History Main / TheLostLenore

* In ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', the slow loss of his beloved Nora drove Dr. Victor Fries to become the obsessed, callous [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 Mr. Freeze]]. Bonus points for [[MeaningfulName "Nora" and "Lenore" being related derivations of "Eleanor."]]

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Some writers like to use [[Characters/SpiderManLoveInterests Gwen Stacy]] this way for [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Spider-Man]], even though he actually got over her death fairly soon in the 1970s.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMenII'': The adult [[Characters/MarvelComicsManMilesMorales Miles Morales]] met Barbara by the end of issue #3. Issue #4 starts with her funeral, and his angst is the purpose that drives him since then, including in the present.

* In ''Literature/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'', 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]].

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42198018/ Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory]]'': The titular ritual allows its caster to send a single memory back in time to their younger self, creating a parallel timeline -- but it can't be used arbitrarily. It must be used by someone who has lost the love of their life, with the intent of allowing their younger self "the chance to find their love sooner and enjoy more time together." Used judiciously, it might also be able to alter the course of history and avert great tragedies, but the core of it must be the yearning for a lost love, or else the ritual will backfire spectacularly.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Some writers like to use [[Characters/SpiderManLoveInterests Gwen Stacy]] this way for [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]], even though he actually got over her death fairly soon in the 1970s.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMenII'': The adult [[Characters/UltimateSpiderManMilesMorales Miles Morales]] met Barbara by the end of issue #3. Issue #4 starts with her funeral, and his angst is the purpose that drives him since then, including in the present.

* Valerie in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta''.

* Lori in ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead''. Then, without any warning, so is Andrea.

** 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. 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 miraculously survived, but grew up broken both 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.

* Queen Tara in ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013''.

* The ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/49689625/ Jackpot]]" opens when circumstances result in Gwen Stacy being brought back to life in a post-''[[ComicBook/CivilWar2006 Civil War]]'' reality. Her status as this is clearly invoked when Johnny Storm first sees Gwen when he comes to visit Peter and Mary Jane and immediately knows who Gwen is even though the two never met before her death, leaving Gwen wondering how she should feel that she's so well known to Peter's superhero colleagues because of how she died.

* Some writers like to use [[Characters/SpiderManLoveInterests Gwen Stacy]] this way for [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]], even though he actually got over her death fairly soon in the 1970s.

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

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiritUntamed'': Jim Prescott was happily living in Miredero with his wife Milagro, who was a performer who did stunts riding horses. One day, Milagro had an accident when one of her stunts went wrong. Now widowed with a two-year-old daughter, Jim sent Lucky to live with her grandfather and Aunt Cora in the city. Ten years later, when Lucky returns and grows attached to a horse named Spirit, Jim forbids her to go anywhere near him or any horse, clearly influenced by Milagro’s accident.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1569143125054450500
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:325:[[Franchise/StarWars https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amidala_sarcophagus.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:325:[[Literature/TheRaven Quoth the Sith Lord, "Nevermore."]]]]

%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900

** Rin Nohara of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' seems like a DisposableWoman in her one flashback appearance. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, it's revealed that the whole reason Obito follows Madara is that he wants to create a world where Rin is still alive.

* ''Fanfic/AdventuresOfTheMorningStar'': [[spoiler: Vi and Sona]] lost their girlfriend and wife respectively and are driven to SelfHarm to escape the pain. Thankfully, meeting each other seems to begin the process of helping them move on.
* In ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'', [[spoiler: Professor Philena Ivy]] is this to Brock in Ash's old timeline - [[spoiler: a [[VideoGame/HalfLife resonance cascade]] pulled her into the Unown's dimension, and Brock, who genuinely fell in love with her, went right back to hitting on girls to rebuild his broken heart]]. However, in the new timeline, [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong he manages to save her]].

* In ''Fanfic/DeathNoteIITheHiddenNote'', Near's wife, [[spoiler: Rebecca Stoodley River]], gets killed by multiple bullets in the back and bleeding to death. In front of her daughter.
* In ''Fanfic/DespairsLastResort'', Chiyo Ueda reveals that [[spoiler: a friend from her childhood who she was in love with died from a terminal illness]]. It continues to affect her.
** [[spoiler: Shizuka becomes this for Kazumi after her execution in Chapter 3. She's torn up by it throughout Chapter 4, but she tries to hide it. Starting in Chapter 5, she wears Shizuka's scarf to respect her memory.]]

