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alt title(s): Three Faces Of Eve 
My favorite show of all time has to be Charlies Angels. Except, I don't think it should have been called Charlies Angels. I think it should have been called, "And Then There's The Ho". Let me explain: when there are three girls that are friends there's always one sweet one, one smart one...and then there's the ho!
A trio of girls/women: a child, a wife figure and a seductress.
The daughter will be seen as innocent, perhaps to the point of naivety. The wife, the wiser, calmer aspect, someone around whom one could build a home life, but dependent. The seductress will be contrasted against the innocence of the child and the dependency of the wife.
So in short, a combination of
The title comes from the 1957 movie by the same name where a woman's three dissociative personalities fell into these archetypes.
See also The Hecate Sisters, where a crone takes the place of the seductress, and The Three Faces Of Adam. These are all single-sex Power Trio variations.
Examples:
Film
Anime and Manga
- Iwakura Lain, from Serial Experiments Lain, is all three.
- The Shy, the Confident and the Batshit Insane?
- Haruhi Suzumiya has Haruhi as The Crone/Seductress with some shades of The Maiden (whimsical, jerk in different shades, Fetish Fuel Station Attendant), Mikuru Asahina as The Maiden (sweet, shy and helpless - or at least that's what she wants you to think.) being forced by Haruhi to be the seductress (by making her Cosplay different attires), and Yuki Nagato as The Mother/Wife (silent, skilled, loyal to Kyon).
- While the above roles are acurate, they are not the first impression that one receives. Initially, It seems more like Haruhi will be the Wife, Yuki the Child and Mikuru the Seductress. As with all thing pertaining to Suzumiya Haruhi, nothing is as it seems.
- Maho (child), Mizuho (wife) and Hatsuho (seductress) from Onegai Teacher.
- Lime (child), Cherry (wife), and Bloodberry (seductress) from Saber Marionette J.
- In Saiyuki, personality-wise, Goku is the child, Hakkai is the wife and Gojyo is the seductress, even though all three are male.
- The Wolkenritter in the second season of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: Signum is the strong seductress (to the audience, anyway), Shamal is the mother and Vita is the child — though this is somewhat subverted in that Vita's attitude is very much the Protector, and Shamal is only cast as the Mother because her speciality is her Healing Hands. In terms of actual attitute and ability, Zafira — the male familiar — is more equatable with the Mother.
- In Mahou Sensei Negima, Negi's friend/rival Kotaro ends up living with Natsumi (child), Chizuru (mother) and Ayaka (Seductress; Crone according to Kotaro).
- Poor Natsumi, just because she's the shortest, she has to be the child? Really, looking at their relationships with Kotaro, Ayaka is a non-romantic (at least, so far) type-B tsundere, and acts far more childish than Natsuki. Chizuru actually tends to be the most flirtatious, and the most dangerous to Kotaro. ("Don't fall in love with her!") Natsuki, meanwhile, generally has the most mature relationship with Kotaro, and it isn't missed on most readers that their relationship most resembles that of a couple.
- Part of that is Character Development. Natsumi's the Child not just because of her (lack of) figure, but because that's how she sees herself. Especially compared to the other two. Chizuru is the Mother because she's basically the head of this family unit and is basically learning childcare in her after-school time. Marshmallow Hell notwithstanding, she's the one who started nudging Natsumi towards Kotaro in the first place. Leave Ayaka alone in a room with Negi for about fifteen minutes and you'll see why she's the third.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion had this as a theme — doubly so, in fact, since each of the three faces tried to be a different one. Asuka (virgin, who wants to be the seductress), Misato (seductress, who tries to be the mother) and Rei (mother, though she is technically the main character's age and appears to be the child). This also occured more explicitly with the Magi, each of which contain a diferrent facet of Naoko Akagi's personality. Balthasar is Akagi as a mother, Melchior is Akagi as a scientist, and Casper is Akagi as a woman.
- Shows up subtly in the flashback episode as well, when Naoko sees Yui's face superimposed over Rei I's and strangles her: Naoko is the seductress, Yui the mother, and Rei the child.
