History Main / JacobAndEsau

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': While both Elric brothers have their father Hohenheim's coloring, Ed very strongly resembles him in his youth, while Al shares their mother Trisha's softer features and kinder personality.

* In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', both of the Bennet parents have clear (even stated) favorites. Mr. Bennet is closest to Elizabeth, who is clever, sardonic, and fond of books, as he is. Mrs. Bennet, a vivacious beauty in her youth -- and indeed still a beauty -- prefers the lovely Jane and the lively and strong-willed Lydia, who remind her of herself. Mary and Kitty are [[MiddleChildSyndrome pretty much on their own]].

** Sansa seems to be the most "southron" of the Stark children, taking after her mother in this regard and is the only one to be more culturally oriented toward the place her mother comes from, the Riverlands, delighting in the graces of court (until everything goes to pot). She identifies more with the Faith of the Seven than with the Old Gods, the faith of the North. Of course, she and Arya are the only two children who spend a significant amount of time at court in the South, and Arya ends up going on a [[StartOfDarkness rather different kind of journey]] by the beginning of the second book, while Sansa remains in the South.

** According to Mama Petrelli, Nathan [[LikeFatherLikeSon takes after his father]] but Peter [[MommasBoy was always her favourite]]. Of course, Mama Petrelli is a [[ManipulativeBastard lying bitch]] who [[PersonOfMassDestruction wanted Peter to explode]], and her husband is a [[BigBad total monster]] who [[OffingTheOffspring tried to have Nathan murdered]]. Clearly favouritism is a relative thing among the Petrellis.

* Non-parental example in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' -- [[CloudCuckoolander Mabel]] bonds more easily with [[LovableRogue Grunkle Stan]], due to their similarly extroverted (yet [[CheerfulChild otherwise]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold contrasting]]) personalities, while [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Dipper]] winds up getting closer to [[spoiler:[[WalkingSpoiler their other great-uncle, Ford]]]], who is basically [[ScienceHero everything he]] [[OccultDetective wants to be]].

** This gets reversed in Katara and Sokka's family. While there's never any indication Hakoda or Kya favored one of them over the other, Katara and Sokka seem to have favorite ''parents.'' Katara is much more deeply traumatized by the death of their mother (in part because Sokka had her to mitigate the loss of their mother in his life), while Sokka is much more deeply traumatized by their father leaving them to fight in the war (in part because Katara had him to mitigate ''that'' loss). They both lionize the parent they identify with, go out of their way to take over the role their parent left to them, and while they love the other parent, Katara begins to resent her father for leaving while Sokka isn't sure he can remember what his mother looks like anymore since Katara has so entirely subsumed her role in his life.

* ''Literature/TheKitchenDaughter'': When the Selvaggio sisters' parents were alive, Ma got along better with Amanda, who was more of a "regular daughter," than with Ginny, with whom she had little in common other than cooking, and was constantly getting into arguments. Ginny was close to Dad, who had undiagnosed Asperger's like she does. Amanda always felt like Dad didn't like her.

* [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/DragonBallZ''. While Gohan spends the vast majority of his screentime in Goku's company, his reserved personality and clear preference for studying over fighting make him more Chi-Chi's son; he even shares more physical traits with her, such as skin tone, than he does with his father. By the same token, Goten doesn't even ''meet'' Goku until he's already seven years old, but he's the spitting image of him as a boy, both in terms of looks and behavior, which Gohan doesn't fail to notice. ''Super'' later reinforces this by consistently placing Goten alongside his father in the softer, slice-of-life family moments.

** Jon's resemblance to Ned causes Catelyn some amount of angst, at least before [[FromBadToWorse other concerns rear their head]]: Jon is the only son who bears the Stark look and takes after Ned, yet he's the illegitimate one. [[spoiler:[[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo Or maybe not]].]]

* [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/DragonBallZ''. While Gohan spends the vast majority of his screentime in Goku's company, his reserved personality and clear preference for studying over fighting make him more Chi-Chi's son; he even shares more physical traits with her, such as skin tone, than he does with his father. By the same token, Goten doesn't even ''meet'' Goku until he's already seven years old, but he's the spitting image of him as a boy, both in terms of looks and behavior, which Gohan doesn't fail to notice.

* ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'' plays a fairly subtle version of this with Dinah and Tracy, who resemble their mother and father, respectively. Dinah and Margaret both act pretty kooky at times. Meanwhile Tracy's rivalry with Seth clearly stems from the fact that they both have strong personalities, and part of Tracy's [[DefrostingTheIceQueen rehabilitation]] is acknowledging that they are not as different as she'd like to believe.

[[folder:Literature ]]

* Glynn and Ember from Creator/IsobelleCarmody's ''Literature/TheLegendsongSaga''. Glynn is much closer to her father while Eber takes after her mother in both looks and talents. It is mentioned that their mother didn't really want children at all, and is only able to love Ember because they are so similar. Strongly influences Glynn's personality.

** Sansa seems to be the most "southron" of the Stark children, taking after her mother in this regard, and is the only one to be more culturally oriented toward the place her mother comes from, the Riverlands, delighting in the graces of court (until everything goes to pot). She identifies more with the Faith of the Seven than with the Old Gods, the faith of the North. Of course, she and Arya are the only two children who spend a significant amount of time at court in the South, and Arya ends up going on a [[StartOfDarkness rather different kind of journey]] by the beginning of the second book, while Sansa remains in the South.

** As Azula sees it, Ozai preferred her, and Ursa preferred her older brother, Zuko. The reality is slightly more complex: Ozai held her up as a prodigy, encouraged her ruthless, TroublingUnChildlikeBehavior and subsequently derided Zuko every chance he got. The ''second'' Azula perceives Ozai as not treating her with the favor she's accustomed to, she shouts "You can't treat me like Zuko!" Ursa, on the other hand, tried to teach Azula that no, wishing for your uncle to die so your father can be Fire Lord is wrong. Zuko, being naturally more empathetic and compassionate, didn't get these same reprimands with the same frequency as Azula (the only time we see their mother scold him is when he innocently mimics 'how Azula feeds turtleducks,' by ''throwing'' whole loaves of bread at them). Because Azula knows that Ozai's favoritism of her means he hates Zuko, she assumes that Ursa's reprimands to her means that she favors Zuko, and therefore hates her.
** This gets reversed in Katara's and Sokka's family. While there's never any indication Hakoda or Kya favored one of them over the other, Katara and Sokka seem to have favorite ''parents.'' Katara is much more deeply traumatized by the death of their mother (in part because Sokka had her to mitigate the loss of their mother in his life), while Sokka is much more deeply traumatized by their father leaving them to fight in the war (in part because Katara had him to mitigate ''that'' loss). They both lionize the parent they identify with, go out of their way to take over the role their parent left to them, and while they love the other parent, Katara begins to resent her father for leaving while Sokka isn't sure he can remember what his mother looks like anymore, since Katara has so entirely subsumed her role in his life.
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Tina is (mostly) sensible and even-tempered to the point of seeming catatonia, much like Bob. Gene is an ebullient scatterbrain like his mother Linda, and also a huge MamasBoy. Louise is a curious mixture of her parents, but has enough of her mother in her that no one is safe on those occasions they're in conflict.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' has a subtle example where [[TheSnarkKnight Daria]] and [[BumblingDad Jake]] seem particularly close while [[ParentsAsPeople Helen]] bonds more easily with [[LovableLibby Quinn]]. However, Helen in particular still manages to help Daria on several occasions (generally more competently than Jake, if not quite as easy-going). In fact, one could argue that the reason Daria gets on with Jake is because he won't butt in on her life, for better or worse.

%%Note to editors: sometimes on this page you will see the word "favorite", and sometimes you will see the word "favourite". The former is considered a legitimate spelling in the United States; the latter is used everywhere else. On this wiki, both are considered equally valid. Please do not "correct" them from one to the other. Use whichever one you're comfortable with, and respect others' right to do the same.

