History Main / EmbodimentOfVirtue

* [[http://pat7.deviantart.com/art/The-Seven-Virtues-192127336 This web illustration]] shows each of the Seven Virtues depicted by a DisneyPrincess. In order; [[Film/{{Enchanted}} Giselle]] is Charity, Disney/{{Pocahontas}} is Chastity, [[ThePrincessAndTheFrog Tiana]] is Dilligence, Disney/{{Mulan}} is Humility, [[Disney/HunchbackOfNotreDame Esmeralda]] is Kindness, [[Disney/{{Tangled}} Rapunzel]] is Patience, and [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] is Temperance.

* In ''QuestForCamelot'', the introduction to Camelot itself is accompanied by [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome a chorus of all]] of the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights of the Round Table]] singing about unity of purpose. They go on to take their places at the table, each lifting their shield to honor their king, and then lowering it as they declare the virtue they most embody. There are far more than seven virtues listed, but 'faith', 'trust' (not exactly the same thing), 'strength', 'courage', 'kindness', 'balance', 'dignity', and 'honor' are listed, among others. Note that the main character's father laid down his shield on 'valor', and the villain laid his down with a shout of 'ME!'.

* In ''QuestForCamelot'', the introduction to Camelot itself is accompanied by [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome a chorus of all]] of the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights of the Round Table]] singing about unity of purpose. They go on to take their places at the table, each lifting their shield to honor their king, and then lowering it as they declare the virtue they most embody. There are far more than seven virtues listed, but 'faith', 'trust' (not exactly the same thing), 'strength', 'courage', 'kindness', 'balance', 'dignity', and 'honor' are listed, among others. Note that the main character's father laid down his shield on 'honor', and the villain laid his down with a shout of 'ME!'.

* [[http://pat7.deviantart.com/art/The-Seven-Virtues-192127336 This web illustration]] shows each of the Seven Virtues depicted by a DisneyPrincess. In order; [[Film/{{Enchanted}} Giselle]] is Charity, Disney/{{Pocahontas}} is Chastity, [[ThePrincessAndTheFrog Tiana]] is Dilligence, Disney/{{Mulan}} is Humility, [[Disney/HunchbackOfNotreDame Esmeralda]] is Kindness, [[Disney/{{Tangled}} Rapunzel]] is Patience and [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] is Temperance.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', personifications of the four cardinal virtues are used as antagonists. They represent Courage, Temperance, Justice and Prudence.

** Gryffindor represents courage and chivalry, the knightly virtues. Weaknesses include brashness, overconfidence and pride.
** Ravenclaw represents wisdom, knowledge and honesty. Weaknesses include arrogance and aloofness.
** Hufflepuff represents humility, loyalty and diligence. No clear moral weaknesses seem to accompany these traits, yet Hufflepuff is the house which is most frequently looked down on in disdain by the others. A commentary on how humility can be misinterpreted as weakness or passivity?

* In ''DaemonBride'', each of the Angel side Brides represents one of the seven virtues. Michael represents Righteousness, Uriel represents Courage, Rafael represents Wisdom, Gabriel represents Love, Zadkiel represents Loyalty / Faith, Metatron represents Fidelity / Chastity, and Haniel represents Prudence.

* In ''{{Bayonetta}}'', personifications of the four cardinal virtues are used as antagonists. They represent Courage, Temperance, Justice and Prudence.

%% Image pulled per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1362508245056974100
%% Feel free to discuss a new image there.

In some works of fiction, [[VirtueViceCodification virtue]] is a central theme. Virtues usually constitute parts in a system, where the individual virtues are regarded as aspects of goodness, and no virtue alone is enough to form a good character. While they complement each other, they may also come into conflict with each other, leading to moral conundrums.

[[/folder]]

* [[http://pat7.deviantart.com/art/The-Seven-Virtues-192127336 This web illustration]] shows each of the Seven Virtues depicted by a DisneyPrincess. In order; [[Film/{{Enchanted}} Giselle]] is Charity, Disney/{{Pocahontas}} is Chastity, [[ThePrincessAndTheFrog Tiana]] is Dilligence, Disney/{{Mulan}} is Humility, [[Disney/HunchbackOfNotreDame Esmeralda]] is Kindness, [[{{Tangled}} Rapunzel]] is Patience and [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] is Temperance.

