History Main / TheLostLenore

* ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'': Rika, the founder of the RFA, is dearly missed by all the other members after she was supposedly DrivenToSuicide according to V (the cops NeverFoundTheBody and V has been suspiciously dodgy about talking about her death) but the ones most affected by this are her cousin Yoosung and her boyfriend V. The former still has not gotten over her death and tends to bring her up the most, and on [[RomanceGame his route]] he repeatedly compares the heroine to her and asks her to be his new Rika -- the goal of the route being to help him move on. He also repeatedly blames V for Rika's death and tends to antagonize him. V, meanwhile, has grown so distant from the rest of the RFA that he barely shows up in chats, and when he does he only speaks vaguely. He also tends to blame himself for her death. [[spoiler:Completely subverted once you start Another Route -- not only is she still alive but she, [[TheDogWasTheMastermind of all people]], is the one running [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]]. Yoosung has no idea, but V is fully aware and blames himself for not only encouraging her SanitySlippage by ignoring her rapidly spiraling mental health and pleas for help by telling her that he was the only one she needed, but also for [[FakingTheDead telling everyone she had killed herself]] rather than admitting he let her abscond to the mountains to start Mint Eye once she had become truly delusional and since then hasn't done anything substantial to help either Rika regain her sense of reality or the cultists living there.]]

* ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'': Rika, the founder of the RFA, is dearly missed by all the other members after she was supposedly DrivenToSuicide according to V (the cops NeverFoundTheBody and V has been suspiciously dodgy about talking about her death) but the ones most affected by this are her cousin Yoosung and her boyfriend V. The former still has not gotten over her death and tends to bring her up the most, and on [[RomanceGame his route]] he repeatedly compares the heroine to her and asks her to be his new Rika -- the goal of the route being to help him move on. He also repeatedly blames V for Rika's death and tends to antagonize him. V, meanwhile, has grown so distant from the rest of the RFA that he barely shows up in chats, and when he does he only speaks vaguely. He also tends to blame himself for her death. [[spoiler:Completely subverted once you start Another Route -- not only is she still alive but she, [[TheDogWasTheMastermind of all people]], is the one running [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]]. Yoosung has no idea, but V is fully aware and blames himself for not only encouraging her SanitySlippage by ignoring her rapidly spiraling mental health and pleas for help, but also for [[FakingTheDead telling everyone she had killed herself]] rather than admitting he let her abscond to the mountains to start Mint Eye once she had become truly delusional and since then hasn't done anything substantial to help either Rika regain her sense of reality or the cultists living there.]]

* ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'': Rika, the founder of the RFA, is dearly missed by all the other members after she was supposedly DrivenToSuicide according to V (the cops NeverFoundTheBody and V has been suspiciously dodgy about talking about her death) but the ones most affected by this are her cousin Yoosung and her boyfriend V. The former still has not gotten over her death and tends to bring her up the most, and on [[RomanceGame his route]] he repeatedly compares the heroine to her and asks her to be his new Rika -- the goal of the route being to help him move on. He also repeatedly blames V for Rika's death and tends to antagonize him. V, meanwhile, has grown so distant from the rest of the RFA that he barely shows up in chats, and when he does he only speaks vaguely. He also tends to blame himself for her death. [[spoiler:Completely subverted later on -- not only is she still alive but she, [[TheDogWasTheMastermind of all people]], is the one running [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]]. Yoosung has no idea, but V is fully aware and blames himself for not only encouraging her SanitySlippage by ignoring her rapidly spiraling insanity and pleas for help, but also for [[FakingTheDead telling everyone she had killed herself rather than admitting he let her abscond to the mountains to start Mint Eye once she had become truly delusional.]]

* ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'': Rika, the founder of the RFA, is missed by all the other members after she was DrivenToSuicide, but the ones most affected by this are her cousin Yoosung and her boyfriend V. The former still has not gotten over her death and tends to bring her up the most, and on [[RomanceGame his route]] he repeatedly compares the heroine to her and asks her to be his new Rika- the goal of the route being to help him move on. He also repeatedly blames V for Rika's death and tends to antagonize him. V, meanwhile, has grown so distant from the rest of the RFA that he barely shows up in chats, and when he does he only speaks vaguely. He also tends to blame himself for her death. [[spoiler:Completely subverted later on- not only is she still alive but she, [[TheDogWasTheMastermind of all people]], is the BigBad behind [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]]. Yoosung has no idea, but V is fully aware and blames himself for [[DomesticAbuse her abusing him]] and turning against the RFA.]]

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead.'' Though the story begins InMediasRes, the {{Narrator}} spends portions of the second episode recounting how she had utterly convinced herself that her suddenly vanished wife was dead and was adjusting well with the help of grief support groups. It's the sight of Alice ''alive'' on TV that kick-starts the Narrator's new, life-defining quest, traveling the country as a long-haul trucker in the hopes of hunting Alice down and getting an explanation for TheConspiracy that prompted her disappearance.

* The Music/{{Vocaloid}} song"15 Years of Pursuing a Cute Boy" by Manbo-dead-behind-the-house-P tells the story of a girl who, beginning in childhood, spends fifteen years writing love poems to a boy who never sends a reply. She becomes an accomplished author, endures extreme fluctuations in health from overworking herself, and sustains a head injury causing amnesia, erasing every memory but her love for him. She spends years not remembering anything but him, slowly growing more anxious and fearful with her memory not returning. One day she finally remembers everything and cries with the returning knowledge that he's been dead for the fifteen years she's been writing to him.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] misplacing a bottle of the fabric softener "Lenor" ("Downy" in the USA).

* Manny's wife in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge''. When he gains a SecondLove in the form of Elllie, he's unsure about declaring his feelings to her due to this fact.

* Another male example is in ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}''. Pedro gave up his life for Alma and their three children, it's his sacrifice that created the miracle that gives the Madrigals' their gifts. Yet Alma still struggles with the trauma from his horrific fate and that she couldn't find it within her to grieve him properly is what causes most of the generational trauma in the family.

* Lucy Barker in ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'', Sweeney Todd's beloved wife who took poison after being raped by Judge Turpin. [[spoiler:Except she isn't really dead. Mrs. Lovett lied. And for much worse, Sweeney kills her ''without knowing it's her''.]]

** In the first half of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', it appears Kinzō's desire to revive his dead mistress (Beatrice) pushed him to start a gruesome ceremony that involves sacrificing his own family (and more often than not, himself). And in the second half of the story [[spoiler:it turns out Kinzō was dead more than a year before the start of the game. Actually the original Beatrice, Beatrice Castiglioni, [[DeathByChildbirth died giving birth to her and Kinzō's child]]. This drove him to despair, and he ended up [[ParentalIncest raping their daughter]] as she grew up to look more and more like her mother. Said daughter gave birth to a child, and she too died shortly after. Kinzō then gave that ChildByRape to his daughter-in-law Natsuhi to raise because she couldn't conceive an heir; since she already was very unstable, her response was to throw the baby off a cliff. Said baby survived miraculously but grew up broken physically and psychologically, to the point of developing multiple [[SplitPersonality Split Personalities]] and planning a murder [[LoveHurts motivated by love]] and [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds all the crap they went through]]]]. ForWantOfANail indeed.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Jaune is driven to become the best Huntsman he can be by the death of someone he once had strong feelings for. [[spoiler:When his team partner and LoveInterest, Pyrrha, is killed by Cinder, it triggers Jaune to help Ruby in her quest to find Haven Academy and learn who the villains are and what they want. He incorporates Pyrrha's shield metal into his own shield, wears a red sash like she did, secretly trains every night to her training videos, and recknlessly challenges Cinder when he confronts her again at Haven. When Weiss is almost killed by Cinder, he's so terrified that it'll be like Pyrrha's death all over again, that it triggers the awakening of his Semblance. It's only when he encounters a statue in honour of her in Volume 6 that he has a heart-to-heart with Ren and Nora about his DeathSeeker behaviour since her death. They resolve to continue fighting as though she's still a part of their team.]]

