Hi
The current is definitely bad. I like the first suggestion a little better than the second.
No, the other one.
I agree. The first has better focus on her, rather than on the other two, so it's more clear who the trope is about.
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1.1 works for me.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
1.1 seems good to me as well.
One minor problem I see here. In both suggestions, the maiden looks of lower rank than the love interest, which is not at the heart of the trope and is more in line of Ignored Enamored Underling (where 1.1. would fit much better than current).
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I think Ignored Enamored Underling is a bit more specific than that. "Underling" means that the character is actually an employee, sidekick, assistant, etc. to the character they're enamored with. It's not about social status really, but the specific relationship between two characters. Since image 1.1 doesn't suggest that Eponine works for Marius, just that she has a lower social status than him and Cosette, it doesn't really apply to Ignored Enamored Underling. And nothing in Unrequited Tragic Maiden specifies that the characters have to be of equal social rank, just general worthiness in terms of looks and personality.
The OP doesn't look like "the ideal romantic interest". The example even says that Eponine is a subversion because she's more pitiful than tragic.
Clock is set.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Clock is up with no progress; closing.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
The page image is a picture of The Lady Of Shalott sitting in a boat and looking sad. It does convey "tragic maiden" (she's a girl and she looks sad) but there's nothing visible in the picture that relates to unrequited love. The image is dependent on the viewer knowing the source of the image. I think these pictures from Les Misérables might be a bit closer to actually illustrating the trope:
Eponine, Marius, and Cosette
◊. You can see Marius and Cosette, so you know they're the ones in a relationship, but Eponine is the center of the image, facing the viewer, and higher in the shot. Plus, she illustrates important qualities of the trope: she looks sad about Marius and Cosette being together, her ragged appearance suggests she's tragic in addition to being in unrequited love, and she's good-looking.
Similar scene
◊. This one is higher-quality, but Eponine doesn't look as sad or important.
Other suggestions would be great; these are just meant to be a general idea of images that actually illustrate what the trope is about.
edited 13th Feb '15 1:27:21 PM by Lullabee