History Main / TheTragicRose

* Rosalie Hale from ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is insanely beautiful, was raped and left for dead because of it, and now lives on as a bitter vampire incapable of having a biological child--her one real dream.

* ''Series/Teresa'': the protagonist has a younger sister named Rosita, who tragically dies of a heart attack when her parents could not afford a treatment for her heart disease. Of course she passes the torch to Teresa, who starts to wear different rose-themes items with her wardrobe. Over the years, Teresa proves to be a rose with many many thorns, thanks to her beauty and manipulative ways of using people, hurting more and more herself and others in the process. Even the logo of the telenovela appears on the screen under the form of a red blooming rose with many thorns.

* Eugeo in the ''Alicization'' arc of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' is this. His relatively normal childhood with his two closest friends Kirito and Alice was abruptly cut short when Alice accidentally ended up inadvertently violating the Taboo Index and was taken away. Kirito ended up disappearing shortly afterwards, only to show up years later, but without any memory of said childhood. The two then resolve to journey to the Central Cathedral where Alice was taken (Eugeo to save Alice, Kirito to contact the real world). [[spoiler:And right before the two manage to accomplish their goals, Eugeo ends up being killed, which sends Kirito plummeting past the DespairEventHorizon]]. Eugeo's thematic link comes from his signature weapon, the Blue Rose Sword, which freezes foes solid and creates life-draining roses. [[spoiler:After Eugeo's death, Kirito keeps the Blue Rose Sword as a TragicKeepsake.]]

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BloodyRose_6998.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Adieu.]]

-->-- '''Robert Herrick''', ''The Rose''

* In ''Theatre/StreetScene'', Rose Maurrant returns home from a funeral to find that [[spoiler:her mother has been shot and fatally wounded by her cruel OverprotectiveDad]].

* Aki Izayoi from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' is a MsFanservice whose ace card is Black Rose Dragon and appearance is an {{Expy}} of [[Anime/CodeGeass Kallen]] albeit more realistically portioned. She is also a DarkActionGirl who has PsychicPower that is able to materialize terrify duel monsters, both her and her dragon are PersonOfMassDestruction that can level an entire stadium, suffered from a tragic past plagued with ParentalAbandonment and [[AllTheOtherReindeer isolation]] that made her into a vulnerable target for [[ManipulativeBastard Divine]] to be used for his own agenda. She [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds took her frustration and hatred]] towards the people in Domino City but always secretly despises herself for her power and her birthmark (unaware that she is one of the [[TheChosenOne Signers]]) to the point that created the [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Black Rose Witch]] persona out of guilt of killing so many people. She got better thanks to ThePowerOfFriendship.

* Rosa is the name of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''[='=]s MissingMom, and her life is a tragedy. First, she fell in love and conceived Bayonetta with a Lumen Sage, which is a problem since she is an Umbra Witch, and both clans have laid down the law forbidding such relationship, resulting in Rosa being imprisoned for life and her daughter ostracized. [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 In her last moments]], she tried to defend the Umbra clan when [[LightIsNotGood forces of Paradiso]] invaded, but was killed by an enemy before her lover could save her. [[spoiler:In ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'', we see her AlternateSelf who is just as unfortunate, falling victim to a PuppeteerParasite which results in her daughter's alternate self having to MercyKill her.]]

* ''Fanfic/TrustingInFaith'' is a one shot where Nessarose and Glinda were romantically involved in university. While they were [[StarcrossedLovers unable to make their relationship last into adulthood]], their feelings lingered even after years apart. After Nessarose is [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremoniously killed by a falling house]], Glinda goes to her funeral. She does cry, but she tries not to be too sad because she knows that Nessarose was always very interested in heaven. The fic ends with a quote referencing the nature of this trope:
-->''Oh, how the Unnamed God was lucky to have such a beautiful Rose.''

