother]]. In modern times, she would possibly have been diagnosed with ADHD. |
| 118 | * ''Film/SylviesLove'': Robert is a saxophonist like his love interest Sylvie's father was. |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 122 | * In ''Literature/AlmostPerfect2014'', dog breeder Bess's son David becomes attracted to Dr. Kate, the therapist at Benny's special school. When Bess meets Kate, she understands why: both women are MarriedToTheJob. |
| 123 | -->'''Bess''': My kennel, your school. The kind of women people don't think have real lives. |
| 124 | * ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Tobias's mother Loren is a feisty, fearless, often reckless, and smart-mouthed blonde who falls for a guy outside her species. All of these traits hold equally true for his love interest, Rachel. |
| 125 | * In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', Ren asks Captain Raven Tern for advice whether Jerin would make a good husband. Raven replies that Jerin is a bit like Ren's father (who was poisoned some years ago), but more strong-willed. She points out that this is a good thing, as Ren's father [[ExtremeDoormat did nothing]] to prevent the princesses' abusive husband (who also died in the meantime) from, well, abusing them. Jerin is more of a spirited young gentleman and would not give up so easily. |
| 126 | * "Literature/CindyAndCragg": Cragg explains that he likes Cindy because she reminds him of his vulkon (an assigned caretaker to adolescent Saturnites), so the closest translation to what he's saying is that he's into her because she reminds him of his mother. |
| 127 | * ''Literature/ACryInTheNight'': Erich often says that his wife Jenny reminds him of his mother Caroline, and it's noted by several characters that they also look remarkably alike. |
| 128 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Molly Carpenter has a crush on Harry, which he attributes to this. People unfamiliar with the story of how Michael and Charity got together might not see the connection. Harry is a snarky SquishyWizard while Michael is a pious and buff swordsman. They do not look alike or act alike. The trope comes into play because both of them rescued a woman from terrible danger and almost certain death. [[spoiler:Michael rescued Charity from a dragon, Harry protected Molly from execution by the White Council. Molly wants a man that has the same virtues as her father, other more superficial similarities are apparently superfluous.]] They are also both warriors who are willing to lay down their lives to protect their loved ones, the innocent, and the different codes of ethics they subscribe to. Michael and Harry are pretty darn similar. |
| 129 | ** It's also interesting that Molly was dating a guy who superficially ''looks'' like Harry, and was a martial artist (not unlike Harry). In ''Literature/GhostStory'' it's still going on and is full-scale love and devotion. |
| 130 | ** It also overlaps slightly with DatingWhatDaddyHates, since Molly's mother Charity does not like Harry at all in the earlier books, though she has valid reasons to do so, even if none of them are Harry's fault. Initially, it appears that it's just her husband getting hurt when he's with Harry, though that's partly due to the sheer level of danger the two find themselves in. Later, it's revealed that separately, [[spoiler: she had magical abilities and came from money, so got sent to "schools and hospitals disguised as schools", before rebelling and joining a cult, whose leader was playing with dark magic, sacrificing people for power - she figured it out, and was consequently next to be sacrificed before Michael rescued her. Afterwards, she set aside her magic, but faced urges to do horrible things with her abilities, and was terrified that her daughter, conceived soon enough after her rescue that she had the potential for magic, would end up going the same way - though ironically, she ended up causing the same scenario by trying to force her daughter to set it aside]]. Once Harry figures it out, and saves her daughter's life twice over, she starts warming up to him. |
| 131 | * ''Literature/EarthsChildren'': Ayla prefers the look of Neanderthals to the look of humans, having been raised by the former. |
| 132 | * In ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'', Lan Xichen tells Wei Wuxian, his brother Lan Wangji's male love interest, about their parents' relationship wherein their mother allegedly committed murder and their father kept her as a MadwomanInTheAttic, in the hope that Wei Wuxian would note the parallels with his relationship with Lan Wangji. As at this point, Wei Wuxian has no idea that Lan Wangji is romantically interested in him, the point of the conversation goes right over his head. |
| 133 | * Several of the {{Official Couple}}s in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fall into this: |
| 134 | ** Harry's main love interest, Ginny, is very similar to his mother, Lily. Both are redheads, influential, and talented, have an active social life, and are considered attractive by several men. Both befriend, and often defend, rather unpopular people -- for Ginny, it's Neville and Luna; for Lily, it was Snape. Finally, [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan both fall in love with and marry good men]]. In [[https://web.archive.org/web/20050724001525/http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/extras/aa-jointerview3.html this 2005 interview]], WordOfGod acknowledges that both Ginny and Lily are popular girls. Also, both Ginny and Harry's father, James, are purebloods and Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. |
