A character who, while having a domineering personality and/or a high rank in society, is markedly resigned when it comes to their personal life. They may be a Henpecked Husband, the passive side in a Power Dynamics Kink relationship, a target of sarcastic quips from their Love Interest, or a constant victim of a Trickster Girlfriend's pranks.
For the BDSM variation, see Powerful People Are Subs; also compare Aggressive Submissive for when it comes to sex.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Death Parade: While working, Decim's a shrewd, icy Jerkass who will not hesitate to intimidate or taunt his guests when he sees fit. He's pushy and rather imposing towards them as well. However, it becomes clear around his coworkers that he's a quiet, Extreme Doormat with very little presence. He is also incapable of actual confrontation, as shown around the black-haired woman as he simply shuts down when she pushes back against his behavior towards his guests.
Fan Works
- The Black Sheep Dog Series: As the acting head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Orion Black is used to ordering people around, and he fully expects the people around him to obey his command. Within his family circle, however, he's known to be quite a pushover, often allowing himself to be the subject of his sister's teasings, his wife's whims, and especially his father's domineering.
Films — Live-Action
- In Love Story, the protagonist Oliver is a successful lawyer, and his wife Jennifer is a housewife... and yet, he is the usual target of her sarcastic quips. Moreover, when he finds out that Jenny is terminally ill, it is she who comforts him rather than the other way round.
Literature
- In the Discworld, Lady Sybil Ramkin is a briskly forceful noblewoman who, in a benevolent sort of way, will do things like whisk the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich out of her husband's hand and tell him that sort of thing isn't good for his health. Her husband, the police chief and possibly the second most powerful man in the city, has learnt his best response is a compliant "Yes, dear."
- Labyrinths of Echo: General Bubuta Bokh is a domineering, foul-mouthed ex-military police chief at work, but an extremely well-behaved and quiet man at home. People in the know attribute it to the influence of his beloved wife, who keeps him firmly under her heel and on best behavior in private life.
- In The Wheel of Time, Nynaeve and Lan marry in a culture where the higher-ranking member of an Unequal Pairing is expected to take an obedient role in private for balance's sake. Nynaeve's only word on being "outranked" on her wedding night is "glorious".
Live-Action TV
- In The Alienist, the protagonist Laszlo Kreizler is an ambitious psychiatrist and quite a high-ranking member of the New York society, but there are some hints that he enjoys a submissive role in romantic relationships. This shows up in his conversation with the professional dominatrix Mrs. Williams (he mentions that he enjoyed her stories of "men's vulnerabilities") and in his relationship with Karen Stratton, who takes him to various kinky places. His relationship with his housekeeper and subsequent Love Interest Mary also has strong undertones of this kind: he is highly dependent on her due to his bad arm, and she enjoys his timidity whenever he needs her to do something for him (and whenever he pisses her off, she just leaves him on his own, and he cannot even tie his own shoelaces without her). Besides, while Mary was away, he sneaked to her room to sniff her clothes.
- Married... with Children: Jefferson D'Arcy, Marcy's second husband (Seasons 5+). He's a glorified gigolo (who was once in prison over a land scam and has a secret connection with the CIA) who married a relatively affluent woman (in short, a Gold Digger) but later becomes fond of Marcy. He's still participating in shenanigans, scams and is very fond of women's company. But Marcy regularly bosses Jefferson around. He talks big to the other NO MA'AM guys, but whenever Marcy is about to bust one of their schemes he takes off his NO MA'AM shirt to reveal a YES MA'AM one. When he joined the National Guard, he started crying under pressure and saying he wanted "his Marcy".
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: General Martok is a Klingon warrior who fought his way past classism to earn a battlefield commission and then survived years in a Dominion POW Camp. The one thing that actively scares him, as we learn in "You Are Cordially Invited", is his wife Lady Sirella, who rules him in domestic matters and whom he actively tries to avoid antagonizing.
- Twin Peaks: Ben Horne, who is one of the richest and most powerful people in Twin Peaks, has a markedly submissive relationship with Catherine Martell that involves him kissing her feet and her replying to his compliments with sarcastic quips. Then he's accused of murder and arrested, and she visits him in jail. She takes off her shoe, and he kisses her foot, pleading for her to confirm his alibi.
Western Animation
- Terrytoons:
- John Doormat. In "Another Day, Another Doormat", it shows that he's a Mean Boss (if not a Bad Boss and Corrupt Corporate Executive) at work, but to his wife, he's an Extreme Doormat as his name suggest.
- In "Dustcap Doormat", his neighbour is not better. He tries to teach him to be more assertive, only to be revealed as an even bigger Henpecked Husband than John. After that, John Grew a Spine (and the first target is neighbour).