[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mane6_mlp_fim_2_3591.png]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Each pony in the "mane 6" in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic represents and wields a social virtue]]

In some works of fiction, virtue is a central theme. Virtues usually constitute parts in a system, where the individual virtues are regarded as aspects of goodness, and no virtue alone is enough to form a good character. While they complement each other, they may also come into conflict with each other, leading to moral conundrums.

** Twilight Sparkle represents Friendship/Magic

[[quoteright:240:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mane6_mlp_fim_2042.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:240:Each pony in the "mane 6" in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic represents and wields a social virtue]]

The inversion of this trope is EmbodimentOfVice. One notable difference between the two tropes is that in the case of characters, the people involved usually are aware of their virtues, and strive to actively cultivate them. Characters that personify vices are usually either unaware of them or somehow [[ChronicVillainy unable to overcome them]]. For example, characters that actively strive to be honorable and courageous are extremely commonplace in fiction, but how many characters have you encountered that strive to be as greedy as possible, for the sake of greed in and of itself? Vice is nearly always motivated by something other than the desire to be vicious, unlike virtue. In the (at least in real life) rare cases where this is not the case, we are dealing with a villain who does evil simply ForTheEvulz.

The inversion of this trope is EmbodimentOfVice. One notable difference between the two tropes is that in the case of characters, the people involved usually are aware of their virtues, and strive to actively cultivate them. Characters that personify vices are usually either unaware of them or somehow unable to overcome them. For example, characters that actively strive to be honorable and courageous are extremely commonplace in fiction, but how many characters have you encountered that strive to be as greedy as possible, for the sake of greed in and of itself? Vice is nearly always motivated by something other than the desire to be vicious, unlike virtue. In the (at least in real life) rare cases where this is not the case, we are dealing with a villain who does evil simply ForTheEvulz.

The inversion of this trope is EmbodimentOfVice. One notable difference between the two tropes is that in the case of characters, the people involved usually are aware of their virtues, and strive to actively cultivate them. Characters that personify vices are usually either unaware of them or somehow unable to overcome them. For example, characters that actively strive to be honorable and courageous are extremely commonplace in fiction, but how many characters have you encountered that strive to be as greedy as possible, for the sake of greed in and of itself? Vice is nearly always motivated by something other than the desire to be vicious, unlike virtue.

* ''Webcomic/{{Sins}}'' has personifications of the seven heavenly virtues as some of the characters. In a subversion, they tend to suffer their virtues rather than embody them, and most are bitter about it (when not outright morally questionable).

* The {{shonen}} manga series ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' has the seven sins represented by the seven top members of an elite assassination squad, the Varia. The seven protagonists set to battle against them in a fight for the right to inherit a powerful [[TheMafia mafia]] family embody the SevenHeavenlyVirtues (but not as obviously as the antagonists). The Varia take their names directly from the Seven Deadly Sins:
** Greed: Mammon (obsessed with money)
** Envy: Leviathan (wishes to be the only one to please his boss; is envious of Tsuna and his group from taking his "rightful" position as Thunder Guardian)
** Gluttony/Gula: Gola Mosca (consumes the Dying Will Flames of [[spoiler:Vongola IX]] for power; bonus points for "mosca" meaning "fly", as Beelzebub is also known as "Lord of the Flies")
** Lust/Luxuria: Lussuria ([[DepravedHomosexual admires the bodies of other men]])
** Pride/Superbia: Superbia Squalo (a loudmouth very proud of his rank as #1 swordsman in the world)
** Sloth/Acedia: Belphegor (a natural-born killer who is lazy and doesn't take his job very seriously)
** Wrath: Xanxus + Flame of Wrath (a generally unpleasant person who calls those he considers beneath him scum. He possesses the Flames of Wrath, originally owned by [[spoiler:Vongola II]], the most powerful Dying Will Flames in existence).