| 135 | ** Ron's relationship with his main love interest, Hermione, is very similar to the relationship between his parents. {{Lampshaded}} multiple times, when the narration -- which is from Harry's perspective -- describes Hermione as acting very much like Molly Weasley. In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', the narration even points out that [[BelligerentSexualTension Ron and Hermione's bickering]] is strongly reminiscent of Molly and Arthur's own bickering. |
| 136 | ** Fleur Delacour, who marries Ron and Ginny's oldest brother Bill, is also described as acting like Molly in the final two books, particularly in how she worries and fusses over the younger characters and uses magic to clean and make dinner. |
| 137 | * Played with in the ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' series with Ward. His mother is rather weak, having fled into drug-addiction when it became clear that her husband was abusive towards her, as well as towards the kids. However, his ''aunt'' on his mother's side, who is also rumoured to have had an affair with his father, is a mentally strong, muscular woman who serves as weaponmaster, in a largely patriarchal setting. Ward has a big crush on a young woman who his very much like his aunt. |
| 138 | * At the end of ''Literature/JacobHaveILoved'', by Creator/KatherinePaterson, the narrator starts to fall in love with a coal miner, who is several years older than her, when she realizes that he's the kind of man who would "sing to the oysters," a quirk of her fisherman father. |
| 139 | * Explicitly outlined in ''Literature/RaptorRed''; her father defined what Raptor Red looked for in a mate. Since she's, well, a Utahraptor, the text even brings up imprinting. |
| 140 | * ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': Oliver Horn's LoveInterest, TheLancer Nanao Hibiya, starts to draw comparisons from various characters to the famous battlemage Chloe "Two-Blade" Halford as the series goes on: both are [[LadyOfWar Ladies of War]] and [[MasterSwordsman Master Swordsmen]] (Nanao a former {{samurai}}, Chloe famed for DualWielding), as well as extremely talented FlyingBroomstick riders who even bond to the same MoodyMount because of their similar mana signatures. Nobody present except Oliver is aware that Halford, who was [[PlotTriggeringDeath murdered in the prologue]], was his mother (she was killed when he was about five). |
| 141 | * In ''Literature/RedDwarf'', the crew end up locked into the virtual reality game ''Better Than Life'', which fulfills all your deepest desires and fantasies - at the price of eventually killing you as your body wastes and dies in the real world. Arnold Rimmer finds himself with his dream girl, the embodiment of all his wishes and desires. She is older than he is, dumpy, frumpy, embittered, sexually frigid, and dresses in sensible clothing. It takes him a while to work out what his subconscious is doing to him here, but when he does, he has a moment of complete soul-squeezing squick. |
| 142 | * ''Literature/ASimpleFavor'': Stephanie took it to the logical extreme, beginning an incestuous relationship with her newly-discovered half-brother specifically because of his resemblance to their father. Her father's recent death and the shock of meeting someone who looked just like him right after the funeral probably contributed. |
| 143 | * Creator/StephenKing |
| 144 | ** Two of the protagonists of ''Literature/{{IT}}'', upon growing up, marry people like their parents. Eddie Kaspbrak, the kid with asthma and a [[MyBelovedSmother Beloved Smother]], upon growing up, would marry Myra, a woman who is very much like her. In the [[Film/ItChapterTwo 2019 film adaptation]], they're even played by the same actress. Beverly Marsh, the only girl of the Loser's Club and whose father was abusive as hell, would marry Tom Rogan, a man just as abusive as her father. |
| 145 | ** ''Literature/{{Misery}}''. When Paul finds Annie's scrapbook, he sees a photo of her husband, who is the spitting image of her father. |
| 146 | * ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': In ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', the Yamani princess who has been engaged to Prince Roald was told that men whose mothers are strong and warlike want wives who [[NeutralFemale aren't]]. Roald's friends think [[AmazonChaser this is stupid]]. They're right. |
| 147 | * In the novel ''Literature/{{Vamped}}'', the girl's love interest and her adoptive father are getting a drink together. There's an awkward moment when they both look at their reflections and realize how similar they look… |
| 148 | * In ''Literature/WarriorCats'' Thunder tells Clear Sky that Star Flower is his mate only because he's like her father, One Eye. |
| 149 | * In Creator/JamesHSchmitz's ''Literature/TheWitchesOfKarres'', young heroine Goth announces that she is going to marry the (adult) hero when she grows up. It is noted by several characters that said hero very much resembles her father. ([[spoiler:They're distant cousins.]]) |
| 150 | [[/folder]] |
| 151 | |
| 152 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 153 | * ''Series/ThirtyRock'': |
| 154 | ** There's an episode where Liz's much-younger boyfriend's mother turned out to be the spitting image of Liz, even ''wearing the same outfit''. Creeped out, Liz ended their relationship. |
| 155 | ** In a later episode, Jack is demoralised when he realises that one of the women he is dating also has a circle of younger boyfriends, with Jack as her older man. However, Jenna encourages him to embrace it by pointing out all the exhausting things he doesn't have to do with her that the younger men do, and the final scene of the episode shows him watching a black and white movie while she brings him soup. |
| 156 | * ''Series/TheAffair'': Helen says that she married Noah because she didn't want to marry someone like her father, but that she didn't realize that she married someone like her mother instead. |
| 157 | * ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': |