** Ruby Rose has a rose motif and tragedy seems to always follow her. It doesn't help that she was destined from birth to be a [[spoiler:Silver-Eyed Warrior.]] Her mom Summer died when she was seven, her dad Taiyang ([[spoiler:unknowingly, her step-dad]]) fell into a depression after Summer's death, and her sister Yang had to [[PromotionToParent step up]] at a young age to help raise Ruby. Ruby wants to be a huntress but gets involved in a lot of trouble. In one night her FirstLove Penny is [[spoiler:brutally murdered in front of her]], her sister Yang [[spoiler:gets [[AnArmAndALeg gets her arm torn off]]]], her friend Weiss [[spoiler:gets forced back into her abusive household]], her friend Blake [[spoiler:oes missing and is assumed dead]], and her other friend Jaune is [[spoiler:murdered in front of both Ruby and his girlfriend Pyrrha]]. Ruby ends up becoming a StepfordSmiler in an attempt to not seem so troubled. This is all ignoring [[spoiler:the FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo Ruby is unaware of for most of the fic]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'': A girl named Rosy spends the entire movie slowly dying of diphtheria. [[spoiler: Not only does she survive, but she's the NarratorAllAlong]].

* In ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'', Rose was on the Titanic, her fiancé (by ArrangedMarriage) was a JerkAss and her new boyfriend dies while urging her to live. She lived for almost 90 years afterwards, becoming pretty much a living legend; after telling the people digging in the sea for the Titanic what she witnessed there (in an extended flashback which comprises the bulk of the movie, Rose [[spoiler:makes her final break with the past and apparently dies shortly thereafter.]]
* Pretty much the premise of the Creator/BetteMidler film (and character) ''Film/TheRose''.

* Rosa del Valle from ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits'' is the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman, but lives in a convoluted world full of changes [[CloudCuckoolander that she's borderline oblivious to]]. [[spoiler: She ends up murdered when one of her father's enemies poisons their wine and she accidentally drinks it, completely changing the lives of everyone who lives on - specially her boyfriend Esteban and her little sister Clara.]]
* ''Literature/RoseUnderFire'' is set in a concentration camp, where a character named Rose and a character named Róża both experience [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust unimaginable horrors]].
* In ''[[Literature/{{Redwall}} Martin the Warrior]]'', the titular hero falls in love with a mousemaid named Rose, only for her to die at the end.
* Rosalie Hale from ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is insanely beautiful, was raped and left for dead because of it, and now lives on as a bitter vampire incapable of having a biological child--her one real dream.

* For fair Rosalie from ''The Fire King'', a ballad by Creator/WalterScott, nothing goes well for most of the story. She learns that her beloved is captured in Palestine and goes with the crusaders as SweetPollyOliver to ransom or rescue him. It turns out that he has betrayed her for the sultan's daughter, renounced his faith and knighthood, and joined the sultan's army, ''and'' he ends up killing her on the battlefield when she distracts him from attacking King Baldwin. The poor girl's suffering is finally over when [[DiedHappilyEverAfter she is taken to Heaven by Virgin Mary]].
* ''The War Of The Roses,'' a 1981 novel by Warren Adler, is a grim look at the marriage of Jonathan and Barbara Rose, which starts out great but tragically falls apart due to each partner's selfishness and materialism. [[Film/TheWarOfTheRoses The 1989 movie]] [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on it]] wisely turned the story into a BlackComedy, else it would have been unfilmable.
* The ''Literature/GhostRoads'' series is about Rose Marshall, who was murdered as a teenager and wanders the roadways of the United States as a ghost.

* On the ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "Best Friends", a girl named Rose pledged a lover's suicide [[StarCrossedLovers with her girlfriend, Billie.]] (It was 1932, plus Rose is white while Billie was black.) The suicide didn't go over as planned ([[spoiler: Billie was shot to death by Rose's evil brother and her lifeless body was disposed of in the Delaware River]]) and she spent the rest of her life writing sorrowful poems about her lost love. 60 years later, [[spoiler: the now old Rose is approached by the team since Billie's body had been recently retrieved from a truck in the river; after Rose confesses what really happened, Billie's spirit comes for her, all being forgiven.]]