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the DCComics Universe, the Seven Deadly Sins, or rather their {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s, are imprisoned inside the Rock of Eternity by the wizard {{Shazam}} (Same guy who empowered Captain Marvel of IAmNotShazam fame), though their influence is still passively felt throughout creation.
** Until recently "Injustice" took the place of "Lust", presumably due to the [[AnimationAgeGhetto Comic Book Age Ghetto]].
*** Lust first appeared in 2002, as the Sins were released as part of an attack on the [[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] & the [[JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]. The Sins ended up possessing various members of both groups.
** Until the late '80s, they were often called "The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man" in order to avoid overt religious references (another age ghetto no-no.)
* The 2009 ''{{Batman}}'' annuals feature a group of seven villains who call themselves La Saglia (an [[FunWithAcronyms acronym]] of the Latin names of the sins), and seek to awaken the Eighth Sin. Any connection to the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man is unknown.
* A French graphic novel, ''Seven Monks'', told the story of seven Irish monks, each embodying one of the deadly sins, receiving punishment for their sins by being sent to convert a village of pagan vikings. Incredibly, by applying their sinful behaviors in creative ways (the avaricious monk uses the lure of profitable trading with Byzantium, the envious monk convinces the chieftain's second-in-command to take over upon his death, the lustful monk seduces every woman in the village, and so on) and with some incredible coincidences, they succeed in their mission without changing their ways in the slightest.
** [[ReligiousBruiser Brother]] [[ConanTheBarbarian Conan]] ([[TheBerserker guess what he represents]]) makes himself useful in other ways: a seven-foot-tall [[BaldOfAwesome shaved]] man running around DualWielding [[AnAxeToGrind axes]] bellowing "GOD IS LOVE!!!" to save the village from attack. Even the local berserker thinks Conan more dangerous than him.
* Yet another example from DC: in ''[[Comicbook/TeenTitans Titans Together]]'', six sons of Trigon sired from human mothers at around the same time as Raven have emotion-manipulating powers based on the sins. They try to awaken Raven's evil side and get her to join up. In an open defiance of convention, the one female in the group ''isn't'' lust; Raven instead filled the "pride" slot. Stuck on evil mode, Raven later tried to transfer her brother's abilities to the Titans.
** Donna Troy got stuck with Lust, rather than the more obvious choice of Starfire. This was a reference to the fact that Donna has gone through multiple relationships and been the object of desire of many men, even moreso than Starfire.
** Cyborg was Wrath, which seemed to be a StealthPun on the AngryBlackMan trope.
** Red Arrow got Gluttony, and while he became fat as a result, this was a possible reference to his former heroin addiction, thrill seeking, and womanizing tendencies, fitting in with Gluttony's nature of excessive consumption.
* The variant covers of the first issue of ''DV8'' depicted the team as the Seven Deadly Sins. Threshold, a PsychopathicManchild whose boss Ivana controlled him with sex, was Lust. Bliss, a spoiled rich girl, was Greed. Powerhaus, who feeds off ambient emotions to get stronger, was Gluttony. Evo, a monster man with an attitude problem, was Wrath. Frostbite, a pessimist who doesn't care about anything, was Sloth. Copycat, the girl with multiple personalities whose only friend is herself, was Pride, and Sublime, a supermodel type who longed for the attention of {{Gen13}} member Grunge, was Envy.
** See them all [[http://www.comicvine.com/dv8-lust-for-life/37-46749/ here.]]
** In the GreenLantern lore, colors represent emotional qualities/states: Red and Orange represent the vices of Wrath, and Avarice respectively. Yellow represents Fear. Green for willpower, Blue for hope, Indigo for Compassion and Violet for Love.