- Mai-HiME's main Power Trio falls into this, too: Mikoto Minagi as the Child, Mai Tokiha as the Mother, and Natsuki Kuga as the Seductress...kind of. (Just watch the last few minutes to episode 9...you'll know what we're talking about.) One would expect Mai's and Natsuki's positions to be switched, but hey...
- "The Three Court Ladies" of Zero in Code Geass. C.C. is easily the Mother (as she granted Lelouch his powers and effectively "gave birth" to his alter-ego Zero; she is eventually revealed to have granted related powers to Lulu's mom Marianne as well), but Kallen and Kaguya can be argued upon. By appearance, Kallen is a strong Seductress (Boobs Of Steel on par with Signum's and all, you know) while Pettanko Kaguya is the Child, still only 15 in the second season. However, personality-wise, it's the other way around: somewhat naive, tsundere-ish Kallen (who spent part of the first season actively avoiding her First Kiss) is the Child while Kaguya, who is Wise Beyond Her Years and the only one of the three to have openly admitted romantic feelings for Zero, is the Seductress, insisting they get married when they first meet and later going so far as to propose the three of them share him.
- Ranma ½. This dynamic is overplayed for laughs with the three Tendo sisters. Kasumi, the oldest, is the mother and housewife figure, and so kind and purehearted that she has no negative instincts whatsoever; Nabiki, the second, is the sociopathic hedonist, manipulator, swindler, scam artist, and heartbreaking seductress; and Akane, the youngest, is the naive, shy, overachieving, sentimental, helpful, self-sacrificing idealist; with rampant paranoia, clumsy awkwardness, poisonous cooking, and excessively violent bipolar disorder thrown into the mixture.
- Tenchi Muyo. Ryoko is the seductress, while Ayeka and Sasami can each be seen as the mother and child depending on character interpretation.
- From Madlax: Margaret Burton is the mother, Madlax is the Seductress, Laetitia is The Child.
- The Prince Of Tennis girls: Tomoka Osakada is The Maiden (childlike, cheerful, Tsundere), Sakuno Ryuzaki is The Mother (quiet, gentle, protective), An Tachibana is The Seductress (outspoken, assertive, manipulative but good hearted).
- The female Servants of the 5th Holy Grail War. Saber is probably the Child (least developed body, turning out like a Fish Out Of Water when taken to a date by Shiro, and rather awkward in anything outside battle), Caster is the Mother (doesn't have children, but her interactions and utmost loyalty to Kuzuki is almost like a twisted Yamato Nadeshiko) and Rider is the Seductress (Boobs Of Steel and all. And when she is an enemy, she sounded alluring, not to mention that her identity is the Always Chaotic Evil monster Medusa, while Seductresses in general often get bad raps.)
- Plus, Caster or Medea was a mother. Not a good one, but still. Also, Rider can make people dream of sex.
- This also applies to the non-servant females of the series, with Sakura or Ilya as the Child, Rin as the Seductress, and Fuji-nee as the Mother, in the first two arcs. In Heaven's Feel, the roles swap around a bit, with Ilya as the innocent child, Rin as the competent mother, and Sakura the evil Seductress.
- Shugo Chara has Amu's three Shugo Charas: Ran is the child, Sue the mother (but with some child-like attributes). Miki, however, is less a seductress than the Only Sane Man (or, better, woman).
- In Candy Candy: female lead Candy is the Seductress (outspoken, strongwilled, defiant of society), her school friend Patty is the Mother (sweet, intelligent, mature), and Candy's best friend and sworn sister Annie is the Child/Maiden (insecure, reserved, sometimes childlike).
- The first half of the original Sailor Moon series has Usagi/Moon as The Child/Maiden, Ami/Mercury as The Mother, and Rei/Mars as The Seductress. Makoto/Jupiter and Minako/Venus make it a Five Man Band soon, tho.
- Also, the Outer Senshi can be seen as this. Haruka is The Maiden (brash, free-spirited, tomboyish), Michiru is the Seductress (gentle, feminine, elegant), Setsuna is The Mother (mature, the oldest of the group, Chibi-Usa's Cool Big Sis).