* [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/DragonBallZ''. While Gohan spends the vast majority of his screentime in Goku's company, his reserved personality and clear preference for studying over fighting make him more Chi-Chi's son; he even shares more physical traits with her, such as skin tone, than he does with his father. By the same token, Goten doesn't even ''meet'' Goku until he's already seven years old, but he's the spitting image of him as a boy, both in terms of looks and behavior, which Gohan doesn't fail to notice.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In terms of appearance and career choice, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia resemble their same-sex birth parents Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, with Luke becoming a Jedi Knight and Leia becoming a political leader. But personality-wise, Luke takes after Padmé (calm, idealistic) and Leia takes after Anakin (quick-tempered, sharp-tongued).

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** The Stark children all physically take after one of their parents. Arya and Jon (Ned Stark's illegitimate son whose mother is [[MissingMom unknown by most]]) inherit the Stark look from their father Ned. Robb, Sansa, Bran, and Rickon inherit the Tully look from their mother Catelyn. Personality-wise, Robb and Jon are the two children who strongly take after Ned.
** Jon's resemblance to Ned causes Catelyn some amount of angst, at least before [[FromBadToWorse other concerns rear their head]]: Jon is the only son who bears the Stark look and takes after Ned, yet he's the illegitimate one. [[spoiler:[[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo Or maybe not]].]]
** Sansa seems to be the most "southron" of the Stark children, taking after her mother in this regard, and is only one to be more culturally oriented toward the place her mother comes from, the Riverlands, delighting in the graces of court (until everything goes to pot). She identifies more with the Faith of the Seven than with the Old Gods, the faith of the North. Of course, she and Arya are the only two children who spend a significant amount of time at court in the South, and Arya ends up going on a [[StartOfDarkness rather different kind of journey]] by the beginning of the second book, while Sansa remains in the South.
* Glynn and Ember from Creator/IsobelleCarmody's ''Literature/TheLegendsongSaga''. Glynn is much closer to her father while Eber takes after her mother in both looks and talents. It is mentioned that their mother didn't really want children at all, and is only able to love Ember because they are so similar. Strongly influences Glynn's personality.

* In ''Literature/MidnightTides'', book five of the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', there are the Beddict brothers, and although their parents are long dead by the start of the book comparisons are drawn InUniverse. The oldest brother, Hull, and the youngest, Brys, both take after their father; Hull in personality, especially their father's weaknesses, and Brys in the physical aspects, to the point of being their father's spitting image in martial ability and looks, apparently. The middle son, Tehol, on the other hand, is a gender-flipped version of their mother, especially in regards to personality and brains. He even comments on how there is no need to keep alive their parents' memory, as there are walking, talking versions of them still around.
* In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', both of the Bennet parents have clear (even stated) favorites. Mr. Bennet is closest to Elizabeth, who is clever, sardonic, and fond of books, as he is. Mrs. Bennet, a vivacious beauty in her youth -- and indeed still a beauty -- prefers the lovely Jane and the lively and strong-willed Lydia, who remind her of herself. Mary and Kitty are [[MiddleChildSyndrome pretty much on their own]].
* ''Literature/JuliasKitchen'': Cara always felt that her mother preferred her, while her father preferred her more tomboyish sister Janie. It was all fair until her mother and Janie were killed in a HouseFire. Now she struggles to connect with her father.

* ''Series/That70sShow'': Red makes no secret of his preference for Laurie, while Kitty is subtler about her favoritism toward Eric.

* In ''Series/ModernFamily'', Mitchell always considered himself closer to his mother, while Claire felt closer to their father.