* In ''Series/AlmaGemea'', the white rose, which was created by Rafael in homage to Luna, becomes a symbol of his grief after Luna dies. After Luna reincarnates as Serena, she often has visions of the white rose despite never having seen one in her current life yet, and she feels a special connection to it when she finally sees it in person. Foreshadowed in the first chapter, when Luna hurts herself with the rose's thorn, dropping blood on it, and says she feels a chill, as if it were a signal.

* Rose from the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series. Beautiful, level-headed, a powerful LadyOfBlackMagic, [[spoiler: Bison's "[[EnemyWithout other self]]"]]... and much every ending she's ever had is a DownerEnding. [[spoiler: Save for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', where Rose ''finally'' manages to survive to Bison's influence due to her [[TrueCompanions best]] [[PlatonicLifePartners friend]] [[VideoGame/FinalFight Guy]].]]
* Rose from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' ends up being the sole survivor of a brutal war, losing her fiance and best friends in the process, and is forced to [[WhoWantsToLiveForever accept immortality]] in order to save the world from complete destruction every 108 years. The [[ShootTheDog necessary evils]] needed in order to accomplish said world-saving has resulted in [[HatedByAll the entire world hating her]] as a mythical demon of evil and destruction. By the time the game's storyline rolls around, she can't even remember the last time she ''smiled''.
* While tragedy doesn't exactly hit this girl named [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Rose Berstein]] and she's much more of a RichBitch than a BrokenBird, in ''XIII'' she ''is'' a vital part in [[spoiler: Those Of The Past's plans... which end with Ash [[RetGone Ret-goning]] himself in what becomes a massive TearJerker.]] The dress she's wearing at that moment even has rose motifs all over it.

* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'''s infant daughter who was murdered along with his wife was named Rose, according to the tombstone seen in the third game.

* Rosemaster of ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' fits this well. Being a ''literal rose,'' she's also one of the more tragic Disaster Masters, constantly reflecting on her actions and the actions of those around her in a negative light.

* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' mixes the romantic, the tragic, and the downright Freudian in its ''obsessive'' use of Roses as symbols. Every main character has a rose in their associated color, and every main character has something of a TragicBackstory. Utena's and Anthy's eventual traumas top them all, and both are heavily associated with roses.
* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' has Aphrodite, the saint of Pisces: a [[DudeLooksLikeALady beautiful]] but PoisonousPerson. Guess which flowers he uses [[ImprobableWeaponUser as a weapon]]?

* ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'' is a tale of star-crossed lovers on the eve of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution with pathos and tragedy all 'round, though it doesn't feature roses ''quite'' as prominently as ''Utena.''