** [[AlternateSelf Nightfall]] began time-traveling and creating alternate realities after she lost her original universe's Gary (who she was engaged to) [[spoiler:when he sacrificed himself closing the breach to Final Space]]. She spent the next twenty years traveling through hundreds of alternate realities trying to create a timeline where Gary's life is saved, but she always failed until she reached the prime timeline.
* Razer's wife, Ilana from ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries''. Her death was the reason he joined the Red Lanterns. [[spoiler: Invoked by [[BigBad Atrocitus]], who not only started the war on Razer's planet in hopes of creating some Red Lantern material but murdered his wife to achieve precisely this effect, pushing him over the edge.]]

* It runs in the family. Victoria only existed because her cousin Charlotte ([[BigScrewedUpFamily the only legitimate grandchild of George III at the time]]) died in childbirth in November 1817. Creator/LordByron screamed when he heard -- she was basically the only member of the royal family anyone liked and sent a country into mourning. Charlotte's death spelled potential disaster for the royal family and spurred several of her aging uncles to either marry or remarry. Victoria's father, Prince Edward, was 50 when he married her mother Princess Victoria in 1818, and 51 when his daughter was born the following year.
** Charlotte's grief-stricken husband happened to be Victoria's maternal uncle Leopold, who eventually went on to become King of Belgium instead -- and named his equally tragic daughter "Charlotte"... but not before briefly morganatically marrying a ReplacementGoldfish actress who happened to look very similar. Several people opined that Charlotte was the last time in a long life Leopold was known to show any warmth or spontaneity.

* Creator/PatrickMoore's fiancee was killed in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by a German bomb which hit the ambulance she was in (she was a nurse). Moore never got over her death, saying later in life that "there was no one else for me ... second best is no good for me ... I would have liked a wife and family, but it was not to be." Moore's hatred for Germans lasted his entire life; he never forgave them for her death.[[note]]This has been disputed as there are no contemporary records matching this account; regardless, Moore remained a bachelor until his death.[[/note]]

* Ironically, while the TropeNamer is a main character in ''WebVideo/EdgarAllanPoesMurderMysteryDinnerParty'', as a [[WightInAWeddingDress ghost]], ''her'' lover Guy de Vere became this for her when he killed himself after her death, and was unable to be brought back as a ghost like she was. In addition, [[spoiler: Annabel Lee and H.G. Wells]] become this for [[spoiler: Poe and Lenore]], respectively by the end (although [[spoiler: they come back as ghosts in the epilogue]]).

* Ironically, Lenore from Edgar Allen Poe's Murder Mystery Invite Only Casual Dinner Party/ Gala For Friends Potluck isn't exactly this. She is dead, and a love interest, but is present for the entire series.

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', Ruka Rengoku’s death heavily impacted the Rengoku household, her husband Shinjuro lost all his will to continue being the Flame Hashira coupled with him losing faith in his swordsmanship abilities after reading on the Sun Breathing capabilities, with the eldest son Kyojuro trying to shoulder the weight of his family all by himself on succeeding his father as the Flame Hashira.

* Yuria in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''. The first major villain holds her captive before she dies, and after about halfway through the series every single new character had something to do with her in his backstory. One guy is her brother, another her half brother, and ''several'' others were attempted love interests, including the BigBad. The last story arc is entirely about her; [[spoiler: at the very end this trope is subverted, and she is revealed to be alive]].