* Martel to Envy in the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' fanfiction ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7986051/1/The_Seven_Names_of_Envy_Angevin The Seven Names of Envy Angevin]]''. The story is still ongoing, but it's been hinted that [[spoiler:there's even more to her death than we (or Envy) know]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Flowerfell}}'': Frisk ends up doing a HeroicSacrifice. Unfortunately, this leaves Sans heartbroken over losing his [[AffectionateNickname "sweetheart"]]. A direct follow up to the story even shows that Sans [[TearJerker visits their grave]] ''[[TearJerker every day.]]''

* ''Fanfic/TheKingNobodyWanted'':: Jon Arryn spends a lot of chapter 92 reminiscing about his beloved first wife and soul mate, who died in childbirth (and to a lesser extent his also deceased second wife, who helped him get through TheMourningAfter). The unhappiness of his current marriage amplifies these feelings.

* Hungary is revealed to be this to Austria in the ''Fanfic/NineteenEightyThreeDoomsdayStories'' AU for ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. [[spoiler:Not only is it revealed later that the reverse is also true for Hungary but it's also subverted in that she eventually becomes his and her children's GuardianAngel.]]
* ''Fanfic/WalkingInCircles'': [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Evelyn]]'s first love Anselm is this for her. His demise is one of the first major key factors for her decision of actually trying to change the status quo and escape from the Circle, and much later, for her to [[spoiler: support the plan of taking down the Veil]] with her SecondLove Solas.
* ''Fanfic/TransformersAnimatedCybertronianGenesis'': Played with in regards to Optimus Prime and Elita-1. While Elita-1 is still alive as Blackarachnia, it's outright stated, multiple times, that [[ThatManIsDead the Elita-1 Optimus knew and loved is dead]]. Her metaphorical "death" serves as a major influence on his ideals and actions throughout the story and further complicates his relationship with Blackarachnia, whom he has lingering feelings for.
* ''Fanfic/ToHellAndBackArrowverse'':
** Oliver Queen was this for Laurel Lance during his ten-year disappearance. Laurel had recently come to the realization that she had feelings for him, but had decided to wait until his return from the trip he was on to tell him. Unfortunately, [[ForegoneConclusion said trip was a boat trip to China]]. She was ''devastated'' by his death, even wondering if she could have stopped him from getting on that boat if she had just told him about how she felt. Her feelings for Oliver were strong enough that during the interim between his assumed death and return to Starling City, every relationship she has ever attempted to have has never managed to get off the ground.
** Similar to the above example, Barry Allen for Iris West. Iris was so desperate to cling to Barry's ghost that she started emulating him, chasing after sightings of the impossible and writing on his blog about it, even going as far as to sign her name to her posts. She only stopped after a particularly bad incident, due to the pleas of Barry's father Henry. While Iris never quite understood romantic implications of her reaction to Barry's death, her boyfriend Eddie did when she explained her past to him, which is why he feels so threatened when Barry turns up alive.
* In ''Fanfic/TheLightningStrike'', Ginny is clearly this for Harry, as her memory offers Harry emotional support even as he finds new partners in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{The Masks We Wear|TeenTitans}}'' Mary Grayson is this for a resurrected John Grayson.
* The ''Series/SamAndCat'' fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41628006/ A Hero's Lament]]" swiftly reveals that Carly died in a plane crash shortly after she and Sam became engaged, leaving Sam struggling with survivor's guilt and her growing feelings for Cat.
* The ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'' fanfic series ''Wars are Won'' mentions Modo's old lover Stella, who he notes he might have married if the war hadn't forced them apart. During "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/694153/1/Wars-Are-Won-Reunions Reunions]]", the Mice and Charley discover a refugee ship from Mars captained by Throttle's cousin that included Stella as one of the initial passengers, but she died of cancer a few years before (although she had a son, Sparks, who the group swiftly realise is Modo's child).
* In ''Fanfic/AForceOfFour'', [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] has to come to terms with her husband Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}'s death, at the same time [[Characters/PowerGirl other]] [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica heroes]] have to protect Earth from old Superman's enemies who decide to take advantage of his absence to destroy his adoptive world.
* ''Webcomic/ScoobAndShag'': Subverted. When Sam is taunting Popeye, his comments imply that Olive Oyl is dead, but she's later shown to be alive and well. She and Pop just don't get along anymore.

