History VisualNovel / TheHouseInFataMorgana

* JerkassHasAPoint: Nellie's betrothed, Arthur, is easy to dislike, what with his antiquated views on marriage and [[KickTheDog cruel remarks]], but it's not like anything he levies against Nellie is ''wrong''. He seems no more happy than she is at being married off to someone they dislike, he simply tries to take the hit with a bit of dignity. He gets ADayInTheLimelight in the spinoff, which makes it clear that he's not a bad person at all, and that there was a time when he did genuinely want to earn Nellie's affection...which was focused entirely on her brother.

* HistoryRepeats: The main theme of ''Reincarnation'', [[spoiler:but with a positive twist in each story told. Nellie falls for her full-blooded brother once again, and tries to begin a sexual relationship with him, but Mell musters the courage to face the problem and Nellie is able to start overcoming her feelings. Yukimasa is once more plagued by a desire to inflict violence, but the vow he engraved upon his soul is keeping him crossing the line. He admits these feelings to Pauline after nearly strangling her in a stupor, and her love for him is such that she's happy to be either his tether – or, if it comes to it, his first and ''only'' victim. Jacopo rescues a runaway Morgana and takes her in, but as they grow closer and feelings begin to develop, their memories resurface and the relived trauma drives them apart. However, this time Jacopo is able to make things right and save the day, and their story ends on a high note – together again, setting off for the homeland they only knew in the illusion that saved his soul.]]

* IAteWhat: In ''A Requiem for Innocence'', Morgana agrees to eat the meat provided by the Lord in order to save a slave from getting killed. She is initially repulsed by the meat as, while it is not spoiled, it doesn't smell or taste like anything she knows. She soon discovers that she is eating human meat.

'''Due to the nature of its story, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all spoilers are unmarked for the main game and its prequel]], as [[SpoileredRotten it is practically impossible to discuss without spoiling the whole thing]]. If you are the type of reader who is bothered by them, do not read any further than this before playing the game. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

'''Due to the nature of the game, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all spoilers are unmarked]] as [[SpoileredRotten it is practically impossible to discuss this game without spoiling the whole thing]]. If you are the type of reader who is bothered by them, do not read any further than this before playing the game. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

** Bestia quickly cements itself as this, but is trying to refrain from succombing to its urges. [[KillEmAll He fails in the end.]]

* BadassBoast: In ''A Requiem for Innoncence'', Gratien is well-aware of how much of a badass he is, though he does point out that, despite how badass he is, he ''"aint a god"''.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: ''Lord almighty!'' It took nearly a millennia for every character involved to finally reach their happy ending, and even this happy ending has a bittersweet aspect to it. After centuries as a pawn of Morgana, Giselle is finally able to meet Michel again. Michel, after helping Giselle to reclaim her true self, decides to do everything in his power to save her from the mansion, leading Morgana to take action, kidnapping Giselle. What follows is a long and arduous quest for the truth, in which everyone's soul is lay bare, revealing for all to see the ugliest truths, but also the very tragic aspect of everything that transpired. After a tenuous travel through an illusion of the past, Michel is able to reveal to Morgana the circumstances surrounding her imprisonment and her death, and is forced to eradicate the White-Haired girl's soul in order for the curse to be lifted. Michel is able to genuinely empathize with Morgana and to assuage her hatred. Morgana's hatred is finally quelled, and she releases the souls she captured inside the mansion, but not without making a point that she doesn't forgive them. Michel reunites with both his brothers and forgive them, their souls being able to move on to their next lives. In the 21st century, a new Giselle remembers everything and looks for Michel where the mansion was once built. Michel shows up, his memories intact despite the fact that his soul was nearly annihilated, and he embraces Giselle.
* EldritchLocation: The manor itself. Not only is it able to move through time and space, it also allows people inside to observe its former masters' past lives. The curse draws people to it, leading to their misery or their death, and Morgana has full control over it, or so she thought. While her curse played a part, the mansion itself merely attracts people through the wishes of its masters, and while they are people who ended up inside to become pawns in the tragedies orchestrated by Morgana, they are also people who came there to found their redemption. And while the mansion was a core aspect of the curse, it is not Morgana who led to the birth of that anomaly: it is the White-Haired Girl.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Played with when Morgana attempts to convince Michel to curse his family. She understands where his reluctance comes from, but was literally brought back to life by the depths of his hatred, and knows how badly he burns for vengeance no matter what his conscience tells him. Michel, for his part, comes to question whether refusing her offer was truly down to love for his family or fear of crossing that line. Morgana spends years trying to tempt him into following this path, as it is unfathomable to her to her that he might ''genuinely'' simply not wish them ill.
* EvilGloating: The Lord has an habit of looking down on everyone, calling them cur, maggot, worm and the likes. In ''A Requiem for Innocence'', it turns out that the Lord Barnier was the one who originally talked like this, with Jacopo merely mimicking him once he becomes the new Lord.