* In ''Manga/InuYasha'', Kikyou is an unusual and complicated example. She and the title character were in love fifty years prior to the events of the series until Naraku manipulated them into turning on each other and murdered Kikyou, leaving Inuyasha very much affected by her perceived betrayal and her death, and making it possible for the [[MineralMacguffin Shikon Jewel]] to manifest in the present in the possession of Kikyou's reincarnation, Kagome. Matters are then made much more complicated when Kikyou is resurrected and comes back with a bunch of baggage of her own to sort through regarding her death: while she was dead and gone, Inuyasha could make steps in the process of getting over her death and his other past traumas, but once she's back, neither fully dead nor properly alive, he's trapped between his unresolved feelings for her (including his guilt over her death) and his growing feelings for Kagome, and Kagome sadly acknowledges that as much as she loves Inuyasha, she can't compete with Kikyou because Kikyou's death has given her a place in his heart that she can't match, [[spoiler: though she later decides that even if that's true and she ''is'' jealous of Kikyou, she will stop comparing herself to Kikyou ''and'' will love Inuyasha in her own terms]]. When Kikyou is then KilledOffForReal over the course of the series, Inuyasha is finally able to reach closure regarding their relationship; while he still grieves for her, she doesn't haunt him the way she had up to that point. However, she continues to influence the plot with her final death, both by saving Kohaku's life and by leaving behind some of her purifying power in a shard of the broken Shikon Jewel, making it possible for the Jewel to be purified and defeated.

* "15 Years of Pursuing a Cute Boy" in the Music/{{Vocaloid}} style sung by Hatsune Miku tells the story of a girl who, beginning in childhood, spends fifteen years writing love poems to a boy who never sends a reply. She becomes an accomplished author, endures extreme fluctuations in health from overworking herself, and sustains a head injury causing amnesia, erasing every memory but her love for him. She spends years not remembering anything but him, slowly growing more anxious and fearful with her memory not returning. One day she finally remembers everything and cries with the returning knowledge that he's been dead for the fifteen years she's been writing to him. The song ends with her digging up a time capsule with a letter inside that the two of them buried as children.

* TheLostLenore/{{Film}}

The Lost Lenore, AKA The Dead Love Interest -- not parent, not sibling, not offspring, ''love interest''. One of TheOldestOnesInTheBook, named for the famous deceased in Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's "Literature/TheRaven". In short, the three defining criteria are:

!!Example subpages:

!!Other examples:

* Casca from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' is this to Guts, and is an interesting zigzagged case throughout. She did not die but was nonetheless "lost" via a brutal RapeAsDrama ordeal that left her [[GoMadFromTheRevelation psychologically gone]], making her a Lenore AND an [[TheOphelia Ophelia]]. Because the story starts InMediasRes, this technically happens before the story begins [[ProlongedPrologue during a flashback]], not to mention that even though Casca is not dead, she has been insane for most of the series and her insanity has played a bigger role in the course of the story than when she was sane, since A) her insanity caused by [[spoiler:Griffith violently raping her in front of Guts]] drove Guts to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge]] the most; B) the loss of love and affection that Casca provided Guts [[HeartbrokenBadass constantly anguishes him]]; and C) a majority of the story arcs put focus on Guts struggling to find a cure for Casca's insanity, thus trying to make her "unlost", which he ''finally'' partially succeeds at after more than twenty years (in real life), just before [[DiedDuringProduction the author passed away]] and left the fate of the series as a whole up in the air.

* [[spoiler: Eliade]] in ''Manga/DGrayMan''.

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]

-->''Every time I close my eyes''\\
''It's like a dark paradise''\\
''No one compares to you''\\
''I'm scared that you''\\
''Won't be waiting on the other side''

[[folder:Theater]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', both Surma Stibnite and Jeanne are this, to a degree.
** Jeanne actually has her ''own'' Lenore; an unnamed elf whom she was divided from by the Court-Forest war. Even when he was alive, she was constantly longing for him and sending messages to the Forest. And when they both died as the result of a plot by [[spoiler:the Court leaders (and Jeanne's jealous StalkerWithACrush)]], her grief and anger were so strong that she [[spoiler: lived on as a ghost, dwelling for ''hundreds of years,'' at least, in the spot where she died, violently attacking anyone -- good or evil -- who came down there. Jeanne UsedToBeASweetKid, but her actions make it clear that she's just an EmptyShell now. There is ''nothing'' in her but sorrow and the desire for revenge]]. Unusually for the trope, she's an example whose sadness drove her to evil instead of stasis.
* Inverted in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''. [[spoiler:Rachel didn't die, she tried to kill Bam seemingly nowhere and believes along with the rest of the cast to have succeeded.]]