* Music/KatyPerry's music video, "TheOneThatGotAway", has the male character (portayed by Creator/DiegoLuna), be this to the woman, with the realization that she partly caused his death which still haunts her into her old age.
* In Music/{{Ludo}}'s rock opera ''Broken Bride'', the main character is obsessed with turning back time to save his wife, who died in a car accident fifteen years before. He cuddles her old clothes and was generally unhinged by it.

* 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.
* CountryMusic loves to tell stories about people pining for their lost loves; for extra [[RuleOfDrama drama]], the lost love is often ''dead'' to ensure that the narrator will never, ever have the resolution they want. In fact, it's a bit of a stock TwistEnding for songs in the genre to reveal that the object of the last three verses' obsession is gone forever. Consider [[spoiler: Music/LeAnnRimes' "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way" or the Brad Paisley/Alison Kraus duet "Whiskey Lullaby"]]. Of note is that both of the above examples have a woman pining over a man, presumably because it's more poignant to hear a feminine voice sing a dirge, as per the OneWomanWail.
* Turned [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] and ultimately PlayedForLaughs by the folk ballad ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_My_Darling,_Clementine My Darling Clementine]]''.
* Music/MyDyingBride loves this trope, as you can probably tell by their name. [[http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/mydyingbride/thelightattheendoftheworld.html This album]] has quite a few examples.

* "Tsui no Hate" from Music/AkikoShikata's Greek mythology album ''Istoria ~Kalliope~" is about Orpheus's deep grief over failing to bring Eurydice back from the underworld.

* The love interest in the music video for Music/CelineDion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now."
* In the rock opera ''David Comes to Life'' by the punk band Fucked Up, the character of Veronica is killed early in the album, as impetus for David to spend the rest of the story angsting about her death and trying to determine whether he or someone else was responsible for it.
* The music video for the ''Dirty Vegas'' song [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_Go_By_(Dirty_Vegas_song) Days Go By]] has a man breakdancing on a street corner. Onlookers ask and answer questions about him - he danced there as a young man and lost his girlfriend and now he dances at the street corner once a year every day to bring her back.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead.'' Though the story begins InMediasRes, the CharacterNarrator 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.

* Roger's ex-girlfriend April in ''{{Theatre/Rent}}'' is undoubtedly a Lost Lenore, as his entire angst over her suicide and reveal that they've got AIDS is what keeps him locked in the apartment for the better part of a year and prevents him from pursuing a proper relationship with Mimi. The film version even goes as far as including a {{happier home movie}} of Roger and April.

* In ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', [[spoiler: Nagisa]] is this for [[spoiler: Tomoya]].
* [[spoiler:Godot]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney - Trials & Tribulations'' wakes up from a five-year-long coma caused by [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne's poison]] only to learn that [[spoiler: Mia Fey has died. He then immediately sets his sights on Phoenix Wright, blaming him for "not protecting" Mia, and switches sides of the law, from defense attorney to prosector, just to take Phoenix down as punishment. He spends much of the game berating and insulting Phoenix, giving him the nickname "Trite," and even frequently throws boiling hot coffee at him. During the final case of the game, the true nature of his hatred slowly comes to light--as Phoenix gets closer and closer to uncovering Godot as the real killer, Godot almost goads him on and gives him hints, showing that he knows deep down that he knows he's wrong about Phoenix and actually just blames himself for Mia's death. Finally, when Phoenix is about to prove he's the killer, Godot suddenly sees Mia's spirit alongside Phoenix and realizes that she's been "living on through him" all this time. He acquiesces, confesses to the crime, and apologizes to Phoenix and Maya for letting his own misplaced anger cause so much short-sighted, self-centered violence]].

*** In a far more dark take on this trope than most other examples, this ends up serving as [[spoiler: Mikan]]'s motivation for murder. [[spoiler: When her memories of her time as a Remnant of Despair are restored by the despair disease, she kills ''two'' people in the name of despair to honor her dead "beloved", who she giddily allows herself to be executed in the hope of being reunited with in death. Said "beloved" is [[BigBad the Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima]], who very likely never cared for Mikan to begin with]].

*** Similarly in a far more twisted example like [[spoiler: Mikan]] from the previous game, [[spoiler:Korekiyo's SerialKiller activities were spurred by his [[BrotherSisterIncest romantic relationship with his sister]], becoming a murderer in the belief he could give her friends in the afterlife, which causes him to commit a double murder after judging Angie and Tenko as being "worthy friends". [[CruelAndUnusualDeath This is ultimately used against him in his execution]], where the spirit of his sister appears to gleefully exorcise him alongside Monokuma, [[FateWorseThanDeath preventing him from being reunited with her in death as he wanted]]]].

* ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'':
** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Satoshi Houjou's disappearance (he disappeared a year prior to the story's events, and hence is believed by most to be dead) is the main drive for Shion Sonozaki--how this affects her changes arc by arc ([[spoiler:it depends if she's subject to the local HatePlague]]); she may throw herself into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against those she sees as responsible (i.e. almost everyone she knows), or she'll devote herself to looking after Satoko, Satoshi's little sister. It should be noted, however, that Shion only seems to truly believe that he is dead during the arcs where she goes on her RROR ([[spoiler:she believes her family killed him because of the prejudice against his family]]). In other arcs, she seems to hold at least a little hope that he will return (even if it is to reassure Satoko, who believes this as well). [[spoiler:The final arc in ''Kai'' reveals that he is indeed alive but in a coma. She decides IWillWaitForYou.]]
** 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. 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 miraculously survived, but grew up broken both 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.

* [[spoiler:Allison]] from ''WebAnimation/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.

'''The late ms. Poe:''' My name was Virginia, you ass.

* Reginald's wife in ''WebVideo/DoomHouse'' died before the story begins, which made Reginald very depressed.
* 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.]]

* [[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender The Avatar-verse]]

** The clairvoyant mutant Destiny was this for {{Characters/Mystique}}, who according to her creator Creator/ChrisClaremont, went insane after her partner's death.

* ''Fanfic/Ben10Ultimate'': Along with Ben's family and friends, his girlfriend Julie was killed right before he went to the DCAU. He mourns her loss as much as he mourns the others, but it's her death that seems to have hit him the hardest (as revealed by the Black Mercy). He later admits to Kara that he'll likely never love someone the same way he loved Julie, but that he knows he can still have relationships and love others.

* ''Fanfic/RidingASunset'': The war has taken the lives of multiple Autobots, including [[spoiler: Cliffjumper, who is this trope for Arcee, and Elita-1, who is this trope for Optimus Prime]].

The Lost Lenore is another character's deceased love interest. This kind of tragedy is one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook and named for the famous deceased in Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's poems "Literature/TheRaven" and "Literature/{{Lenore}}". In short, the three defining criteria are:

The Lost Lenore is another character's deceased love interest. This kind of tragedy is one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook and named for the famous deceased in Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's poems "Literature/TheRaven" and "Literature/Lenore". In short, the three defining criteria are:

The Lost Lenore is another character's deceased love interest. This kind of tragedy is one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook and named for the famous deceased in Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's poem "Literature/TheRaven". In short, the three defining criteria are:

Lenores can also become lost through [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], [[InnocentBystander Innocent Bystander Syndrome]], a tragic accident, or Random Act of God.

* Cyndia/Cecelia from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' is unusual in that she does Lost Lenore duty not for a hero of the series but for a villain, Pegasus.

* In ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'', [[spoiler: Professor Philena Ivy]] is this to Brock in Ash's old timeline - [[spoiler: a [[VideoGame/HalfLife resonance cascade]] pulled her into the Unown's dimension, and Brock, who genuinely fell in love with her, went right back to hitting on girls to rebuild his broken heart]]. However, in the new timeline, he manages to save her.

* In the direct-to-video prequel of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIIArielsBeginning'', [[MissingMom Ariel's mother Queen Athena is killed]] when she is run over by a pirate ship. Her husband King Triton is so distraught at her death that he bans music from the kingdom because it reminds him of his late wife, and develops a severe distrust of humans that will be in full force by the time the first movie starts.
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/MelodyTime'''s Pecos Bill segment, Slue-Foot Sue is launched to the moon and never comes down, and Bill never gets over the loss. He gives up being a cowboy, goes back to the coyotes [[RaisedByWolves who raised him]], and every night [[HowlOfSorrow howls at the moon]] in grief for Sue; the coyotes join in out of sympathy and [[JustSoStory this is why all coyotes howl at the moon.]]

* A male example in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''. Calhoun’s fiancé Brad Scott died before their game’s main story. His death is Calhoun’s primary motivation for wanting to destroy the Cy-Bugs.
* 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 GenerationalTrauma in the family.

* ''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.