[[folder:Fanworks]]
* This deviant-artist portrayed seven of the original girls from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' as the Seven Deadly Sins, with quite logical reasoning:
** [[PerkyGoth Gwen]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qyki Wrath]]
** [[GranolaGirl Bridgette]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qyg3 Sloth]]
** [[TheBrainlessBeauty Lindsay]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qyc4 Lust]]
** [[{{Nerd}} Beth]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qy8d Envy]]
** [[BrainyBrunette Courtney]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qy3s Pride]]
** [[CloudCuckooLander Izzy]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qxzz Gluttony]]
** [[AlphaBitch Heather]] as [[http://citprincess.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d22qxw5 Greed]]
* There exists a really good HarryPotter [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5883676/1/bSeven_b_bDeadly_b_Sinners fanfiction]] that features several villains as the sins:
** [[RichBitch Narcissa Malfoy]] as Pride
** [[SadistTeacher Severus Snape]] as Envy
** [[DarkActionGirl Bellatrix Lestrange]] as Wrath
** [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Dolores Umbridge]] as Gluttony
** [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] as Greed
** [[SingleTargetSexuality Pansy Parkinson]] as Lust
** [[DirtyCoward Zacharias Smith]] as Sloth
* [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=seven+princesses#/d36bb4l The Seven Disney Sins]]:
** [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle]] as Vanity
** Disney/{{Cinderella}} as Lust
** [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Jasmine]] (in her red BadFuture outfit) as Wrath
** Disney/SnowWhite as Gluttony
** [[Disney/PeterPan Tinker Bell]] as ([[GreenEyedMonster Green With]])Envy
** [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]] as Greed
** Disney/SleepingBeauty as Sloth
* This ''OnePiece'' [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3454055/1/Seven_Deadly_Sins fic]] has identified the original seven Straw Hats with a sin.
** [[BigEater Luffy]]: Gluttony
** [[MasterSwordsman Zoro]]: Pride
** [[MoneyFetish Nami]]: Greed
** [[OvershadowedByAwesome Usopp]]: Envy
** [[ChivalrousPervert Sanji]]: Lust
** [[CombatMedic Chopper]]: Wrath
** [[BrokenBird Robin]]: Sloth
* ''FanFic/ClashOfTheElements'': According to Cackletta in Part 2, [[spoiler: The Dark King's control over darkness stemmed from a balance between all seven of them, and that his death was caused because he succumbed to a few of them simultaneously.]] [[spoiler: As of the most recent chapter though, Alex's clone has revealed that he holds copies of the Genesis Samurai's spirits that each represent a different sin:]]
** [[GreenThumb Acia Rose]]: Gluttony
** [[DishingOutDirt Ezekial Gaia]]: Pride
** [[BlowYouAway Darnia Stratos]]: Envy
** [[ShockAndAwe Pitori Sparks]]: Greed