- AIR has this to a certain extent, with the three main girls. Sweet and mature Minagi is definitely the mother, and while Kano and Misuzu both have aspects of seductress (Misuzu is blatantly obsessed with Yukito, but Kano is playful with him too) Misuzu has many more child traits than Kano does.
- School Rumble's main female characters. Tenma (child), Mikoto & Akira (mother/wife) and Eri (seductress).
- The women important to Harima. Tenma & Eri are joined by Yakumo (wife), Tae (seductress) and Itoko (mother).
- Daimos has Nana (child/maiden), Princess Erika (wife), Raiza (whore) and Margarete (mother).
- Dual!Parallel Trouble Adventure has the two Mitsukis (wife), D (child), Yayoi (mother).
- Rurouni Kenshin had Kaoru (wife), Misao (child) and Megumi (seductress/mother).
- In Revolutionary Girl Utena, Himemiya Anthy. As the Eve figure of Ohtori, she deconstructs all three sides of the child, wife, and seductress triad. In the first arc, Anthy seems like a placid, eerily submissive Damsel In Distress who has no clear will of her own. Her innocence is assumed by the audience, when presented with her domestic Yamato Nadeshiko exterior, and moments of blank, somewhat vapid cheer. However, it later becomes apparent that this image is a counterfeit one, and is slowly replaced by flashes of a far more disturbing persona.
- This is emphasized through her relationship with Akio, and the underlying sexuality in her liaisons with him. In these scenes, she is depicted as a coldly beautiful goddess — or distant, terrifying witch — who is mature, voluptuous, and more than capable of manipulating those around her. Her role in the dueling game is further emblematic of the whore/crone/maider dichotomy she represents. As the Rose Bride, she is perpetually on the cusp of maidenhood; she can be taken to bed by the Duelists, but never truly be a wife.
- From Toradora, Taiga and Minori can switch roles, but most of the time, it's Minori who acts as the mother while Taiga is often the child. Ami is definitely the seductress. Ryuji's mother Yasuko combined all aspects of the "child", mother and seductress.
- In Gundam 00, Sumeragi Li Noriega and her two Bridge Bunnies Christina Sierra and Feldt Grace may count as the seductress/mother, mother/maiden and child/maiden respectively. After Christina's death, Feldt became more like the mother and Mileina Vashti becomes the child.
- Much like the Trope Namer, Change123 applies this to a Split Personality case. Fumiko is rather more a military officer a than a mother but remains by far the most mature of Mokoto's alter egos; Mikiri is, despite the bustline and skill at grappling, very much a Cheerful Child; and Hibiki is quite clearly the seductress of the three... in her own crass and direct way
- Cats Eye: The three heroines.
Comic Books
- In some versions of the Legion Of Superheroes, Triplicate Girl (or Triad) has a different personality for each body; Triad-Purple is brash and outgoing (seductress), Triad-Orange is shy and quiet (virgin) and Triad-Neutral is the stable figure who has to keep the other two together (mother).
- Tarot Witch Of The Black Rose: Tarot ("child"), Tarot's Mom (Hot Shounen Mom), Raven Hex (Ms Fanservice).
- Eve also tells a version of her origin story in Fables and Reflections in which she reveals how all three interpretations of her self are "true". She herself can be seen to shift in appearance between frames, taking on any of the three aspects.
- In Earth-3, the Evil Counterpart Universe to the regular DC Verse, contains the character Evelyn Dent, Three-Face.
- The first three Spider-Women in the Marvel Universe can be counted as this. The first one, Jessica Drew, is the Seductress (Her pheromone powers could attract men, and she had her record as a villainess for awhile), the second one, Julia Carpenter, is the Mother (She is an Action Mom or sorts), and the last one, Mattie Franklin, is the Child (she still attends high school).
Literature
- In Piers Anthony's Incarnations Of Immortality series, the Incarnation of Fate is three women who share a body: Clotho (maiden), Lachesis (matron), and Atropos (crone). Clotho also acts as the seductress, often to maintain a cordial relationship with Chrono, the Incarnation of Time.
- In the novel Dracula Cha Cha Cha by Kim Newman, the Genius Loci "Mama Roma" takes four forms, girl, mother, whore and crone.