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead.'' Though the story begins InMediasRes, the {{Narrator}} spends portions of the second episode recounting how she had utterly convinced herself that her suddenly vanished wife was dead and was adjusting well with the help of grief support groups. It's the sight of Alice ''alive'' on TV that kick-starts the Narrator's new, life-defining quest, traveling the country as a long-haul trucker in the hopes of hunting Alice down and getting an explanation for TheConspiracy that prompted her disappearance.
* Reginald's wife in ''WebVideo/DoomHouse'' died before the story begins, which made Reginald very depressed.

* [[spoiler:Allison]] from Machinima/RedVsBlue, whose death many years before the series begins arguably is indirectly responsible for everything that happens in it, as it royally screws up her boyfriend/husband, who goes on to become [[spoiler:the Director of Project Freelancer]], which proceeds to get deep into Crazyland. Mostly in [[spoiler:the Director's]] efforts to get his beloved [[spoiler:Allison]] back.
* During WebVideo/MonsterFactory's playthrough of ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', the boys become attached to a [[CompanionCube radroach corpse they name Roachie,]] and he becomes [[RealityWarper The Final Pam's]] [[ParentalIncest sons-band]]. Roachie de-spawns and they mourn him of the rest of the playthrough. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Really.]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Jaune is driven to become the best Huntsman he can be by the death of someone he once had strong feelings for. [[spoiler:When his team partner and LoveInterest, Pyrrha, is killed by Cinder, it triggers Jaune to help Ruby in her quest to find Haven Academy and learn who the villains are and what they want. He incorporates Pyrrha's shield metal into his own shield, wears a red sash like she did, secretly trains every night to her training videos, and recknlessly challenges Cinder when he confronts her again at Haven. When Weiss is almost killed by Cinder, he's so terrified that it'll be like Pyrrha's death all over again, that it triggers the awakening of his Semblance. It's only when he encounters a statue in honour of her in Volume 6 that he has a heart-to-heart with Ren and Nora about his DeathSeeker behaviour since her death. They resolve to continue fighting as though she's still a part of their team.]]
* ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions'' features the {{Trope Namer|s}} in a one-off gag:
-->'''Creator/EdgarAllanPoe''': LENORE!!!!!!\\
'''The late ms. Poe''': My name was Virginia, you ass

** ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': We have Hiroshi Sato's wife, who was murdered by firebending gangsters. [[spoiler: Her death resulted in him secretly supporting the Equalists, supplying them with weapons to fight off benders.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'':

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' had Duckman's beloved wife Beatrice, who died before the show started, but appears in a few flashbacks. Unlike literally ''every other woman Duckman ever met'', with Beatrice, he was a ChivalrousPervert rather than TheHedonist that he is in the series itself. Even the OTHER characters remark on how much his wife had actually meant to Duckman. [[spoiler: The series finale ended on a cliffhanger revealing that she was still alive.]] This is at its most notable when Duckman is haunted by dozens of alternate universe versions of himself and is visited by a version of himself from his wedding day decades prior.
--> '''Past!Duckman''': Am I doing the right thing marrying Beatrice? Do we [[GrowOldWithMe grow old together]]?\\
'''Duckman''': ...[[ExactWords you're going to love her until the day you die]].\\
'''Past!Duckman''': ...maybe I don't need to know anything but that.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge.

