Why are girls used for portraying tragic characters so much?

[bhl88]

Yeah something like that.

[Traece]

Gender roles.

Gender roles.

That's the sort of psychological answer to this question.

Men are the big, emotionally mute, strong protectors and workers. Women are the sweet, kind, caring and destructible; they also do things like "tame" the men and bring happiness and emotion to balance things out.

Obviously there are many examples of tragic heroes and not just heroines (or even male and female characters in general). The majority of tragedy rests with heroines though. It's society and gender roles that make it very easy to be empathetic of those tragedy-stricken females and thus feel more affected by their plights and how they succumb or rise above those events.

Honestly, I find myself caring about the fates of male characters more when they are the white knight kind of character, like Katsuragi Keima. Although on the flip side I also care more for female characters who are strong and reserved, but have a feminine side as well, like Ayumi. Realistically, characters like that on the female side tend to have humble or less fortunate backgrounds. From what I can remember, a lot of female characters who have tragic stories fit more into that description, and the rest that I can remember are just crazy people.

With that being said, the biggest factor is likability. It's easier to make a female more likable since they are typically less reserved and thus more relatable emotionally.

[Skane]

I must be getting old... no wait, Vexx posted, but nobody has mentioned X/1999 yet? It's subtitle might as well be "Tragedy Doesn't Give A Blip What Gender You Are". Sure... the girls were pretty sob-worthy, but some of the guys make the girls look like they live rainbow-coated, candy-filled lives.

No seriously... watch X/1999 (or the series if you find movies too abridged) if you haven't yet. Arguably, the most tragic male character is... the most happy one (people who have watched it before should know who I am talking about).

YouTube

https://youtu.be/hxgoGzX7xfs

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Cheers, and happy sobbing!

[SPARTAN 119]

Originally Posted by GDiddy

As for why females are the harbingers of tragedy, considering that most of the viewers are males, I guess it all ties back to the MOE thing: Isn't it supposed to mean that the viewers want to protect a character or something like that?

Exactly, I was involved with a rather lengthy discussion about this in the discussion of moe thread, the post shown below:

Spoiler for Kara No Kyoukai 3 spoilers:

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

I've always heard moe by one anime reviewer on Youtube as a female (generally) character that triggers a sort of "protective feeling". I am echoing several other posters here that what one considers moe varies from person to person, and is definitely NOT connected to sexualization of character, in the case of what I view as moe, quite the opposite.

Personally, what I find moe is less the generic "moe" character and more a character that has gone through some hardships and feels like she needs someone to protect her, even if she has the ability to "take care of herself", she definitely needs some psychological support.

For instance, one character I view as "moe" is Asagami Fujino of Kara No Kyoukai (below) is a great example of this. In the movie, she is horribly sexually and physically assaulted by a gang of juvenile delinquents. Now Fujino can "take care of herself". In the process of the assault, her latent psychic powers awaken, which she uses to rip her attackers limb from limb, but she still definitely needs some psychological support. This is made especially clear in the image below, with Fujino sad and alone in the rain. To me, I just want to let her in out of the rain, give her a hug, and tell her "everything's going to be OK".



Other examples of my view of moe include characters such as Akemi Homura of PMMM. Again, goes through a lot of hardships, and needs help, again, like Fujino, more psychological support than anything.

And, of course, I always prefer it when the character overcomes her hardships, as but Homura and Fujino (at least to a degree) do.

On that note, as I suggested in the previous post in the moe discussion, for some reason, I am not effected by the "moe" desire to protect a character UNLESS she goes through some sort of tragedy. However, I am deeply effected by characters with a tragic past or who are currently going through some sort of tragedy, such as Asagami Fujino (Kara no Kyoukai), Akemi Homura (Madoka), Sachi (Sword Art Online) etc. Also, I know I'm getting sucked into cliches here, but I prefer the ending where the tragic character overcomes her tragedy and, preferably, gets revenge on her tormentor (again, see Asagami Fujino, Kara no Kyoukai movie 3).