| 158 | ** After psychoanalysing Penny, Leonard's mother [[DiscussedTrope tells him]] that if he wants to have sex with Penny he should use the same kind of cologne her father wears. |
| 159 | ** Similarly, Howard thinks it's hot when his fiancée yells at him and sounds ''exactly'' like his mother. But then, Howard's relationship with his mother is rather abnormal. |
| 160 | * ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful'''s Taylor Hayes finally realized that the reason her on-again/off-again mother-in-law Stephanie had always supported her in the eternal LoveTriangle between her, Brooke, and Stephanie's beloved son Ridge is because Taylor reminded her so much of herself. Therefore, if Stephanie herself couldn't be with Ridge, she could at least settle for him being with someone just like her. |
| 161 | * ''Series/{{Californication}}'': Becca has some serious father issues. Her season 5 boyfriend Tyler is basically a younger version of her father Hank Moody, which is acknowledged InUniverse. Hank is an acclaimed writer but has troubles dealing with life in general. Becca's boyfriend Tyler has a brilliant literary mind, but unfortunately he is also a jerk who cheats on her and lies to her. Becca follows [[LikeFatherLikeSon her mother Karen's pattern of constant forgiving him]]. |
| 162 | * Series/{{Castle|2009}}'s mom and first wife are both redheads, and his first wife is a lot like his mom (though they're both too busy hating each other to notice it). Beckett also warns him that because of how much she adores him, his daughter is likely to end up dating someone like him. Castle is [[SelfDeprecation less than thrilled with the idea]]. |
| 163 | * In ''Series/{{The Class|2006}}'', Holly Ellenbogen's husband and father are both extremely CampStraight. |
| 164 | * A common refrain in ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' is that one's relationships with one's parents set the standard for who a person wants to date. Rebecca in particular brings this up often, at one point comparing her mother starting to act nice to her to being asked out by the cool boy at school. However, the guys she becomes interested in are generally ''not'' like her DisappearedDad - Josh in particular represents the kind of carefree normality she was never able to get. The trope ''is'' played straight with the most destructive relationship she ever entered into, however - a middle-aged professor she dated in college who promised to leave his wife for her but then backed out. |
| 165 | * ''Series/{{Decoy}}'': In "Cry Revenge," a teenage girl falls in love with the man who's been making threatening phone calls to her mother because he's a violent, alcoholic criminal, just like her beloved father. |
| 166 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 167 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E8FathersDay "Father's Day"]] we meet Rose's father, an amateur inventor and entrepreneur, who underneath his irresponsible façade is actually a heroic man. (Similar to [[spoiler:the Doctor]], whom she falls in love with over time.) |
| 168 | ** River Song has been shown to have a thing for strong men dressed in Roman Centurion uniforms. We eventually find out that her father is [[spoiler:Rory Williams, who was resurrected as a centurion and then spent ''two thousand years'' guarding the tomb of his fiancée (River's mother), which earned him a place in myth as the Last Centurion]]. When he shows up at [[CardboardPrison Stormcage]], River initially mistakes him for a guard dressed as a centurion and notes that they normally don't listen to her suggestions. |
| 169 | * In ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'', Drew enters into a MayDecemberRomance with a woman who reminds everyone ''else'' of Drew's mother while Drew himself is oblivious. Drew is thoroughly {{squick}}ed soon after it is pointed out to him. |
| 170 | * ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' dates a woman who is the spitting image of his mother--Niles and Martin see it, but Frasier can't or won't. An old home movie eventually tips him off. It gets better: Frasier is a Freudian psychiatrist. |
| 171 | * ''Series/{{Friends}}'' parodies this, where Rachel's father is visiting at the same time as her mother, and as the two hate each other, Rachel has to set them in separate rooms. When Ross tries to get Rachel's father's glasses, drink, and cigarettes, Rachel's mother notices, and advises Rachel see a psychiatrist as "you've chosen a boyfriend who is exactly like your father." |
| 172 | -->'''Chandler:''' Rachel, what is the deal with you and doctors, anyway? Is, like, your father a doctor?\ |
| 173 | '''Rachel:''' Yeah, why? |
| 174 | * In ''Series/FromDuskTillDawn'' Scott accuses Katie of this: the [[PreachersKid preacher’s daughter]] dating a guy who texts her Bible quotes as a way of flirting. |
| 175 | * In one episode of ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' Lorelai notes that Rory's current boyfriend Dean vaguely resembles Rory's father, Chris, and wonders if this means something (Chris is basically an absentee dad at this point). Sookie suggests this might just mean that Rory inherited Lorelai's tastes. |
| 176 | ** Ironically, Dean is almost nothing like Chris, but similar to Luke, Rory's ''surrogate'' father and Lorelai's eventual fiancee. |
| 177 | ** Rory's next boyfriend Jess is actually Luke's nephew and shares even more similarities with him than Dean did. So, Rory ended up with a miniature of her surrogate father/her mother's partner, and Lorelai with an older version of her ''daughter's'' boyfriend. The writers must love this trope. |
| 178 | ** Ultimately it's boyfriend number 3, Logan, who bears a resemblance to Chris. Made even funnier when Chris instantly takes a liking to him and tells Rory he approves. Lorelai takes a bit longer to warm up. |