If the Lost Lenore was murdered and StuffedIntoTheFridge, a RoaringRampageOfRevenge usually ensues. Which leads to a crucial identifying point: many [[ILetGwenStacyDie Gwen Stacys]] are also Lost Lenores, but not every Lost Lenore is also a Gwen Stacy, as someone explicitly blaming themself for the Gwen Stacy's death is an identifying criterion for this trope, whereas this is not always the case for a Lost Lenore.

Related tropes include: CynicismCatalyst, DeathByOriginStory, ILetGwenStacyDie, DeathByChildbirth, StuffedIntoTheFridge, CrusadingWidower, TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth, TheMourningAfter, VictorianNovelDisease.

* Casca from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' is this to Guts, and is an interesting zigzagged case throughout. She did not die but was nonetheless "lost" via a brutal StuffedIntoTheFridge ordeal that left her [[GoMadFromTheRevelation psychologically gone]], making her a Lenore AND an [[TheOphelia Ophelia]]. Because the story starts InMediasRes, this technically happens before the story begins [[ProlongedPrologue during a flashback]], not to mention that even though Casca is not dead, she has been insane for most of the series and her insanity has played a bigger role in the course of the story than when she was sane, since A) her insanity caused by [[spoiler:Griffith violently raping her in front of Guts]] drove Guts to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge]] the most; B) the loss of love and affection that Casca provided Guts [[HeartbrokenBadass constantly anguishes him]]; and C) a majority of the story arcs put focus on Guts struggling to find a cure for Casca's insanity, thus trying to make her "unlost", which he ''finally'' partially succeeds at after more than twenty years (in real life), just before [[DiedDuringProduction the author passed away]] and left the fate of the series as a whole up in the air.

* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' is notorious for this. Many, many stories have this progression: "[[BoyMeetsGirl Gundam Pilot meets Girl]], [[StarCrossedLovers Girl pilots enemy superweapon]], [[StuffedIntoTheFridge Girl dies]], [[ILetGwenStacyDie Gundam Pilot gets angsty]]". The [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Original]], ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta]], [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ ZZ]], [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Seed]]'' and ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny Destiny]]'' all use this plot point. It's easier to name the shows that don't, and only ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam 08th MS Team]]'' openly defies it.

* ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' has Amou Kanade, Tsubasa's deceased singing partner. To Tsubasa, Kanade was her everything, and a good deal of season 1 was spent dealing with the grief from this loss. The dealing includes almost killing [[TheHero Hibiki]] and attempting a blatantly suicidal HeroicSacrifice.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Jaune is driven to become the best Huntsman he can be by the death of someone he once had strong feelings for. [[spoiler:When his team partner and LoveInterest, Pyrrha, is killed by Cinder, it triggers Jaune to help Ruby in her quest to find Haven Academy and learn who the villains are and what they want. He incorporates Pyrrha's shield metal into his own shield, wears a red sash like she did, and recknlessly challenges Cinder when he confronts her again at Haven. When Weiss is almost killed by Cinder, he's so terrified that it'll be like Pyrrha's death all over again, that it triggers the awakening of his Semblance. It's only when he encounters a statue in honour of her in Volume 6 that he has a heart-to-heart with Ren and Nora about his DeathSeeker behaviour since her death. They resolve to continue fighting as though she's still a part of their team.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** The death of [[spoiler:Pyrrha Nikos]] holds significant weight towards the two big people who were affected the most by it -- Jaune Arc, her [[spoiler: {{Love Interest|s}}]], who is shown to [[spoiler: train through recordings she made and flipped his shit when her murderer decided to press those buttons when they meet]]; and main heroine Ruby Rose, who [[spoiler: witnessed her death, tried to flash fry her murderer with her until-then-unknown supernatural powers and then tried again when said murderer went after Jaune]].
** Summer Rose, the MissingMom of heroine Ruby. After Raven abandoned her family, Summer stepped in and became Tai's SecondLove. Together, they raised Yang and Ruby in a loving home, with Yang recalling her stepmother as a "super mom". Her death left an enormous void in the Xiao Long-Rose household, with Tai falling into a deep depression and Yang taking over trying to care for her sister. Though the family managed to recover enough to rebuild their lives, it's clear that Tai has never fully recovered from losing Summer and their daughters are haunted by her memory.
** In a shocking twist, [[spoiler: BigGood Ozpin was once Ozma, the lost lover of BigBad Salem. Her grief over losing him caused her to challenge the Gods, leading to her [[CompleteImmortality Curse]] and the downfall of ancient Humanity. The God of Light did eventually reincarnate Ozma as his agent, but his reunion with Salem would only lead to further tragedy. Their marriage ended in bloodshed when their differing attitude towards the "new" Humanity caused Ozma to flee with their children. Salem's rage over Ozma's betrayal turned into a secret war that has raged for thousands of years, with the fate of the world at stake]].