* Non-parental example in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''--[[CloudCuckoolander Mabel]] bonds more easily with [[LovableRogue Grunkle Stan]], due to their similarly extroverted (yet [[CheerfulChild otherwise]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold contrasting]]) personalities, while [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Dipper]] winds up getting closer to [[spoiler:[[WalkingSpoiler their other great-uncle, Ford]]]], who is basically [[ScienceHero everything he]] [[OccultDetective wants to be]].
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Tina is (mostly) sensible and even-tempered to the point of seeming catatonia, much like Bob. Gene is an ebullient scatterbrain like his mother Linda, and also a huge MamasBoy. Louise is a curious mixture of her parents, but has enough of her mother in her that no one is safe on those occasions they're in conflict.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': As Azula sees it, Ozai preferred her, and Ursa preferred her older brother, Zuko. The reality is slightly more complex: Ozai held her up as a prodigy, encouraged her ruthless, TroublingUnChildlikeBehavior and subsequently derided Zuko every chance he got. The ''second'' Azula perceives Ozai as not treating her with the favor she's accustomed to, she shouts "You can't treat me like Zuko!" Ursa, on the other hand, tried to teach Azula that no, wishing for your uncle to die so your father can be Fire Lord is wrong. Zuko, being naturally more empathetic and compassionate, didn't get these same reprimands with the same frequency as Azula (the only time we see their mother scold him is when he innocently mimics 'how Azula feeds turtleducks,' by ''throwing'' whole loaves of bread at them). Because Azula knows that Ozai's favoritism of her means he hates Zuko, she assumes that Ursa's reprimands to her means that she favors Zuko, and therefore hates her.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Ozai preferred Azula, Ursa preferred Zuko. Of course, this is a BigScrewedUpFamily being talked about here.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action T.V. ]]

[[folder: Music ]]
* In "[[http://ingeb.org/songs/haveyoue.html The Garden Where the Praties Grow]]", the singer's family consists of "Two girls just like their mother / And a boy the image of me." (Some performances swap the sexes of the children).

[[folder: Mythology & Religion ]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

-->-- Literature/BookOfGenesis 25:27-28

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', the Stark children all physically take after one of their parents. Arya and Jon (Ned Stark's illegitimate son whose mother is [[MissingMom unknown by most]]) inherit the Stark look from their father Ned. Robb, Sansa, Bran, and Rickon inherit the Tully look from their mother Catelyn. Personality-wise, Robb and Jon are the two children who strongly take after Ned.

* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': It's implied that Frigga preferred [[Characters/MCULoki Loki]] while Odin favoured Thor; each parent gave their favorite child their iconic tools, illusions and Mjölnir respectively. Creator/TomHiddleston confirms this in [[https://uproxx.com/hitfix/thor-the-dark-worlds-tom-hiddleston-reflects-on-his-big-comic-con-entrance-watch/ this interview]] while promoting the film.

* [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/DragonBallZ''. While Gohan spends the vast majority of his screentime in Goku's company, his reserved personality and clear preference for studying over fighting make him more Chi-Chi's son; he even shares more physical traits with her, such as skin tone, than he does with his father. By the same token, Goten doesn't even ''meet'' Goku until he's already seven years old, but he's the spitting image of him as a boy, both in terms looks and behavior, which Gohan doesn't fail to notice.

* [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/DragonBallZ''. While Gohan spends the vast majority of his screentime in Goku's company, his reserved personality and clear preference for studying over fighting make him more Chi-Chi's son; he even shares more physical traits with her, such as skin tone, than he does with his father. By the same token, Goten doesn't even ''meet'' Goku until he's already seven years old, but he's the spitting image of him as a boy, both in looks and behavior, which Gohan doesn't fail to notice.

* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': It's implied that Frigga preferred [[Characters/MCULoki Loki]] while Odin favoured Thor. Creator/TomHiddleston confirms this in [[https://uproxx.com/hitfix/thor-the-dark-worlds-tom-hiddleston-reflects-on-his-big-comic-con-entrance-watch/ this interview]] while promoting the film.

* Thor and Loki in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: At least in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', it is implied that Frigga preferred Loki while Odin favoured Thor.

* John Steinbeck's ''EastOfEden'' relies heavily on the Cain/Abel, Jacob/Esau motif throughout its entirety. There are two sets of brothers: Adam and Charles and then Aron and Cal (sons of Adam and a crazy maniacal whore named Cathy). Adam and Aron = Jacob/Abel, Charles and Cal = Esau/Cain. Adam and Aron are good boys who take after their dads. Charles and Cal are more... unstable... and tend to flirt with evil, taking after their mothers.