History Main / MaidenAunt

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has Kya, who never married and seemingly never wanted to, and is much beloved by her brother's children; unlike most examples, she's a CoolOldLady, described by WordOfGod as "kind of a hippie" and can [[NeverMessWithGranny kick butt]] if necessary. Given both [[WordOfGay certain other revelations the creators made about her]] and her CommitmentIssues, there's a pretty good reason she never married and never wanted to.

* Mrs. Crumplebottom from ''VideoGame/TheSims'' Specifically, Miss Crumplebottom in ''VideoGame/TheSims1'', who is the unmarried aunt of Mortimer Goth and sister to Cornelia Goth, though she is never seen interacting with her family

* In ''Literature/FamilyTreeSeries'' Abby's youngest sister Adele never gets married or has children, unlike her older sisters. Instead she serves as the CoolAunt to Abby's daughter Dana--letting her move in after she wants to return to New York City--and later, grandniece, Francie. [[spoiler:[[TopicOfCancer She is diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 1980s]] and eventually dies of it.]]

-->''"Am I to be the maiden aunt? Isn't this what they do? Arrange presents for their prettier relations?"''

* Sialeeds in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' is this to the [[TheHero Prince]]. Very understandable considering what she, Arshtat, and Haswar had gone through. Come to think of it, Haswar does count for this trope as well.

* In the Colleen [=McCullough=] novel ''The Touch'', the protagonist looks back over her 20-year loveless marriage and decides it was still better than being a maiden aunt in her native Scotland.

A [[{{subtrope}} type]] of OldMaid. May be a MoralGuardian or a NosyNeighbor (or both). Compare LittleOldLadyInvestigates, and ChristmasCake. Comic book maiden aunts may be susceptible to {{Nephewism}}.

* Folk singer Judy Small has a song called "Family Maiden Aunt" about a woman who is [[ChristmasCake nearly 30 and still unmarried]]. It describes how her family fears she is in danger of becoming this, and how much she is looking forward to it; discussing the advantages of her childless, partnerless life.

* Aunt Ellen on ''BrendonChase''.

* Aunt Harriet on the 1960s ''Batman'' live-action program.
* Nugie on ''The Gale Storm Show''.

Of course, many real-life women remained unmarried for reasons other than the one stated above. Some were lesbians, some were UsefulNotes/{{asexual}} or UsefulNotes/{{Aromantic}}, some preferred a career to marriage, some gave up the chance of marriage to look after aging parents, and some simply didn't want the bother of a husband and family. Some are kindly and sweet, some are bitter and angry, some are in a {{Cloudcuckooland}}. Often played straight in mysteries and for laughs in comedies. There aren't many subversions out there--younger audiences are usually {{squick}}ed by any hint of sexuality in an older woman.

* Averted with Amy in ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}''. While she is an important mother figure for the title character, she is decidedly not old; she celebrates her 31st birthday during the course of the story.

* The protagonist of Patricia Wentworth's ''Maud Silver mysteries'': a [[LittleOldLadyInvestigates governess who became a private investigator]]. She plays this trope straight -- most of the stories show her writing letters to her nieces in her spare time, and she is at least an Edwardian (if not Victorian) throwback in terms of hairstyle, taste in interior decoration, and her love for Tennyson's poetry.

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Of course, many real-life women remained unmarried for reasons other than the one stated above. Some were lesbians, some were UsefulNotes{{asexual}} or UsefulNotes/{{Aromantic}}, some preferred a career to marriage, some gave up the chance of marriage to look after aging parents, and some simply didn't want the bother of a husband and family. Some are kindly and sweet, some are bitter and angry, some are in a {{Cloudcuckooland}}. Often played straight in mysteries and for laughs in comedies. There aren't many subversions out there--younger audiences are usually {{squick}}ed by any hint of sexuality in an older woman.

Of course, many real-life women remained unmarried for reasons other than the one stated above. Some were lesbians, some were {{asexual}}, some preferred a career to marriage, some gave up the chance of marriage to look after aging parents, and some simply didn't want the bother of a husband and family. Some are kindly and sweet, some are bitter and angry, some are in a {{Cloudcuckooland}}. Often played straight in mysteries and for laughs in comedies. There aren't many subversions out there--younger audiences are usually {{squick}}ed by any hint of sexuality in an older woman.

* ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' features a few of these, including Diana's aunt Josephine (who seems at first austere and aloof but eventually dotes on Anne) and Priscilla's aunt Josephina. The characters of Lavender Lewis and Janet Sweet first appear to be more examples of this trope but eventually subvert it by marrying late in life.

A [[{{subtrope}} type]] of OldMaid. May be a MoralGuardian or a NosyNeighbor (or both). Compare LittleOldLadyInvestigates, and ChristmasCake. Comic book maiden aunts may be susceptible to {{nephewism}}.

A [[{{subtrope}} type]] of OldMaid. May be a MoralGuardian or a NosyNeighbor (or both). Compare LittleOldLadyInvestigates, and ChristmasCake. Comic book maiden aunts may be susceptible to {{newphewism}}.

A [[{{subtrope}} type]] of OldMaid. May be a MoralGuardian or a NosyNeighbor (or both). Compare LittleOldLadyInvestigates, and ChristmasCake.

Although unmarried elderly women have always existed, the Maiden Aunt as a trope first arose in the 1880s. Historically, women had shorter lifespans than men because of [[DeathByChildbirth the dangers of childbirth]]; many men married more than once, meaning that any woman who didn't marry at a young age had a good chance of marrying later on. But in the mid-[[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Victorian era]] women's life expectancies increased due to advances in modern medicine while men's lifespans decreased, partly due to civilian conscription during wartime and--as we know now--partly due to increasing use of [[TheSmokingSection tobacco]]. Suddenly there were myriads, even millions of women who had no chance of marrying and, unlike unmarried men, had little chance of immigrating to a place where they could find a spouse. Decades later, these women reached old age and became known as maiden aunts.