Damsel in Distress

A female character is put into immediate danger in order to put the cast in motion. Her plight unites the cast, causing them to put aside their differences and work together to save her or provide the premise for The Quest and is considered Older Than Dirt. The nature of the distress varies. The classic damsel has been kidnapped or captured and is locked away, awaiting rescue and afraid for her life and virtue. She may also be lost or stranded in a hostile area, trapped, or suffering any number of terrible fates where she needs help to survive. In other cases, the damsel's distress is due to someone in her own family, such as her husband, her Archnemesis Dad, or a Wicked Stepmother. If the abuser is her husband, she may be rescued by a Wife-Basher Basher. This set-up is plausible if the damsel in distress is a beloved character, but can be very jarring if the audience fails to see what's so valuable about the damsel and why the rest of the cast should drop everything to go to her rescue. Some damsels are so annoying that the audience wouldn't mind seeing them dead; others end up in trouble in a way that just screams Character Derailment. This is particularly dangerous for the resident Action Heroine who will seem suddenly weak and helpless if her stint as a damsel isn't properly justified — if the moment is bad enough, she can be demoted to Faux Action Girl. On the other hand, anyone can have a bad day; perhaps she just had a moment of Badass in Distress after being thrown a Distress Ball. A possible way to shake things up a bit is to give the damsel something to do besides stand around uselessly. The Damsel out of Distress will put up a fight, which can either help or make things worse. The Defiant Captive damsel will snarl and rage where her meeker sister would scream. There are even subversions in the line of Play-Along Prisoner: the Decoy Damsel puts on all the appearance of this trope, but her helplessness is all for show. Sometimes the character gets kidnapped for the sake of her good looks or royal blood, but in other works she's more likely doing something that is a threat to the party that kidnaps her (reporters are common), which allows her to look smart and independent before she needs to be saved. Alternatively, she can end up prisoner as a Heroic Sacrifice; situations where she puts herself in peril so that others can get away are popular, even if her plan ultimately fails. Generally expected to give The Hero a Smooch of Victory when he rescues her. Assuming he does, of course... This is a type of Living MacGuffin. Chained to a Rock is an ancient form; Girl in the Tower and Hypnotize the Captive came later. Damsels may also be Bound and Gagged or put into Unwilling Suspension, especially when it satisfies Author Appeal. If the kidnapper in question is particularly nasty, expect an I Have You Now, My Pretty situation to occur. If the character does not become a Damsel Scrappy but still is constantly captured, they are a Designated Victim. Compare with Disposable Woman, where a barely-developed character is killed off for Emotional Torque, but forgotten not long afterwards. Common for a Caged Bird Metaphor to be used. For obvious reasons this trope is Always Female, unless a Crossdresser plays the role; if such a damsel is still the Love Interest for the protagonist, as the female version often is, "she" is probably Camp Gay (and the whole thing becomes more likely to be Played for Laughs). For the straight Spear Counterpart, see Distressed Dude. See also The Dulcinea Effect, Distress Ball, Standard Female Grab Area, I Have Your Wife, Save the Princess, Hostage MacGuffin. If the girl is actually faking this for her own benefits, depending on her purposes she's either a Deliberately Distressed Damsel or a Decoy Damsel. A damsel who rescues herself is a Damsel out of Distress who probably used an Improvised Weapon. If she has a strong spirit despite captivity, then they are a Defiant Captive. If the hero leaves the damsel in distress (for the moment), that's Delaying the Rescue. If the hero tries to rescue them even though they don't need rescuing, then The Victim Must Be Confused. See also The Captivity Narrative for a plot based on this. Not to be confused with the 2012 comedy film Damsels in Distress or the P. G. Wodehouse novel A Damsel in Distress. This item is available in the Trope Co. catalog.