* One of the opening scenes of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' takes place in Kinzo's rose garden, with particular emphasis on a rose that his granddaughter Maria claims as hers. Maria is eventually revealed to suffer from an AbusiveParent (in a scene involving the rose). Oh, and everybody dies. [[GroundhogDayLoop Over and over.]] Beatrice herself wears a rose in her hair. [[spoiler:She's TheOphelia]].
* In the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' anime, when [[HookerWithAHeartOfgold Li]][[BrokenBird ly]] first shows up, she pulls a Rei and tosses a red rose in the air, promising to spend a night with the man who catches it. The guy who does is Terry, TheHero. [[spoiler: They never get to spend their night, as right after Lily's HighHeelFaceTurn she's killed by her boss Geese, [[KillTheCutie as the end of]] [[BreakTheCutie the neverending parade of tragedies]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog that the poor girl's life was]].]]
* In ''Anime/SDGundamForce'', the evil Deathscythe creates a duplicate of Lacroa's princess in order to infiltrate the Gundam Force and lead them into a trap. But the fake befriends Shute, and near the end tries to help them escape. In response to this betrayal, Deathscythe returns the fake princess to her original form- a violet rose he had enchanted.
* Aki Izayoi from ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' is a MsFanservice whose ace card is Black Rose Dragon and appearance is an {{Expy}} of [[Anime/CodeGeass Kallen]] albeit more realistically portioned. She is also a DarkActionGirl who has PsychicPower that is able to materialize terrify duel monsters, both her and her dragon are PersonOfMassDestruction that can level an entire stadium, suffered from a tragic past plagued with ParentalAbandonment and [[AllTheOtherReindeer isolation]] that made her into a vulnerable target for [[ManipulativeBastard Divine]] to be used for his own agenda. She [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds took her frustration and hatred]] towards the people in Domino City but always secretly despises herself for her power and her birthmark (unaware that she is one of the [[TheChosenOne Signers]]) to the point that created the [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Black Rose Witch]] persona out of guilt of killing so many people. She got better thanks to ThePowerOfFriendship.
* Rinne from ''Anime/VividStrike'' has a rose motif in her transformation sequence, complete with her magic taking the form of thorny vines while applying her Barrier Jacket. Fittingly, her character is defined by her inability to move past the events surrounding the death of her grandfather.
* Eugeo in the ''Alicization'' arc of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' is this. His relatively normal childhood with his two closest friends Kirito and Alice was abruptly cut short when Alice accidentally ended up inadvertently violating the Taboo Index and was taken away. Kirito ended up disappearing shortly afterwards, only to show up years later, but without any memory of said childhood. The two then resolve to journey to the Central Cathedral where Alice was taken (Eugeo to save Alice, Kirito to contact the real world). [[spoiler:And right before the two manage to accomplish their goals, Eugeo ends up being killed, which sends Kirito plummeting past the DespairEventHorizon]]. Eugeo's thematic link comes from his signature weapon, the Blue Rose Sword, which freezes foes solid and creates life-draining roses. [[spoiler:After Eugeo's death, Kirito keeps the Blue Rose Sword as a TragicKeepsake.]]

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' tale [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/decency Decency]] is the very short story of an agent taking pity on 231-7 and giving her a rose. The Foundation continues to torture her, and [[PunishedForSympathy he gets killed]], because StatusQuoIsGod.

** In ''addition'' to this, in the ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' 2003 anime version, Rosé was [[spoiler:raped off-screen by soldiers occupying her town, became a mute, and carried the resulting baby to term]]. She ''then'' [[spoiler:had to lead her town to exile and merger with the nation due to another invasion of soldiers, was kidnapped by the BigBad, and was spared by moments from a final GrandTheftMe that might have used her baby as ''fuel''. The guy she finally professes her love to then gets trapped in another dimension.]] Finally, in ''[[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa The Conqueror of Shamballa]]'', [[spoiler:the guy who she professed her love to comes ''back'' from that other dimension hitchhiking with an army, never once sees her, then he and his brother, who did see her, go back to that other dimension after beating the army.]] In ''Conqueror of Shamballa'', she's shown living happily with her toddler-aged son and two kids she presumably adopted, but she's still has a pretty tragic past.

* As the name implies, ''[[Anime/{{Memories}} Magnetic Rose]]'' is full of rose symbolism. The "tragic" part comes from BrokenBird former opera starlet Eva, who missed her [[WhiteDwarfStarlet fame]] and her [[TheLostLenore lover]] so much that she preferred to live in the far reaches of space surrounded by holograms that project memories of her youth. [[spoiler:She's less sympathetic after it's revealed ''she'' killed her lover Carlos because he wanted to leave her]].

* In ''Film/{{The Phantom of the Opera|2004}}'', The Phantom gives Christine multiple red roses with black ribbons around them. When Raoul is proposing to Christine on the rooftop of the opera house, she has one of the roses with her, but she drops it on the ground to listen to Raoul's proposal. After they have left, The Phantom comes forward of the shadows and kneels down and takes the rose in his hand. He then starts crying, but when he can hear Raoul and Christine sing their love song, he crushes it. At the end of the movie, we see a red rose lie by [[spoiler: Christine's tombstone.]] There is a black ribbon around it.
* The Hong Kong HeroicBloodshed film who has a BittersweetEnding, ''Film/MyHeartIsThatEternalRose'' invokes this in its title. In fact, the movie's opening credits are superimposed over a bouquet of roses, which then slowly burns up onscreen to a soothing melody.