| 179 | ** The revival [[spoiler: makes this trope explicit, with Rory following directly in Lorelai's footsteps; Logan playing the Christopher to Jess's implied role as Luke in Rory's future. And in case it wasn't obvious enough, there's a GagEcho in "Fall" with Luke scolding Lorelai for being in the house the day before the wedding--he can't see her, it's bad luck. Lorelai asks "Oh, are we doing that?" When Rory walks into the room to see what the noise is, she and Jess repeat the conversation pretty much word-for-word.]] |
| 180 | * It's spelled out explicitly in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' season 2, with Claire and her creepy stalker guy. Particularly interesting example in that West is considered by Sandra to be personality-wise like Claire's adoptive father Noah, but his more obvious likeness (i.e., they can both fly) is to her biological father Nathan. |
| 181 | * ''Series/{{House}}'': Pointed out by House as the reason why Chase is attracted to a doctor he was responsible for hiring as part of House's diagnostics team, demonstrating this with a side-by-side photo projection which shows an uncanny physical resemblance between the woman and Chase's late mother. |
| 182 | * ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': |
| 183 | ** Barney {{exploit|ed Trope}}s this in order to seduce women. He even tries picking a girl up by just walking up to her and saying, "Daddy's home." |
| 184 | *** He later tries to invert this by trying to pick up a woman by talking like a young boy. It eventually works, but said woman creeps him out. |
| 185 | ---->''"Who's your mommy?"'' |
| 186 | ** An episode is dedicated to this trope when Barney's brother expresses a dislike of his girlfriend Nora because she, in his opinion, reminds him too much of their mother. Later on in the episode, Ted, Robin, Marshall, and Lily all realize that their dates and partners remind each of them of one of their parents and get [[{{Squick}} squicked out]]. Eventually Barney notices the similarities as well but is okay with it because, as he reasons, his mom is awesome so if his girlfriend is the tiniest bit like her, he's a lucky guy. This helps everyone else get over it. |
| 187 | * Kate's two potential love interests on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' each remind her of one of her fathers. Jack represents the stand-up guy she thought was her father. Sawyer represents the rogue "stepfather" who turned out to be her biological father (whom she also killed). |
| 188 | * Francis in ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' can't stand his mother Lois for being a ControlFreak with a HairtriggerTemper, and ironically enough, ends up marrying a woman who has a very similar demeanor to her. |
| 189 | * ''Series/MillionYenWomen'': While the pair is only dating at the end of the series, the character who's the daughter of a famous author ends up with one of the writer characters. |
| 190 | * ''Series/ModernFamily'': |
| 191 | ** Haley becomes interested in the goofy, bumbling, sweetheart Real Estate agent Andy, who gets along swimmingly with her dad, Phil, his mentor. Seeing them interact together makes Haley come to the realization that they are shockingly similar, and it puts her off of the whole thing for a little while. |
| 192 | ** In the episode "Someone to Watch Over Lily", Claire worries that her son Luke (who is worryingly like Phil) is incapable of functioning on his own. Phil tells her not to worry because Luke will find a girl like Claire to balance him out, basically invoking this trope. |
| 193 | --->'''Phil''': You know why he's gonna be ok? Because somewhere out there is a worried little girl out there who's making lists and labeling bins, and he's gonna find her. |
| 194 | * Reversed in ''Series/MyFamily'', where Susan sets her son Michael up with a girlfriend that is exactly like her and no one notices until the father Ben points this out, at which point Michael is completely disgusted with himself. |
| 195 | * ''Series/TheNanny'': Mr Sheffield's stepmother, the secretary his father left his mother for, bears a lot of similarities to Fran. When they appear together they're even dressed the same. |
| 196 | * ''Series/NewGirl'' has Jess's parents visit, and their dynamic and behavior greatly mirrors Nick and Jess's. Jess's father is grumpy, stubborn, and refuses to take left turns to the point where he'll take three rights to avoid them; a quirk of Nick's. Jess's mother is quirky, perky, and a school teacher. |
| 197 | * ''Series/OneLifeToLive'''s Viki Buchanan became attracted to Sloan Carpenter because of his resemblance--both physically and personality-wise--to her late father. This became seriously disturbing when it was learned that her father sexually abused her from when she was 7 until she was a young adult. |
| 198 | * On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', Ron has two bitchy ex-wives, both of whom are named Tammy: |
| 199 | -->'''Ron''': Yes, my mother's name is Tammy. What's your point? |
| 200 | * ''Series/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1990'': In addition to carrying over the fact that Christine's interest in the Phantom is that he reminds her of her dad, this version adds that part of the reason he loves ''her'' is because she resembles his mother. |
| 201 | * ''Series/PressGang'': Spike's mom is a copy of Linda, Spike's girlfriend, down to her being played by the same actress in a flashback. |
| 202 | * ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Juliet's father is a sticky-fingered conman. Her stepfather leads a double life on account of his gambling debts in Mexico. Her [[WillTheyOrWontThey eventual]] boyfriend has been lying to her and the rest of the police department for years about being a psychic in order to help with cases. [[spoiler: It isn't pretty when she finds out.]] |