- The books Doppleganger and Warrior and Witch by Marie Brennan features five aspects, which correspond to five elements (Water, Air, Earth, Fire, Void). Those five were Maiden, Mother, Crone, Bride, and Warrior, though this troper forgets which aspect corresponds to which element other than Warrior/Void.
- Fire/Maiden, Air/Bride, Water/Mother, Earth/Crone, and Void/Warrior.
- The three female leads of the Harry Potter series loosely fit this — Hermione (mother), Ginny (seductress) and Luna (child). Ginny doesn't quite fit the part of the seductress as well as some fans think, but she's definitely the brash/edgy one, although she occasionally leans towards the child role. Hermione and Luna, on the other hand, fit their respective roles very well.
Live Action TV
- Firefly has Kaylee as the child, Zoe as the mother/wife and Inara as the literal seductress— it's her job as a companion (a high-class hooker). River also has some childlike elements (in a Creepy Child sort of way), but is largely outside the archetype. Inara can be thought of in the mother role, given her relationship with most of the non-Mal characters and the calming voice of assurance and goodwill. Zoe also fits, but she seems more like a grown up Action Girl.
- The three females in the main cast of Gilligans Island were Mary Ann (virgin), Ginger (seductress) and "Lovey" Howell (wife/motherly).
- The leads in Friends fall under this trope very loosely. Monica is the mother, albeit a neurotic, obsessive-compulsive one; Phoebe is usually the child, but can be the seductress if need be; and Rachel is somewhere between being the child and the seductress, going back and forth when the plot demands it.
- Note how it swings back and forth between Rachel and Phoebe. When one is being childlike and naive and needs to ask the other for advice, the other one becomes the seductress
- Phoebe's personality is quirky and hippie-ish, Rachel is (initially) very naive. Rachel probably qualifies better as the seductress because she has had more love interests and is often trying to get dates with guys she likes. Phoebe is much less romantic and her relationships tend to last longer. Phoebe has childlike notions about some things (she thought her mom was a cat) and Rachel simply didn't understand certain social conventions.
- This was present on 227, with Brenda (child), Mary (mother), and Sandra (seductress).
- Brad, Randy, and Mark. Think about it.
- Arrested Development has Lucille as the mother, Lindsay as the seductress and Maebe as the child. Also subverted in that Lucille is a terrible mother, Lindsay is mostly romantically unsuccessful and starts the series married to a closeted homosexual man, and Maebe is far from innocent.
- Liz (mother), Jenna (seductress) and Cerie (child) on 30 Rock.
- Sex And The City: If one perceives Carrie as a 'neutral observer' that serves to interact with the others, (Or a Mary Sue character where the others serve to interact with her) Samantha would be the seductress, Miranda is the booksmart motherly one, and Charlotte is the naive childlike character.
- Two And A Half Men is an interesting male version, with Charlie, a big ladies' man and often a Deadpan Snarker; his brother Alex, a geeky, awkward guy who just got out out his divorce: and Jake, Alex's son from his former marriage. Consider, except for gender, it is more accurate then most of the examples on this page.
- Birds Of Prey has Helena (aka Huntress) as the seductress, Barbara (aka Oracle) as the sensible one, and Dinah as the child.
Mythology and Religion
- Jewish myth is a possible origin of this (Greek and Norse myth had the Child-Mother-Crone version): God makes three attempts at creating the First Woman, Lilith the seductress, an unnamed aborted innocent (the child), and Eve the mother.
- Speaking of the Greeks, they had Hera (wife), Artemis (maiden), Demeter (mother) and Aphrodite (seductress).
- In some denominations of Christianity (though not all, owing to mid- and low-level doctrinal differences), this group can be found in Saint Anne (mother), her child the virgin Mary (child), and Mary M. the ex-prostitute (seductress).
Video Games
- Final Fantasy games in general have a permutation of this trope, in which the three playable females (and there are always three; see the Three Females Rule in the Grand List) are almost always represented as the following:
- The Innocent Virgin Princess (The Chick, Staff Chick, Mysterious Waif, Rebellious Princess) — Delicate, feminine and in love with the hero. Almost always gets him in the end. Rosa/Lenna/Terra/Aerith/Rinoa/Garnet/Yuna/Ashe.