* FinalSpeech: The White-Haired Girl gives an heartbreaking one to Michel when he, reluctantly, ends their existence at their own request:

** During Michel's last talk with his brothers before being exiled to the mansion, he asked his brothers whether they consider him their brother. Georges quickly answered in a nonchalant manner that he does, whereas Didier was visibly silent. This signals the fact that Didier may not have fully accepted Michel's identity despite everything, which may be one of the contributing factor in him leading the knights to murder Michel later.

* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Becoming a recluse man with almost no contact with the outside world did a number on Michel. While not becoming crazy, he nonetheless became incredibly depressed and jaded. Then he unwittingly ressurected Morgana, thus gaining a new companion, but one that made his situation worse.

* GreenEyedMonster: In ''A Requiem For Innocence'', Gratien turns into one, ressenting Jacopo for becoming the new lord while he could have taken his place. While his actions are partially motivated by Jacopo's neglect for the poor, it is made abundantly clear that his main motivation is pure jealousy.

** Discussed by the Maid- she points out that the infedility of Lady Rhodes with a painter implies another tragic story that occured before Mell and the White-Haired Girl's own suffering. Since the story isn't about them, so Lady Rhodes' affair is but a story that ripples into Mell's.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: In the Witch's era, Maria. That aspect of her becomes much clearer in the ''A Requiem For Innocence'' spin-off, in which she pretty much runs the brothel and do everything in her power to make it a safe place for the girls and Morgana.

* HorrifyingTheHorror: What can possibly scare a seasoned killer without remorse who enjoys the thrill of killing? Himself. Once The Swordsman hears from Michel what he is going to do in his future life, he is completely taken back, as despite his urges not even himself want to become ''this''.
* IAteWhat: In ''A Requiem for Innocence'', Morgana agrees to eat the meat provided by the Lord in order to save a slave from getting killed. She is initially repulsed by the meat as, while it is no spoiled, it doesn't smell or taste like anything she knows. She soon discovers that she is eating human meat.

* NatureVersusNurture: Bestia's tale plays with this. Initially, it follows the nurture argument, making it seems that Yukimasa only became delusioned about being a beast after being dehumanized and treated like an animal by the villagers. However, as the tale progresses, it is subverted: Yukimasa always has been a sadist in secret and the "beast" fame was convinient for him to show off his real depraved nature.

* RageBreakingPoint: In ''A Requiem For Innocence'', After surviving attempted murder by the hand of his former friend Gratien, Jacopo becomes paranoid, but it is Odilon's death that send him over the edge, and lead him to coldly order the execution of the protesters.

** After seeing the White-Haired Girl and Michel's physical similarities, not to mention their names and Michel's appearance in the past, many think that they are the same person reincarnated. While there is a good reason for these similarities, it is not for the reason everyone think it is.

** Downplayed with The Swordsman. He is able to function in society and acts normal among other humans, but deep down he has sadistic urges and gets a thrill out of torturing and killing people. Except for his tether, he completely lacks empathy, which he evidenced when he kidnaps Morgana: while he did care for the girl to an extent, he mentions that he "doesn't have a need for two tethers". It is his struggle between his needs to satisfy his urges and his wishes to remain humain that prevent him from falling into depravity, thus creating an equilibrium.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Didier, bearer of the house name, knight and brother of Michel faces an impossible ordeal. In the end, he decides to be lawful, and personally leads the charge to the mansion, in which he kills Michel himself. Later, he is also the one to nail his body to the cross. In both occasions, never once does he remove his helmet. Michel correctly guesses that Didier was in tears the whole time. In the end, Didier ends up alone, as his remaining brother Georges never forgives him for killing Michel, and dies young, eaten up with remorse. His tormented soul finds his way to the mansion as a result.

* VitriolicBestBuds: In ''A Requiem for Innocence'', Jacopo and Morgana's relationship in a nutshell. Morgana is not exactly the most affable person, being quite acerbic and caustic, but deep down she developped feelings for him, and while Jacopo is exasperated by her behavior, he keeps looking after her and simply answers in kind and reveals himself to be quite sarcastic.

* NotSoDifferent: In ''A Requiem For Innocence'', Imeon initially appears to have an OddFriendship with Michel, brief as it was. Turns out, their circumstances are uncannily similar.