| 203 | * ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' |
| 204 | ** D. J. briefly had a bossy girlfriend eerily reminiscent of his mother. It forced Roseanne to wonder if the way she treated Dan was having a negative effect on him (though of course, [[StatusQuoIsGod not much comes from it]]). |
| 205 | ** In a first season episode, Dan and Roseanne have just learned that Becky's crush will be working at the bowling alley that they're going to. Leading to this exchange: |
| 206 | --->'''Dan:''' So, little Becky's got her first boyfriend, huh?\ |
| 207 | '''Roseanne:''' ''[excitedly]'' Oh, I wonder what this guy's like!\ |
| 208 | '''Dan:''' Come on Rosie, you know girls always go for guys that remind them of their fathers.\ |
| 209 | '''Roseanne:''' Not if they listen to their mothers! |
| 210 | ** In another episode, Roseanne {{invoke|dTrope}}s this trope, yelling at Dan because she doesn't like her daughter Becky's boyfriend. When Dan asks why that's his fault, she responds that "girls always marry their fathers." This is portrayed as irrational, though it seems Dan and Roseanne's early romance was at least somewhat similar (Dan is described as having once been rather cool, in a rock band, etc.) |
| 211 | ** And much later, Mark (the boyfriend, and eventual husband, mentioned above) and Dan bond over the fact that they ARE so similar, with several characters commenting on how similar they are. (David, Darlene's eventual husband [[DoubleInLawMarriage and Mark's brother]], does NOT follow this rule, being meek, book-smart and artistic.) |
| 212 | * ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has both Rose children falling for men like their father Johnny: |
| 213 | ** Wild child Alexis Rose falls in love with uptight, KindlyVet Ted Mullens, who likes to care for Alexis the way Johnny cares for Moira. |
| 214 | ** CampGay David Rose falls in love with button-downed, StraightGay Patrick, who handles the business side of their business. Like Johnny, Patrick has a penchant for gift-giving and the occasional GrandRomanticGesture. |
| 215 | * ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': |
| 216 | ** Carla realizes she's exactly like "Mama Turk" and has a mini FreakOut as a result. |
| 217 | ** Justified by Turk, who actually admits this is ''why'' he likes Carla (who immediately gets up before he makes sure to explain), with him saying that their similarities ("smart, independent, always looking out for you") are actually rather attractive traits in a person, regardless of being shared with a parent. |
| 218 | ** Lady is able to overlook the Janitor's many, ''many'' eccentricities because she's attracted to his cleanliness. ([[NoodleIncident "You also look like my father, but that's a whole other set of issues."]]) |
| 219 | ** When JD first met Jordan, he asked Dr. Cox why he and Jordan got divorced. |
| 220 | -->'''Dr. Cox:''' You know the story. You marry a girl because she reminds you of your mother. Then you remember you hate your mother. |
| 221 | * {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. Carrie wonders if her father walking out on them when she was 5 is the reason she has such problems with men until Miranda assures her that she has the same problems and her dad was home every day at 7. That sounds like the writers {{def|iedTrope}}ying the [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore inevitable comments]] that the girls must have "daddy issues." |
| 222 | * ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'': Discussed between Jax and his actual mother Gemma no less. When she sees him hooking up with the [[MissKitty female brothel manager]] of Diosa International (who is slightly older than most of the girls working in the place), Gemma refers to her as "Miss Mommy Fetish". Jax replies that if he actually had any hang-ups about [[EvilMatriarch Gemma]], he'd be attracted to a psycho dominatrix instead. Besides, NO WAY does he ever want to hear the words "mommy fetish" coming out of the mouth of his own mother. |
| 223 | * In a third season episode of ''Series/TheSopranos'', Dr. Melfi helps Tony realize that his tumultuous relationship with his mother leads him to attempt relationships with women almost exactly like her personality-wise. His girlfriend of the season, Gloria, is arguably the worst in this regard (even using the same "Poor you" catchphrase as his mother), and the consequences are disastrous. |
| 224 | ** In the prequel movie ''Film/TheManySaintsOfNewark'', the younger Livia is played by Creator/EdieFalco lookalike Vera Farmigia. Based on the trailer, she also speaks and acts very similar to Carmela. |
| 225 | * Briefly {{Discussed}} and {{Defied}} in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''--after bonding with the Dax symbiote, Ezri mentions that she broke up with her boyfriend because he reminded her too much of her son. Well, not ''her'' son, but the son of [[TheNthDoctor a previous Dax host]] whose memories she now possessed. Still a bit too weird for her. |
| 226 | * Implied in the ''Series/{{Superstore}}'' episode "[[Recap/SuperstoreS6E7 The Trough]]." Glenn mentions that he has his wife Jerusha play his mother sometimes so he can act out his repressed feelings, and remarks that Jerusha doesn't even need a wig because she looks like... Then an uncomfortable look emerges on his face as he connects the dots. |
| 227 | * ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'': |
| 228 | ** In one episode Charlie dates a real estate agent who dresses, acts, and belittles everyone exactly like his mother. She even has two sons who act exactly like the titular two brothers as kids, and meeting them is when Charlie realized it, as before he had been in oblivious denial despite everyone else trying to tell him. |
| 229 | ** The father of Charlie's semi-stalker, Rose, is [[CastingGag played by Martin Sheen]]. |