- The Tough But Sexy (Cool Big Sis, Black Magician Girl, Action Girl) tougher, more tomboyish, and usually in love with the hero but unable to express it. Almost never gets him in the end. Rydia(Adult)/Faris/Celes/Tifa/Quistis/Freya/Beatrix/Lulu/Paine/Fran.
- The Perky Jailbait — (Bratty Half Pint, The Scrappy) Teenaged (sometimes younger, in which case, nix the 'jailbait', please) Genki Girl who tags along basically to provide an upbeat contrast to the other two. Never gets the hero in the end (except Penelo), and doesn't much mind, even if she has a crush on him. Rydia(Young)/Porom/Cara/Relm/Yuffie (although she's pretty aggressive for this type)/Selphie/Eiko/Rikku/Penelo.
- FFX is especially guilty, not only because of what was mentioned above, but because of the Magus Sister aeons: a tall, sexy (praying mantis?), a short, cute bumblebee, and a plump, round ladybug.
- FFVII plays with these roles a bit. Flirty, outgoing Aerith could fit as either the Seductress or the Mother, while reserved, caring Tifa fits physically as the Seductress but emotionally as the Mother. And don't even get into the question of what they do with rules regarding who gets the hero...
- The lead females in the Metal Gear Solid series follow this pattern — Meryl from 1 (virgin), Rose from 2 (mother) and EVA from 3 (whore). The supporting female cast also seem to have this: 1 had Sniper Wolf (seductress), 2 had Olga Gurlukovich (mother) and Emma Emmerich (child) and 3 had The Boss (mother).
- The female love interests in Baldur's Gate 2. Sweet Aerie is the maiden, no-nonsense Jaheira the mother, and darkly playful Viconia the seductress. Alternative, Aerie might be the child, Viconia the seductress, and world-weary widowed Jaheira the wife.
- In Super Robot Wars, resident Ms Fanservice Excellen Browning makes up a group called the "Three Beautiful Sisters", consisting of herself, Viletta Vadim and Lamia Loveless. Lamia is the Child (due to her recent discovery of what it's like to be a human, made more obvious in Original Generations when she gains a Split Personality that sounds like a little girl), Viletta is the Mother (she commands the SRX Team), and Excellen the Seductress (bloody obvious).
- Speaking of Excellen, it seems she and her Expies (Xiaomu of Namco x Capcom and Kaguya Nanbu of Endless Frontier) form up this trope. Excellen is still the Seductress, while innocent Kaguya is the Child, and Xiaomu, despite her look and personality as a Child, has traits of the Mother (being that she's Really Seven Hundred Years Old, took care of the male lead since he was a child and has partnered with his dad at one time)
- In an even rarer third example involving Excellen again, out of her and her clones Lemon Browning and Einst Alfimi, she's still the Seductress, with Lemon as the Mother and Alfimi the Child. Good god, is there anything this woman isn't??
- Speaking of three sisters, there's Kazuma Ardygun's sisters in Super Robot Wars W, with Shihomi as the Mother, Akane as the Seductress (mostly by default), and Mihiro (duh) as the Child.
- Three most prominent girls who fight alongside Masaki Andoh in the Masou Kishin portion may also count: Lune Zoldark, being the girl most aggressive on her advances on Masaki, is the Seductress, Tytti Noorbuck, Masaki's semi-Cool Big Sis and fellow Herald of the Elemental Lord, is the Mother, and lastly, newcomer Token Loli Mio Sasuga is obviously the Child.
- Persona 3: Fuuka Yamagishi (quiet Priestess), Mitsuru Kirijo (authoritative Ojou Empress), Yukari Takeba (mildly emotionally unstable Lover). Of course, those are just the three that join your party. There's also a second trinity of love interests: Chihiro Fushimi (The Chick Justice), Yuko Nishiwaki (Captain of the Sports team with a motherly streak Strength), and Maya (online girlfriend who's actually your Christmas Cake of a homeroom teacher Hermit).
