Archived Discussion Main / ShrinkingViolet

This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.

Branfish: From where does the name of this trope come?

Solandra: "Shrinking violet" is supposed to be a common term for a shy, withdrawn person. I could have also used "wilting flower" for the title, but "shrinking violet" sounded cooler. You could also say that the title refers to Violet of The Incredibles, but the term has been in usage long before the film came out.

So you could say I got the name from daily conversation.

Looney Toons: "Shrinking Violet" was also a Silver Age member of the Legion Of Super Heroes (and may well still be, for all I know); it's pretty obvious that her superhero moniker was a play on the common phrase.

fhqwhgads: I agree. Rei is an Extreme Doormat. Heck, her picture is even on the article for Extreme Doormat. Shinji is the Shrinking Violet. I'm removing Rei's entry.

Is this really an "Always Female" trope?

• Wheezy: Nope, especially not IRL.

• In the off-chance that this trope is applied to a male character, it's usually to create an instant Butt-Monkey for everyone to martyr. Being a very Acceptable Target, no one will help him or befriend him, and Heaven forbids he complains or tries to do away with his self-confidence problems. However, if said male version is in a children's show, he's usually treated more sympathetically and may overlap with Lovable Coward.

to...

• Male versions of this trope may be treated as an instant Butt-Monkey for everyone to martyr, or he might be given the role of sympathetic Plucky Comic Relief and overlap with a Lovable Coward. A male Shrinking Violet protagonist will usually face a conflict that finally forces him to come out of his shell, or he'll be thrown headlong into sociability and adventure at the start of the series by an Action Girlfriend or Magical Girlfriend.

The examples don't support the Double Standard claim of the previous version: the male examples generally aren't treated any worse than the female characters, and the premise of a shy, ordinary guy getting blindsided by a Genki Girl who opens him up to the world is practically an anime genre in itself. There's a definite double standard in real life, but fiction is surprisingly tolerant of male Shrinking Violets (probably because real-life male shyness is often mistaken for arrogance, which doesn't happen when the audience gets to share the guy's perspective).

Carol: Those results can't be trusted. She's intimidated by small dogs & sharp bits of paper.

—Between Failures #367.

They're funny, but the connection to Shrinking Violet's secondary and the header's getting overloaded with quotes. I've created and moved them over to a Shrinking Violet quotes page.