| 230 | * ''Series/{{Veep}}'': |
| 231 | ** Catherine starts dating Marjorie, a Secret Service agent hired as a body double because she resembles Catherine's mother Selina from behind, and even raises a child with her. [[spoiler: Though due to said mother's political dealing in the last season they can't legally be married.]] |
| 232 | ** While planning to write for her memoirs, Selina learns that her father was a serial adulterer and con man who forced his wife to tolerate his numerous sexual affairs with secretaries. Selina realizes how similar he was to her ex-husband Andrew, causing her to remark, "I married my father." |
| 233 | * In ''Series/TheXFiles'', Scully once admitted to being turned on by men who reminded her of her father. |
| 234 | [[/folder]] |
| 235 | |
| 236 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 237 | * "[[https://youtu.be/ZVVvJjwzl6c?si=QdVdkF5KxCZAruV5 I Remember Everything]]" by Music/ZachBryan and Music/KaceyMusgraves starts with "Do I remind you of your daddy in his '88 Ford?" and ends with "Do I remind you of your daddy in my '88 Ford?" |
| 238 | * The Music/{{Chromeo}} song "Momma's Boy" is about a man who likes a woman because she looks like his mother. The woman also likes him because he looks like her father. |
| 239 | * In Music/HoneyWorks' song "Mama", the daughter of the title character would eventually marry a man who looks a lot like her father. |
| 240 | * "I Want A Girl" by Will Dillon and Harry Tilzer from 1911, mentioned in Western Animation below for ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987''. |
| 241 | --> ''I want a girl, just like the girl, that married dear old Dad'' |
| 242 | * Music/LadyGaga: the character in her song, Alejandro is mentioned as having a boyfriend who's "like her dad". |
| 243 | * Music/TheLonelyIsland: Played for laughs in "Motherlovers". Since they both forgot to get a gift for their mothers on Mother's Day, they come up with the brilliant plan to both have sex with their best friend's mother. Since they are like brothers to each other. [[ParentalIncest And they obviously couldn't do it themselves]]. |
| 244 | * Music/ThePolice song "Mother" from the 1983 album ''Synchronicity''. |
| 245 | [[/folder]] |
| 246 | |
| 247 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 248 | * In Literature/TheBible, Isaac has a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage with Rebecca shortly after Sarah's death; he gives her Sarah's old tent and she comforts him from his grieving. One Jewish tradition holds that certain miracles had occurred during Sarah's lifetime and only resumed after Rebecca showed up. |
| 249 | [[/folder]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 252 | * On ''Podcast/MissionToZyxx'' C-53 and Pleck note that Dar's parent Dad and Dar's partner Nermut share some characteristics like loud Hawaiian shirts and a penchant for corny jokes. |
| 253 | [[/folder]] |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[folder:Stand-Up]] |
| 256 | * Creator/TaylorTomlinson:"They say you daye people who are like your parents, but it's never your parent's good qualities, is it? I've never dated a guy who could sing, I've dated three who forgot my birthday, okay?" |
| 257 | [[/folder]] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 260 | * ''[[Theatre/CompanySondheim Company]]'': When Larry is explaining why he loves Joanne despite her snarkiness and abrasive behaviour, he mentions that his mother was a "very difficult woman", suggesting that this trope is in play. |
| 261 | * ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'': Part of Christine's attraction to The Phantom is that he reminds her of her father. |
| 262 | [[/folder]] |
| 263 | |
| 264 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 265 | * In ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'', Laharl's ImpliedLoveInterest, Flonne, is stated to be very much like his dead mother. |
| 266 | * ''Franchise/DragonAge'': |
| 267 | ** Since Alistair's mother is [[spoiler: Fiona]], he qualifies in any playthrough where he is romanced by a female [[spoiler: elf]] main character in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', bonus points if she is a [[spoiler: mage]]. |
| 268 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Gamlen lampshades this if female Hawke is romancing Anders. Hawke's mother married an apostate. |
| 269 | ** Implied in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' with Dorian and his ArrangedMarriage. He mentions that his parents hated each other but went along with their own betrothal for the sake of appearances and preserving their positions. The one time Dorian mentions his betrothed, he heavily implies that the two of them were TooMuchAlike, which, combined with their IncompatibleOrientation, would have made them as miserable together as Dorian's parents were if Dorian hadn't left Tevinter. |
| 270 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'': |
| 271 | ** In the third route, Selena can potentially marry [[ThePerfectionist Subaki]], who is essentially her mother Cordelia's SpearCounterpart. |
| 272 | ** Odin and Laslow potentially marry women who are like their mothers. To specify, Odin [[spoiler:(actually Owain)]] can marry Elise, whose bubbly personality matches his mother [[spoiler: Lissa]]'s, while Laslow [[spoiler:(actually Inigo)]] can marry Azura who is a skilled singer very much like ''his'' mother, [[spoiler:Olivia]]. |
| 273 | * It's pretty much all but stated in the Oosawa manga and side materials that one of the biggest reasons why Lord Arvis of Velthomer from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' married Deirdre was because of how much she looked like his MissingMom, the long-dead Lady Cigyun. And for worse? [[spoiler:Deirdre was the baby whose birth killed Cigyun. So yup, BrotherSisterIncest here too, ''and they don't even know it''.]] |