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: A side story in ''Requiem for Innocence'' recounts how Aimee slowly poisoned Georges through his meals, which is how he finally figured out she was a BitchInSheepsClothing. Georges, facing up to his part as an AccompliceThroughInaction, lets her kill him.

** Georges also gets this treatment with his Requiem chapter ''The Painting's Soliloquy.'' Most of what we know of Georges from the main game comes from his InnocentlyInsensitive painting of Michel and the fact that he was reincarnated as a painting in the mansion, but his chapter fleshes out his character much more and tells the reader what happened to the Bollingers after Michel's death.

** Georges also gets this treatment with his Requiem chapter ''The Painting's Soliloquy.'' Most of what we know of Georges from the main game was his InnocentlyInsensitive painting of Michel, but his chapter fleshes out his character much more and tells the reader what happened to the Bollingers after Michel's death.

'''Due to the nature of the game, the trope page will contain unmarked SPOILERS even after following our usual spoiler policy. If you are the type of reader who is bothered by them, do not read any further than this before playing the game. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

* ArcWords: ''Our lives shall be forfeit to the witch's curse.'' Carved into the mansion's cellar floor by medieval Maria, and found by her 1869 counterpart hundreds of years later.

** Antonin Bollinger is the {{abusive|Parents}} father to Michel Bollinger. Raising his {{Intersex}} child as a daughter, he [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain declares him cursed when Michel comes out as a trans male]], and has him locked up. Allowing Aimee Joubert to torture him, Antonin also repeatedly rapes Giselle, a servant of his, and carves the word HARLOT into her crotch. Eventually ordering Michel executed and sending Michel's own beloved brother Didier to do the job, Antonin shows no love or concern for anything but his own reputation.

** The Fifth Door tells [The true story of Michel and Giselle without the fabrications that were cooked up by Morgana to distort the tale into a fairy-tale fantasy.

-->'''White-Haired Girl:''']] Your life bore many similarities with Morgana's. You were both abused, imprisoned, called a witch. But while Morgana sought vengeance...you watched your own mother burn your crucified body...and you wished for release, rather than vengeance.

* DamselOutOfDistress : To Morgana's surprise, Giselle manages to escape her and to join Michel in his time of need after the door to his soul is forced open. Michel and Giselle discover that as much as the mansion is Morgana's domain, it is also theirs.

* Played with, subverted, and eventually inverted with Michel and Giselle. Initially, their respective traumas and internal biases make their first month together ''horrible'', with Michel openly threatening her with a knife and Giselle bringing bandits to kill him out of desperation. Unlike the previous doors, Michel finally realizes that they've been hurting each other and decides they need to sit down and communicate. Their mutual willingness to put an end to their disput like adults is what proves they make much healtheir couple than the previous protagonists. Unfortunately, its Michel's attempts to communicate with his ''mother'' that leads to their real tragedy, as she's much less willing to actually listen than Giselle.

* QuestForIdentity: The primary purpose of the first half of the visual novel. :After the fourth door, rejecting the initial fabricated story is essential for getting on the path to the true ending.

* RapeAsBackstory: [[Giselle was raped and abused by Michel's father when she worked as a maid for him.

* AgeGapRomance: Jacopo and Morgana; the former was twenty-two when he fell for her at twelve. He's determined to keep his feelings in check until she's older, but theirs is a [[StarCrossedLovers doomed romance]] regardless. Ceren and Lord Barnier also have a clear age gap between them in the prequel, but there's ''so much else'' wrong with these two twisted people that this trope is not the first thing that springs to mind when he tries to unpack it.

* AgeGapRomance: Jacopo and Morgana; the former was twenty-two when he fell for her at twelve. He's determined to keep his feelings in check until she's older, but theirs is a [[StarCrossedLovers doomed romance]] regardless. Also the case for Ceren and Lord Barnier in the prequel, but there's ''so much else'' wrong with these two twisted people that this trope is the least disturbing part of their union.

** Exploited by Michel himself a bit later. He has Nellie wait outside his room while he draws the truth of Morgana's imprisonment from a panicking Mell, which completely smashes the princely image Mell's sister had of him and comes close to destroying their relationship. He then helps Nellie to [[RebuiltPedestal rebuild that pedestal into something more realistic]], which ends Mell's involvement in Morgana's ordeal and [[HeelFaceTurn completes his character arc.

* YourCheatingHeart: Aimee is Georges' fiancee. She cheats him with his brother, Didier. When the truth is revealed, the relation between the two brothers is damaged, but they eventually manage to repair it.

* {{Adorkable}}: The reclusive Michel, seeing springtime snow for the first time, is heartbreakingly endearing. Morgana has shades of this too, when she's not a malevolent specter.