The Lost Lenore requires that a character have more impact on the plot dead than alive. So any examples of dying at the end of the work wouldn't be that trope but could be Her Heart Will Go On.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Wouldn't those examples be just "Love Interest dies"? Is that tropeable?
And what's the definition of this trope, anyway? Going through examples on the trope's page, it's treated as:
- Inuyasha: ZCE (on the show's character page it's used as The Lost Lenore)
- Jojos Bizarre Adventure: "Character dies, LI lives" (on the show's character page it's used as The Mourning After)
- Silent Mobius: ZCE
- Like The Clouds, Like the Wind: ZCE
- Monster: "LI dies, his death has an impact on the character".
- Gundam SEED: "Character copes well with LI's death" (or smth along these lines, due to how it's supposed to be "played with" and "subverted")
- Sailor Moon: "Character copes well with LI's death"
- Trigun: "Character copes well with LI's death" (maybe, I'm not sure)
- Rose Of Versailles: "LI dies soon after the relationship starts"
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: "LI dies soon after the relationship starts"
- Mahou Sensei Negima: I don't even know
- CLANNAD: "LI dies"
- Glass Fleet: "LI dies soon after the relationship starts" (maybe, I'm not sure)
- Gakuen Alice: "LI dies soon after the relationship starts"
- Victory Gundam: ZCE. Possibly Someone to Remember Him By
- Advent Children: I don't even know. Possibly "Character gets over LI's death and moves on"
- Fruits Basket: I don't even know. Possibly "Character gets over LI's death and moves on"
- Aquarion Evol: ZCE
- Senki Zesshou Symphogear: "Character gets over LI's death and moves on"
- Disposable Woman (but actually it's an example of The Lost Lenore). The child is Someone to Remember Him By
- Legacy: "Character mourns and remembers LI's death"
- Titanic: "Character gets over LI's death and moves on"
- Somewhere In Time: The Mourning After
- Cold Mountain: ZCE. Possibly Someone to Remember Him By
- The Terminator: Someone to Remember Him By
- Planet Terror: "Male characters die while female ones don't"
- Mission Impossible: ZCE
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: "LI dies, but actually just leaves for 10 years while the character will probably wait for him". Also Someone to Remember Him By
- A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Lost Lenore
- The Dark Knight: ZCE
- Premonition: I don't even know
- Tuck Everlasting: Did a death even happen there?
- Becoming Jane: No death
- The Whales Of August: The Mourning After
- Harry Potter: "Character gets over LI's death and moves on... eventually"
- Sally Lockhart: ZCE. Possibly Someone to Remember Him By
- Their Eyes Were Watching God: Combination of "LI dies soon after the relationship starts" and "Strong independent woman can take care of herself without her dead LI"
- Barchester Chronicles: Disposable Man
- Aurian: "LI dies, but still has a place in character's life" (maybe, I'm not sure). And Someone to Remember Him By
- The Dead Room: I'm not sure what was "subverted" in the first place
- Malazan Book Of The Fallen: ZCE
- American Gods: "Women get over their L Is' deaths better than men"
- Apprentice Adept: Someone to Remember Him By (maybe, I'm not sure)
- Kate Shugak: Someone to Remember Him By
- Catching Fire: ZCE
- Black Magician: "LI dies soon after the relationship starts" and Someone to Remember Him By
- Villette: "LI dies soon after the relationship starts"
- The Fly-by-Night: Someone to Remember Him By
- Romeo And Juliet: Do we have a trope about double suicides and such?
- Lost Fleet: "Character copes well with LI's death"
- The Hereward Trilogy: ZCE
- The Kingdom And The Crown: "LI dies"
- At All Costs: The Lost Lenore. Bonus points for misusing Stuffed in the Fridge (I think they meant Disposable Woman)
- Angel: The Lost Lenore
- Eureka: ZCE
- Dollhouse: ZCE
- Alias: ZCE
- The Sarah Jane Adventures: ZCE. Looks like it's "LI dies so that the character remains single" (Status Quo Is God)
- Smallville: ZCE
- Xena Warrior Princess: ZCE
- Lost: "LI dies, character lives", "Character gets over LI's death and moves on"
- Downton Abbey: Looks like even the troper isn't sure
- Merlin: "Character has a successful life after LI's death"
- The Decembrists: "LI dies", and Someone to Remember Him By
- Celine Dion: The song is about "Character still remembers her dead LI, and her love gives her strength"
- Final Fantasy X: "Character dies, LI lives"
- Final Fantasy X 2: The Lost Lenore
- Neverwinter Nights 2: "Character gets over LI's death and moves on"
- Baldurs Gate 2: ZCE
- Fate Stay Night: Not a "subversion", just The Mourning After
- Dragon Age II: "Character gets over LI's death and moves on, but it still influences her character"
- Sinfest: Seems like a parody of the song, and not the trope
- He Man And The Masters Of The Universe: ZCE. Possibly Someone to Remember Him By
- Wakfu: "Character gets over LI's death and moves on", though the example seems to be an aversion
edited 19th Apr '15 3:58:22 PM by Rjinswand
This trope is specifically about a guy dies and the Love Interest bucks up and continues on eventually coming out stronger than before instead of falling to pieces which is the usual stereotype.
Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X 2's Yuna is the perfect example of this, Late-Arrival Spoiler incoming.... in X her whole story is she is going off to die and overall pretty depressed but the LI dies instead affecting her and in the sequel she is living life to its fullest channeling Charlies Angels.
The Lost Lenore is more about a love interest's death being an old wound for the surviving member. The two can overlap depending on the example.
Edit:
The Negima one is quite correct, The character Ako is in in love with Negi's older looking alter ego and Chisame goes into a long scenario on killing that Alter Ego off so that Ako can come out the other side stronger instead of breaking her heart by having him reject her but it is turned down.
edited 20th Apr '15 6:39:13 AM by Memers
To be honest, it seems like "not falling to pieces" is in fact the default narrative, judging by the amount of examples and the way they're presented. It's only when a character does "fall to pieces" in some way it becomes notable (e.g. The Mourning After). Note that the examples list is sorely lacking in "male character, dead female LI" examples, most of which feature the male character "not falling into pieces".
The "coming out stronger than before" could actually be a trope note . Something like "LI's Death Makes You Stronger". But then, the examples should specifically show that the character became "stronger" than they were before. Not just getting over LI's death and moving on like before.
Final Fantasy X 2 does sound like an example of "LI's Death Makes You Stronger". It's also an example of The Lost Lenore. The Lost Lenore is about when LI's influence on the character is as strong (or stronger) than when LI was alive.
Negima also sounds like an example of "LI's Death Makes You Stronger".
As an aside thought. Would it be possible to YKTTW "Love Interest's Death As Motivation"? It seems like a necessary, but missing supertrope to a lot of tropes.
edited 20th Apr '15 9:42:46 AM by Rjinswand
yes, YKTTW for "True Dead Romance" or something with a snappy title like you describe, keep Her Heart Will Go On but needs examples update, grammar too, is my suggestion
OH MY GOD; MY PARENTS ARE GARDENIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!!
edited 20th Apr '15 12:11:33 PM by Rjinswand
probably separate it more completely, so the LI dies at or near the end but hero doesn't crumble and she (or he) honours the memory - unlike The Lost Lenore where the LI is dead for most of, if not the entire, story with their non-existence being the driving force of the plot.
There's one problem I see with it, though. While The Lost Lenore is actually relevant to the way the plot goes (LI's death directly influences the character and/or the plot), "LI dies at the end and the character honors it" is just... a thing that happens, it might be just a footnote in the epilogue.
I think, there needs to be some certain connection to the character or the plot, to avoid it just turning into a list of all dead LI.
If you don't mind me using Titanic to exemplify, I think maybe causing the living lover to change their actions - typically, Kate would have been a mess, but she instead finds a lifeboat and abandons her family to live poor in America.
To contrast, Romeo And Juliet would not be this, because Juliet gives up and kills herself.
This unexpected resolution of the living lover needs to be in the examples, though, and I think a lot are lacking this element - presently, it does seem to be "boyfriend dies, nothing happens".
OH MY GOD; MY PARENTS ARE GARDENIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!!
I think that can work. It sounds pretty similar to what Memers was suggesting. Basically, "LI's Death Makes You Stronger".
So, if LI's death doesn't change the character much, or makes them weaker and broken, it doesn't fit. But if LI's death makes one stronger, or inspires them to change in a positive way, it fits.
It's from Pratchett
By legwork, you mean YKTTW? I can do that. As for this trope, we should wait for more tropers' opinions.
yes, YKTTW. Cool
edited 20th Apr '15 12:33:59 PM by lakingsif
OH MY GOD; MY PARENTS ARE GARDENIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!!

After carefully reading this trope and several related ones, I think Her Heart Will Go On / His Heart Will Go On is a duplicate trope.
The page states it's about
The Laconic is even more interesting. It says
Suggestion: Cut.
edited 19th Apr '15 8:29:26 AM by Rjinswand