| 274 | * ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': In Chitose's route in the second game, she mentions early on that Tact reminds her a lot of her deceased father, whom she describes as very gentle and understanding with people. A flashback also shows that he also had some physical resemblance to Tact, looking a lot like an older version of him. |
| 275 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Ashley is a fourth-generation MilitaryBrat (father, grandfather, great-grandmother) whose shown romantic interests are all fellow space marines. If she and Male-Shep are together in the third game, she mentions how much her dad would have liked him. |
| 276 | * In the ''Franchise/StarFox'' comic by Benimaru Itoh, Fara Phoenix puts on Fox's mother Vixy's dress and suddenly bears an uncanny resemblance to Vixy. |
| 277 | [[/folder]] |
| 278 | |
| 279 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 280 | * ''WebComic/CheckPlease'': Jack and his father are implied to share a type: blondes. Jack's mother is a blonde and sweet woman, and he [[spoiler:falls in love with the also blonde and also sweet Eric.]] |
| 281 | * Used during the infamous Melna/Stonewater storyline of ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' strip, where Melna realizes that she's fallen for a man who raped her when she was a teenager to try and save her life ([[ItMakesSenseInContext long story]]) because he reminds her of her dead father. |
| 282 | * Parodied in a ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'' comic which featured various mutations on spousal archetypes. The "spouse who resembles your opposite-sex parent" panel humorously insinuates that women want an affectionate man while men want a woman who manages their lives. |
| 283 | [[/folder]] |
| 284 | |
| 285 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 286 | * WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick: |
| 287 | ** The "Top 10 Hottest Animated Guys," which were chosen by the fanbase, mostly consisted of various types of "[[AllGirlsWantBadBoys bad boys]]." The Chick concludes that all her viewers are just like her in that they're the children of alcoholics [[ICanChangeMyBeloved looking for someone to change]]. |
| 288 | ** {{Inverted|Trope}} in her "Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es" review, where she suggests that the number of [[BumblingDad bumbling, emasculated fathers]] indicates the princesses were looking for manlier replacements in their husbands. |
| 289 | [[/folder]] |
| 290 | |
| 291 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 292 | * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': |
| 293 | ** In one episode, Hayley dates her father's CIA body double. The same episode implies that her insane anger issues stem from feeling like Stan never accepts her. |
| 294 | ** Another episode focused on Hayley has her worried about [[TurnOutLikeHisFather being like Francine]], before thinking on it and being mortified that her husband Jeff is more like a SpearCounterpart to her mom. Francine picks up on this and trolls Hayley by molding Jeff to be more obviously like herself. |
| 295 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': |
| 296 | ** While wounded, Vi briefly hallucinates Caitlyn as her mother, another blue haired woman. Makes all her [[AmbiguouslyGay flirting]] [[WordOfGay with]] Caitlyn before and after this scene take on some interesting implications. |
| 297 | ** Caitlyn also has some pretty important things in common with Vi's [[HappilyAdopted adopted father]] Vander: Both want to help Zaun and establish peace between the two cities, though Caitlyn is much more proactive in her approach, and her comment about Vi having "a good heart" clearly brought Vander to Vi's mind, as he told her the exact same thing at least once. They even both have noticeable British accents. |
| 298 | * In an episode of the original ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales|1987}}'', the Beagle Boys sing a song about how they want a girl "Just like the girl that married dear old Dad!" |
| 299 | * {{Invoked}} on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy:'' Chris dates a girl, Lindsay, who basically looks like someone stuck Lois' head on a teenager's body. It turns out that he's dating her for this exact reason--he figures that a.) he's the kind of guy who "only his mother could love," and b.) he's hoping to replicate [[ParentingTheHusband the kind of dysfunctional dynamic]] that Lois has with Peter. |
| 300 | * DiscussedTrope in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', after Mom slaps her sons around and plots world domination. "Someday I want to marry a girl like her." |
| 301 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Harley Quinn|2019}}'': Harley's father is a misogynistic {{jerkass}} who has always been dismissive of her dreams and has no problems trying to kill her just to get money out of it. Harley blames her unhealthy obsession with abusive and manipulative men like the Joker on her asshole of a father. |
| 302 | * ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Though Charlie and her father [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] seem [[LikeFatherLikeSon much more similar]] than either are to her girlfriend Vaggie, the revelation that [[spoiler: Vaggie is also a FallenAngel like Lucifer certainly draws attention to their parallels. Both Vaggie and Lucifer are deeply insecure, cynical towards Heaven and supported their respective romantic partners when no one else would. The fact that Charlie and Vaggie's only duet of the first season is a Reprise of Charlie's song with her dad only adds to it.]] |