[Vexx]

Since the cookie system is gone, all I can do is toss SPARTAN119 a virtual cookie. Nice write up explaining that 'protective feeling' that isn't always sexual.

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

Also, I know I'm getting sucked into cliches here, but I prefer the ending where the tragic character overcomes her tragedy and, preferably, gets revenge on her tormentor (again, see Asagami Fujino, Kara no Kyoukai movie 3).

Well, it's definitely a cliche that works for any kind of protagonist that gets beaten down and finally defeats their enemy in some way. It certainly is better than the tragic stories that are thrown in solely for shock value and really have no resolution. That just serves to throw in as a plot device to make you feel sorry for them.

For example. If I made a character incredibly annoying, and then without warning randomly threw an ancedote about how her treasured puppy was all she had to her because her parents neglected her and went on a graphical account of how the puppy was tortured to death by a bunch of heartless thugs that are never seen or mentioned again, and then she proceeded to run for help and then got hit by a bus and thus she is now crippled, that would be contrived. And then never mention the scene again or its relevance-- That would come as ridiculously heavy handed. That would only serve to make you feel bad for not liking them and adds nothing to the story.

If on the other hand, we reveal that a character's parents are abusive and was hinting due to their withdrawn mannerisms then that makes sense even though that can be a cliche too since now trying to find some kind of peace or resolution can add to their plot and character. Now if the story bothers to embrace continuity and this actually develops into a useful part of the character's development, then there's a point here and not just blatant pity pathos pandering. The later just gives us more to hope for and more for the characters to do, allowing a certain sense of catharsis which leads to a far bigger payoff than just mere shock value.

[SPARTAN 119]

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

Allowing a certain sense of catharsis which leads to a far bigger payoff than just mere shock value.

Yeah, that's why though the fact that

Spoiler for Madoka spoilers:

Homura did not (permanently) kill Kyubey at the end of Madoka was a bit of a loose end. Left me with a feeling of... why is that bastard still alive after what he did!?

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

Yeah, that's why though the fact that

Spoiler for Madoka spoilers:

Homura did not (permanently) kill Kyubey at the end of Madoka was a bit of a loose end. Left me with a feeling of... why is that bastard still alive after what he did!?

Spoiler:

Well, Kyubey in the series did get owned by Madoka's sudden imitative already. The Kyubey from the end of the series is not the same anymore.

There would be no point in revenge, especially considering the world needs to be protected still and I guess she has a use for him, if we were to buy his spiel about human development and Kyubey's people.

Homura places those things above her desire for payback. She is selfless to a fault where she doesn't put focus on what she wants personally. But I do have respect for those that are willing to sacrifice their own needs for the needs of others, even though her obsession with saving Madoka was most of the fuel.

[Sackett]

Originally Posted by Eragon

So, I just finished watching Shiki(whose thread, btw, is filled to the brim with hypocrisy) and this thought kept nagging me - I'm sure people who have watched the show know which character I'm talking about.
Why are girls - irrespective of age - used to portray tragedy. For example, take Lucy from Elfen Lied or Ei from Jigoku Shoujo or the the characters from Saya & Diva from Blood+.

Is it because its easier to make a women's life miserable? Or is it because you can tug at the audiences heart strings more effectively with a female tragic figure?


If you think my views are skewed and that guys, too, are used as much as girls for portraying tragic figures then do correct me.

This is hardly an anime thing. Just consider Fantine from Les Mis.

Jungian analysis suggests that abused female characters are likely used to symbolize the violation of the mother figure. This creates a protective and defensive feeling. On the other hand abused male figures are more likely to symbolize a violation of a father figure, creating a feeling of powerlessness and helplessness. Thus only fully tragic stories (or rebirth stories) are likely to have an abused male figure, while abused female characters can be used in many ways to create a story - Call to Adventure, a goal for the Hero, a measure of his success.

The above would be my guess as to why they are so common. Go read The Seven Basic Plots for more details.