* In ''LightNovel/MushokuTensei'', the death of [[spoiler:Roxy in an alternate timeline]] drove her husband [[spoiler:Rudeus]] mad with grief and rage against the killer, [[spoiler:Hitogami]]. He ended up driving away the rest of his family and killed [[spoiler:Eris]] because he was so paranoid he thought she was working for his enemy. He finally developed a spell to [[spoiler:travel back in time and warn his past self at the cost of his life]].

* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', one of the endings for Heaven's Feel has [[spoiler:Shirou sacrificing himself to destroy the Holy Grail. Sakura refuses to accept Shirou's death and waits for the day Shirou returns until she eventually dies of old age]].

* It runs in the family. Victoria only existed because her cousin Charlotte ([[BigScrewedUpFamily the only legitimate grandchild of George III at the time]]) died in childbirth in 1817. Creator/LordByron screamed when he heard -- she was basically the only member of the royal family anyone liked and sent a country into mourning. Charlotte's grief-stricken husband happened to be Victoria's maternal uncle Leopold, who eventually went on to become King of Belgium instead -- and named his equally tragic daughter "Charlotte"... but not before briefly morgantically marrying a ReplacementGoldfish actress who happened to look very similar. Several people opined that Charlotte was the last time in a long life Leopold was known to show any warmth or spontaneity.

** [[Characters/HawkeyeSupportingCharacters Mockingbird]] was also one for ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'' after her apparent death in ''ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers'' # 100 (it was actually a Skrull and she came back at the end of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion''). Her death led to him leaving the Avengers, spiralling into a deep depression and living in the middle of nowhere, hunting animals to eat. He eventually returned to civilisation after an old mentor helped him to realise that Bobbi wouldn't have wanted him to live that way. Her death still lingered with him, though, and his ideal life in House of M involved being in a relationship with her.

** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' has [[spoiler:Chiaki]] for Hajime. Her death leaves him utterly crushed, and he constantly mentions how he'll never forget her. He's also reluctant to [[spoiler:go through with the shut-down of the Neo World Program because it might cause him to lose his memories of her]]. In a twist of fate, ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'' retroactively reveals [[spoiler:her real-world counterpart]] was ''also'' this for him, [[spoiler:with his memories of her being so strong they carried over even when he had his personality and memories ''excised'' and became Izuru, and the remainder of his love for her ended up being the biggest catalyst in why he masterminded the events of the game in the first place]].

* The TropeCodifier was Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, the wife of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe and the inspiration for the various Lenore characters in his writings. [[KissingCousins She was his 13-year-old cousin whom he married]] when he was 27. [[note]]Although their marriage was -- according to ''some'' biographers -- never consummated and they were LikeBrotherAndSister.[[/note]] Regardless, it was a happy marriage and according to friends of theirs, they adored each other. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, and Poe never quite got over it. Any of his poems with a dead young woman -- such as "Annabel Lee", "Ulalume", and "Lenore" -- are believed to have been about Virginia.