Markup View

Author: kjnoren

Nov 16th 2013 at 7:13:35 AM

Stab at a new description:

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->"Then, when he [Achilles] saw dawn breaking over beach and sea, he yoked his horses to his chariot, and bound the body of Hektor behind it that he might drag it about. Thrice did he drag it round the tomb of the son of Menoitios, and then went back into his tent, leaving the body on the ground full length and with its face downwards.
--> ''TheIlliad'', translation by Samuel Butler

Deliberately abusing the corpse of a fallen enemy for no practical reason. In most cases, this means doing violence to the dead body, but it can also take other forms. More specifically, it means excessively breaking the cultural traditions regarding how to treat the dead.

The most common way this can express itself is in mutilating the body, destroy possessions of the dead (which is further driven if the possessions could've been used for more benevolent purposes), or actually going out of their way to finding the spirit or soul of the villain and taunting them even further. However, it means going beyond simply showing disdain for the dead, eg by pissing on the corpse or the grave--that falls under LastDisrespects.

Since this trope depends on culture, it also means that if the abuser and the corpse comes from different cultures, the abuser might do something which is considered common-place in their own culture, that is treated like abuse by the friends of the dead. Such examples can also be included, as they effectively discuss the trope.

May overlap with Dead Guy On Display. Contrast ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill, where the "abuse" is done for practical reasons. Can be the source of WhatTheHellHero or a CreepySouvenir.

As a DeathTrope, spoilers are unmarked.
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Probably needs some inclusion of links to some MoralityTropes.