Basic Trope: A child is resented by an adult taking care of them for putting them in their position as guardian.
- Straight:
- Young Charlie is put under the custody of an extended family member, who finds no pleasure in it and mistreats him.
- Single parent Bob is left to take care of his son, Charlie, but doesn't really have any fondness for the boy.
- Alice works as the owner of an orphanage but finds no joy in neither taking of the children nor the children themselves.
- Alice's husband who has a son from a previous marriage dies, leaving her embittered and caring for the son, Charlie.
- Alice and Bob don't seem all too pleased that they are stuck with taking care of their son, Charlie.
- Exaggerated:
- Whoever is taking care of Charlie is abusive towards him as a result of of them never really wanting to take care of him.
- Alice regularly beats and berates the orphans as a way to vent out her resentment.
- Alice is a Wicked Step Mother to Charlie.
- Charlie's parents take out all their anger on him. Be it verbally or physically.
- Charlie's parents resent him to the point of Offing the Offspring.
- Downplayed:
- As much as they resent taking care of him, Charlie's caretaker/s are at worst, neglectful towards him. Which has pretty much taught Charlie how to take care of himself.
- Orphanage owner Alice falls into Parental Neglect towards the kids.
- Alice doesn't resent her child, but it's also made quite clear that Alice's late husband wanted a child more than she did. After his death, Alice's newfound problems and constant stress sometimes cause her to question if she ever actually wanted a kid, and whether having one was the right choice after all.
- Justified:
- Charlie is a Child by Rape and his mother's relatives (who are the ones taking care of him) hate seeing the reminder that she was raped or refuse to see him as being a piece of his mother.
- Charlie's relative/s by his mother envied her and use him as a way to vent out their jealousy.
- Bob dearly loved his wife and she was his Living Emotional Crutch and losing her when she gave birth to Charlie broke his heart.This causes him to feel that Charlie is responsible for his wife's death.
- Alice doesn't really like kids but for reasons unknown, she was left as the current owner of the orphanage.
- Alice was insecure since she felt that her late husband Bob still loved his previous wife more than her. The fact that she now has to look after the son who is a result of Bob's old love just feels like insult being added to injury over losing the man she loved.
- Bob has other things he'd rather do, and Charlie's presence has screwed that up.
- Charlie is the result of Teen Pregnancy, which in itself, lead to a Shotgun Wedding. The whole thing meant that his parents had to give up their dreams.
- Abortion doesn't exist/is illegal in this world.
- Inverted:
- Charlie resents his caretaker(s).
- The orphans aren't too fond of Alice.
- Alice relishes being a caretaker, either because she's genuinely caring and compassionate or because the role allows her to feel powerful for once.
- Subverted:
- But it turns out, Charlie's relative/s are just like that to everyone. Really, he's no exception.
- Charlie's caretaker/s have...different ways of showing they care.
- Alice's actions are just her way of masking her grief over losing her husband. In truth, she really loves her step son and it doesn't matter whether or not she's his mother by blood.
- Then one day, Charlie's parents make it up to him by bringing him out.
- Double Subverted:
- But then again, Charlie holds a special place on the long list of people they don't like. So they hate him more than they hate anyone else.
- ...but they're just using this as an excuse to treat him poorly.
- ...because they're planning on just dumping him anywhere as long as it means he'll get off their backs.
- Parodied: As obvious as it is, Charlie is either oblivious or in denial over how much his caretaker/s clearly resent him.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: No matter what the circumstances leading to Charlie being under their care, his caretaker/s love and care for him through and through.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "Your son is gonna have an interesting upbringing under your care."
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Despite how Bob feels about the circumstances that led him to take care of Charlie, he tries to treat him well and form a close parent-child bond.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Charlie was orphaned at such a young age and was placed in the care of some relatives. Throughout the series, he's said that he doesn't like being at home and has said I Just Want to Have Friends multiple times. Not to mention that he Desperately Craves Affection and has "Well Done, Son" Guy tendencies.
- Charlie has a poor relationship with his parents. There have been off handed comments about them having had big dreams but now, they struggle with managing things.
- Deconstructed:
- The amount of abuse and neglect gives Charlie lots of emotional and mental problems, such as depression and PTSD. The lack of affection given to him also causes him to be extremely clingy the moment you show him even an ounce of kindness.
- Charlie grows up to be a Jerkass who is also a Child Hater. His childhood has also caused him to be withdrawn and hold the belief that no one cares about him.
- Charlie ends up as the one who Desperately Craves Affection.
- Reconstructed:
- Charlie averts that There Are No Therapists by seeking counseling.
- But after meeting someone who wants to desperately be his friend for no reason other than they just want to, Charlie starts to warm up and be less cold.
- Played For Laughs: The amount of mistreatment Charlie gets is presented in a Hilariously Abusive Childhood manner.
- Played For Drama: Charlie ends up having issues (see Deconstructed) later in life.
Back to Resentful Guardian, because if it wasn't for YOU, I'd be a Hollywood Star!
