History Main / EunuchsAreEvil

* Do those from ''TheLastEmperor'' count?

* The villain in ''{{Orgazmo}}'' is blasted with the orgazmo ray so many times in the "climax" of the film that he returns in the epilogue for a SequelHook, proclaiming himself to be eunuch, and thus immune to Orgazmo's weapon.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv-S3uoeTXg Here's some sound recordings of the last castrato, Alexander Moreschi]]. Not exactly his best work, but you can get some idea. Castrato voices are often described in contemporary accounts as eerie, unreal, bizarre, but beautiful. They had Michael Jackson-like fandoms. A choir of these gentlemen were part of the orchestra at Napoleon's coronation; their voices were so powerful as to drown out a nearby harp orchestra and three-hundred member choir of "normal" voices.

* China has its share of evil eunuchs; and the Ming Dynasty is practically full of these. This was because the system gave the emperor dictatorial powers, but the later emperors may not be competent enough to use these powers himself and often uses eunuchs as they proxy. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Zhongxian Wei Zhongxian]], the most infamous of them all, even tried to [[AGodAmI tried to deify himself]].

* MaryRenault's ThePersianBoy is a definite subversion. The narrator and protagonist is Bagoas, who was forcibly castrated at a young age and became the lover of both King Darius of III of Persia and, later, Alexander the Great. From the outside he might seem like a scheming eunuch, but because we see everything from his perspective and are privy to his train of thought, he becomes a very sympathetic character.

* So very very inverted with Sazed in the {{Mistborn}} series, who is probably the nicest character among all the main characters of the series, and then [[spoiler: he becomes the new god of the setting and saves it from total annihilation.]]

** Here's some sound recordings of the last castrato, Alexander Moreschi. Not exactly his best work, but you can get some idea. A choir of these gentlemen were part of the orchestra at Napoleon's coronation; their voices were so powerful as to drown out a nearby harp orchestra and three-hundred member choir of "normal" voices.

* MaryRenault's The Persian Boy is a definite subversion. The narrator and protagonist is Bagoas, who was forcibly castrated at a young age and became the lover of both King Darius of III of Persia and, later, Alexander the Great. From the outside he might seem like a scheming eunuch, but because we see everything from his perspective and are privy to his train of thought, he becomes a very sympathetic character.

* Varys, the eunuch spymaster from ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', has traits of this, but it's unclear if he's really evil.

* The 3rd Edition ''DungeonsAndDragons: Oriental Adventures'' book had a prestige class ''based entirely around'' this trope.

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* Real Eunuchs were as good and evil as any other courtiers and no more inclined to plot then anyone else in a DeadlyDecadentCourt. Some were trusted and loyal servants. Byzantine Eunuchs were not slaves, but were often commoners who had been given The Procedure at their parents request in the hope that they would have a good career. The RealLife Narses(not the [[BellisariusSeries fictional one]] , was a FourStarBadass who conquered large parts of Italy for the Emperor Justinian.
* While Eunuchs are generally associated with oriental courts they were known in Europe as well under the term castrati. In this case they were valued for their boyish voices rather then their inability to breed and made part of classical orchestras that would play before several monarchs including the Pope. Several noted opera singers were this.
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* The High Eunuchs from ''CodeGeass'', Evil Chancellors who betray the Chinese Federation for personal gain.

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* Mary Renault's The Persian Boy is a definite subversion. The narrator and protagonist is Bagoas, who was forcibly castrated at a young age and became the lover of both King Darius of III of Persia and, later, Alexander the Great. From the outside he might seem like a scheming eunuch, but because we see everything from his perspective and are privy to his train of thought, he becomes a very sympathetic character.

* Suwonkas from {{Utwarerumono}} not only a VERY creepy SissyVillain of the highest order, he also [[spoiler: THANKS the HotAmazon he was a {{Yandere}} to for chopping his balls off, because they freed him from "the curse of masculinity". However, FridgeLogic sets in when you realize that even though he isn't a man anymore, he still wants to make said HotAmazon his woman.]]

* Narses is an {{Antivilain}} in BellisariusSeries. While a traitor and an assassin he is not particularly sadistic and has some claims to being an OnlySaneMan. Interestingly he is not shown as effeminate; he is certainly more manly then the Vile One except in the restricted sense that the later has slave-girls as his favorite entertainment, while residing in his mobile palace to far to the rear of the battle area to be in any danger.

So you've got a villain and you've got to give him a [[RightRedHand Right Red Hand]], and your protagonist is the manliest of men. So, why not make your villain a [[Foil]] and remove his male organ? Especially prevalent in fantasy, the Evil Eunuch is simultaneously creepy and effeminate, which makes him an obvious villain. Eunuchs are also more [[ReptilesAreAbohorrent snakelike]]. A subtrope of SissyVillain. Eunuchs tend to be EvilChancellor types.

A subtrope of SissyVillain. Eunuchs tend to be EvilChancellor types.

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* Inverted by {{Straw Feminist}}s, who are liable to believe that any man who isn't a eunuch is evil.