| 303 | * Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/HomeMovies''. In "Bad Influences", Brendon starts putting on weight, so Coach [=McGuirk=] tells him to go for the [[ChubbyChaser girls whose fathers were fat]] during their "impressionable years." [=McGuirk=] later on goes on a disastrous date with the school nurse, and one of the first questions he asked was if her father was fat. In another episode, he drunkenly tells his date "Y'know, I think it was Charles Darwin who said that men want to marry their mothers. So maybe that's why I like you, cause you remind me of my mother. Which is funny, because I hate my mother..." |
| 304 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug,'' Marinette (as Ladybug) and Adrien (in his civilian form) are looking at a picture of Adrien's MissingMom and comment in unison that the other has her eyes, then act embarrassed about it. The viewer may also note that Adrien and Marinette's father both have green eyes and enjoy playing video games with her, though the show itself has not yet bothered to make that point of comparison. |
| 305 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' features a rare example where the love interest shares characteristics with both of the parents. [[spoiler:Amity ends up dating [[GenkiGirl Luz]], who is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} like her father [[AbsentMindedProfessor Alador]] and [[DidntThinkthisThrough impulsive]] like her mother [[ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife Odalia]]. However, Amity's parents are both depicted as being abusive (though Alador is more of an enabler than an active participant, and later makes a genuine effort to improve), while Luz is [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan heroic and altruistic]].]] |
| 306 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 307 | ** In one episode, Principal Skinner muses, "I always thought I'd fall for a woman just like Mother...[[MyBelovedSmother even though I didn't want to]]." |
| 308 | ** This becomes a plot point in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E17Lucas Luca$]]", as Marge fears that the reason Lisa’s attracted to Lucas is because he reminds her of a young Homer. Selma flat out tells her that women marry their fathers. |
| 309 | [[/folder]] |
| 310 | |
| 311 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 312 | * A lot of baby birds will upon hatching imprint on one of the first things they see. As adults, sometimes they go for their own kind, sometimes... they don't. |
| 313 | ** The (nonfiction) book ''When Elephants Weep'' details the case of Tex, a whooping crane who was hand-raised and, when mature, rejected male cranes for "Caucasian men of average height with dark hair." Whooping cranes are so endangered that it was thought vital to get her into "breeding condition," at which point she could be successfully artificially inseminated. So the director of the International Crane Foundation, who met the necessary criteria, spent many weeks courting her. It worked, making this a case of InterspeciesRomance with emphasis on "romance" in the non-euphemistic sense of the word. |
| 314 | --->"My duties involved endless hours of 'just being there,' several minutes of dancing early in the morning and again in the evening, long walks in quest of earthworms, nest building, and defending our territory against humans." |
| 315 | ** On a related note, putting whooping crane eggs [[SwitchedAtBirth into the nests of related sandhill cranes]] and letting the sandhills raise them results in whooping cranes who are attracted to sandhills. The resulting hybrids are not viable, though. |
| 316 | * This is very much TruthInTelevision, as psychologists have discovered. The idea is that when you are a child you grow up in a safe, loving environment that sets a template for the future. You look for people similar to your parents because they remind you of the safety you had as a child. [[FridgeBrilliance Perfectly logical]], and only minimally {{squick}}y. Your very existence is proof that your parents are a successful template to follow! |
| 317 | ** Mixed with FridgeHorror when you realize that this could apply to people who were raised by AbusiveParents. Contrary to common depictions of AbusiveParents who are not nice, many abusive parents have a nice side. Their children will love them for their nice qualities, but most likely won't be able to filter the abusive aspects out of their template of a perfect mate. While less than one-fifth of people abused as children abuse their kids, ending up with someone who would abuse your kids as a romantic partner is depressingly common for people abused as children. So these people are made vulnerable to DomesticAbuse later on in life. |
| 318 | * When [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Prince William]] announced his engagement to Kate Middleton, the British newspapers, with almost disturbing eagerness, began drawing parallels between her and his late mother [[UsefulNotes/DianaPrincessOfWales Princess Diana]]. The same occurred when his brother Prince Harry started dating Creator/MeghanMarkle, though in both cases, it was more due to their personalities (and in Meghan's case, her activism) and choice of outfits, especially at key events, since neither woman looks anything like Diana. [[note]] In his memoir ''Spare'', Harry notes a moment where he warned Meghan not to take a picture in front of the Taj Mahal during a trip to India, as his mother had done, lest people think she was intentionally trying to invoke comparisons. [[/note]] |
| 319 | * This was almost certainly the case for UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat if the ancient chroniclers are to be believed. His mother was an ambitious, driven, fierce, and proud woman. His first wife would also fit that description. The only difference was that Roxanna wasn't paranoid and obsessive. |
| 320 | [[/folder]] |
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