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''QuestForCamelot'', the introduction to Camelot itself is accompanied by [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome a chorus of all]] of the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights of the Round Table]] singing about unity of purpose. They go on to take their places at the table, each lifting their shield to honor their king, and then lowering it as they declare the virtue they most embody. There are far more than seven virtues listed, but 'faith', 'trust' (not exactly the same thing), 'strength', 'courage', 'kindness', 'balance', 'dignity', and 'honor' are listed, among others. Note that the main character's father laid down his shield on 'honor', and the villain laid his down with a shout of 'ME!'.
* ''Film/{{Se7en}}'' centered around a SerialKiller committing his murders based on these sins. The victims therefore become allegorically associated with the respective sins they were murdered for.
* ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' features the Largo family: [[MagnificentBastard Rotti Largo]], the powerful businessman and his three children: Amber Sweet the surgery addicted, drug-addict wannabe singer, Luigi the raging, mass murdering {{sociopath}} and Pavi the effeminate, face-stealing TheCasanova. While all four are vain and greedy, Rotti in particular represents Envy and Greed, Amber is Sloth and Gluttony, while Luigi is Wrath ([[WordOfGod as the producer Darren Lynn Bousman has stated]]) and Pavi is Pride and Lust.
* In the 1967 DealWithTheDevil film ''Film/{{Bedazzled 1967}}'', the protagonist Stanley Moon meets incarnations of the seven deadly sins. Anger is a hostile bouncer who wears a T-shirt that says "Make War, Not Love", Sloth is always sleeping, Gluttony is a FatGirl, Avarice complains about how much money's being spent on a date, Envy accuses the other sins of getting special treatment, Vanity has an upward-bending arm with an inward-facing mirror attached to it ''protruding from his midsection'', and Lust is, well, Raquel Welch.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Literature/HarryPotter: The four houses of Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry represent and base their student selection on moral qualities.
** Gryffindor represents courage and chivalry, the knightly virtues. Weaknesses include brashness, overconfidence and pride.
** Ravenclaw represents wisdom, knowledge and honesty. Weaknesses include arrogance and aloofness.
** Hufflepuff represents humility, loyalty and diligence. No clear moral weaknesses seem to accompany these traits, yet Hufflepuff is the house which is most frequently looked down on in disdain by the others. A commentary on how humility can be misinterpreted as weakness or passivity?
** Slytherin represents ambition, personal as well as collective. As a trait of utility rather than morality, it can sometimes [[EvilVirtues overshadow traditional moral values]], which is why most "evil wizards/witches" in the world come from this house. Yet its relevance as a positive trait cannot be denied. Where would the others be without it?
[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', the {{fallen hero}}es who serve as the bosses are each themed for a sin, having fallen into decadence after their grand victory. For the first five bosses there is also a moral choice themed around the sin.
** Melvin Underbelly (Gluttony): A small halfling whose appetite ran out of control when fame went to his head. His subjects raid human villages to gather the massive amounts of food needed to feed the now morbidly-obese Melvin. Hidden in his lair is a massive store of food. You can return it to the starving villagers or use it to feed your minions.
** Oberon Greenhaze (Sloth): An elf who fell into an endless sleep, depriving his people of the hero they needed when dwarfs razed the kingdom. Then, just to top things off, [[YourWorstNightmare Oberon's nightmares started manifesting]] while he turned into a giant tree-weed slowly consuming his forest home. Deep in the forest is the last untainted grove, filled with enemies and loot. You can fight each enemy to retrieve the treasure or take the easy way and burn it down.
** Sir William the Black (Lust): Abandoned his fiancée and knightly ways to house a succubus queen, founding a cult dedicated to carnal pleasure (sheep in the brothel anyone?) and letting the succubus transform the hapless citizens of his city into a zombie horde. Locked away in the castle is your second choice of mistress, the very sensual Velvet. You can choose to remain faithful to Rose or claim Velvet as your own.
** Goldo Golderson (Greed): A gold-hungry dwarf who razed the elven kingdom to steal their treasures and used the survivors of the elven race to mine gold in his own kingdom. Deep in Goldo's collapsing castle are two treasures: A mountain of gold and the last elven women. You can save the elves or the gold before time runs out.
** Jewel, the Thieving Hero (Envy): Kleptomanic thief, constantly steals things other people want. It doesn't matter what it is or if she can use it; if somebody wants it, it has value and she'll take it. On her defeat you recover the stolen statue. You can return it to the elves or claim it as part of your fortunes.
** Kahn the Warrior (Wrath): A massive warrior easily overwhelmed with rage for even the most minor issues. Only Jewel could calm him, and after you kill her, [[UnstoppableRage well...]] Meanwhile, your "loyal" subjects in Spree betray you to save their own hides from Kahn's fury, you can decide if you want to let this go or give in to your anger towards them and butcher them all.
** The Wizard (Pride): A man who dedicated his life to defeating the previous Overlord only to be possessed by his foe's spirit. He was responsible for the downfall of the other heroes and attempts to usurp (well, reclaim) the player's position as overlord. Sure in his ability to reclaim his position, he was defeated by the very pawn he had empowered to achieve his ends. This last one seems a less obvious aesop as the others, until the final battle where he gloats how he personally corrupted each of the original heroes one by one throughout the entire fight; pride comes before the fall.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Sins}}'' has personifications of the seven heavenly virtues as some of the characters. In a subversion, they tend to suffer their virtues rather than embody them, and most are bitter about it (when not outright morally questionable).

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!!Examples:

Anime & Manga

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Fanworks

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Literature

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Webcomics

Web Originals

Western Animation

** Twilight Sparkle represents Friendship/Magic

Sometimes this trope is applied to entities other than characters in works of fiction, such as organizations or even inanimate objects. In the latter case the representation has nothing to do with the personality of the assignee, for obvious reasons, but is rather more arbitrarily symbolic.

Inversion of EmbodimentOfVice.

** Twilight Sparkle represents Friendship/Magic

This also has as exact opposite that perhaps carries enough unique connotations as to be regarded a trope in itself: embodiment of vice. One notable difference between the two tropes is that the characters involved usually are aware of their virtues, and strive to actively cultivate them. Characters that personify vices are usually either unaware of them or somehow unable to overcome them. For example, characters that actively strive to be honorable and courageous are extremely commonplace in fiction, but how many characters have you encountered that strive to be as greedy as possible, for the sake of greed in and of itself? Vice is nearly always motivated by something other than the desire to be vicious, unlike virtue.