- Elizabeth, who is not a social link but can become 'good friends' with you if you catch my drift, could be seen as either the temptress (she's the one who initiates the 'romantic encounter'). However, due to her lack of knowledge concerning the human world, she may also be viewed as the child.
- Sonic The Hedgehog features Amy (mother), Rouge (seductress), and Cream (child). Then again, there's also Blaze (Action Girl).
- One set of Zelda games feature three "Oracles" who share names with the goddesses, and more obviously match the trope: Din is an outgoing dancer (seductress), Nayru is a gentle singer (maiden), and Farore is a bookish sort who handles "secrets" (mother).
- Not gonna argue on Din, but Nayru seems pretty maternal (especially in the end of the linked games, where she's seen buying groceries and getting chased around by kids), and Farore's a child.
- In Tales Of Vesperia, you have Estelle (Innocent Virgin Princess), Judith (Tough But Sexy), and Rita (Perky Jailbait).
- The DS update of Dragon Quest V gives the hero three brides to choose from: Bianca (the child), Nera (the mother), and Debora (the seductress).
- From Fire Emblem 6, we have the Pegasus Knight sisters: Yuuno is undoubtly the Mother (plus, she raised the other two and is an Action Mom), Thite is The Seductress/Crone (Emotionless Girl, kinda Kuudere), and Thany is the Child/Maiden (Genki Girl Cute Bruiser)
- And in Fire Emblem 7, the other Peg Knight trio also fits: the Mother is Fiora (who even tends to overprotect the youngest sister), Farina is The Seductress (strongwilled, materialistic, yet with a hidden gentle side) and the Maiden is Florina (Shrinking Violet)
- Neverwinter Nights 2 doesn't make it explicit, but one could see Neeshka as the Seductress, Elanee as the Mother, and Zhjaeve as the Crone-though another intrepretation would be Neeshka as the child, Elanee as the Seductress, and Zhjaeve as the Crone. The fourth female party member, Qara, doesn't really figure into the analysis, being young and attractive (supposedly, given her charisma), but also a borderline psychotic pyromaniac.
- Silent Hill 2 has Laura (child), Mary (wife), and Maria (seductress).
- Suikoden V has your female family taking up these roles: Lymsleia (the child), Haswar (the mother), and Sialeeds (the seductress). Arshtat acts as a High Queen over the whole lot.
- In Jak And Daxter, Tess is the childish one, Keira is the sensible one, and Ashelin is the dark one. They're all sexy.
- Disgaea Hour Of Darkness has Etna as the seductress, Flonne as the child, and Jennifer as the mother. Interestingly, Etna has subtle elements of the mother with her undying loyalty to Krichevskoy and the fact that she basically has to babysit Laharl and Flonne full-time, and Jennifer has not-so-subtle hints of the seductress.
Web Comics
- Yuki (the child), Kimiko (the wife) and Miho (The seductress) from Megatokyo.
- Questionable Content has Hannelore as The Child, Dora as The Wife and Faye as The Seductress. Interestingly, this situation was reversed for the first 500 strips, with Faye seeming poised to hook up with Marten, and Dora as the alluring bisexual goth girl.
- Now it may be Marigold as The Child.
Western Animation
- Powerpuff Girls follows this with preschool-age girls. Bubbles is the Maiden (tender-hearted and naive), Blossom is the Mother (smart and caretaking) and Buttercup is the Seductress (short-tempered).
- Ozai's Angels, the Terrible Trio of Avatar The Last Airbender; Ty Lee (child), Mai (mother) and Azula (seductress)
- Also, the girls from the Gaang: Katara is the mother, Toph is the child, Suki is the seductress.
- The Chipettes in Alvin And The Chipmunks: Brittany is The Crone, Eleanor is the Child, Jeannette is The Mother. Though it's a bit of a subversion as well since sometimes Eleanor and Jeannette would switch the Mother and Child roles depending of the situation.
Real Life
- Truth In Television: this pattern can show up in actual siblings as well. This troper knew a family with three girls, each several years apart, who basically were this trope, to some degree: the youngest was cutesy but innocent, the oldest was brash and outgoing, and the middle one was the peacekeeper.
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