* In ''[[VisualNovel/ShallWeDateNinjaShadow Shall We Date?: Ninja Shadow]]'', out of the PlayerCharacter's potential boyfriends, [[DarkSkinnedBlond Eduard's]] floral motif is the rose. He's also a very mysterious man who gives the protagonist roses and is implied to have a ''very'' DarkAndTroubledPast that caused him TraumaInducedAmnesia. [[spoiler: Confirmed when said amnesia is undone: he once was a TykeBomb for a Dutch assassin guild known as "The Red Roses".]]

* One of the opening scenes of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' takes place in Kinzo's rose garden, with particular emphasis on a rose that his granddaughter Maria claims as hers. Maria is eventually revealed to suffer from an AbusiveParent (in a scene involving the rose). Oh, and [[KillEmAll everybody dies]]. [[GroundhogDayLoop Over and over.]] Beatrice herself wears a rose in her hair. [[spoiler:She's TheOphelia]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Ruby Rose's rose symbol is first introduced on the memorial to her mother, Summer Rose, along with a quote from "The Last Rose of Summer", a poem that is about the pain of being left to carry on after the loss of loved ones. Although a continuing inspiration to her daughters and former team-mates, the pain of her loss continues to haunt them, with Ruby adopting her style, symbols and visiting the memorial whenever she can. The quote "Thus kindly I scatter" alludes to Ruby's Semblance (and, it's implied, Summer's), which aesthetically transforms her into [[ColorfulContrails rose petals]] to travel at SuperSpeed. [[spoiler:Volume 8 heavily implies that Summer died trying to defeat Salem, who twisted her into the ultimate mockery of a Silver-Eyed Warrior's existence: Grimm-slayers transformed into Grimm-human hybrid slaves of Salem. This reduces both her daughters to tears, but Yang tries to bolster Ruby's spirits by reminding her that Summer is still the hero that inspires them.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Ruby Rose's rose symbol is first introduced on the memorial to her mother, Summer Rose, along with a quote from "The Last Rose of Summer", a poem that is about the pain of being left to carry on after the loss of loved ones. Although a continuing inspiration to her daughters and former team-mates, the pain of her loss continues to haunt them, with Ruby adopting her style, symbols and visiting the memorial whenever she can. The quote "Thus kindly I scatter" alludes to Ruby's Semblance (and, it's implied, Summer's), which aesthetically transforms her into [[ColorfulContrails rose petals]] to travel at SuperSpeed. [[spoiler:Volume 8 heavily implies that Summer died trying to defeat Salem, who twisted her into the ultimate mockery of a Silver-Eyed Warrior's existence: Grimm-slayers transformed into Grimm-human hybrid slaves of Salem. This reduces both her daughters to tears, but Yang tries to bolster Ruby's spirits by reminder her that Summer is still the hero that inspires them.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Ruby Rose's rose symbol is first introduced on the memorial to her mother, Summer Rose, along with a quote from "The Last Rose of Summer", a poem that is about the pain of being left to carry on after the loss of loved ones. Although a continuing inspiration to her daughters and former team-mates, the pain of her loss continues to haunt them, with Ruby adopting her style, symbols and visiting the memorial whenever she can. The quote "Thus kindly I scatter" alludes to Ruby's Semblance (and, it's implied, Summer's), which aesthetically transforms her into [[ColorfulContrails rose petals]] to travel at SuperSpeed. [[spoiler:Volume 8 heavily implies that Summer died trying to defeat Salem, who twisted her into the ultimate mockery of a Silver-Eyed Warrior's existence: Grimm-slayers transformed into Grimm-human hybrid slaves of Salem. Both of her daughters are reduced to tears by the realisation, but Yang tries to bolster Ruby's spirits by declaring that Summer is still the hero that inspires her.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has the main protagonist Ruby Rose, whose mother Summer Rose was an esteemed Huntress that mysteriously died in the line of fire when Ruby was young. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Ruby has taken her passing well since she otherwise still had a good father and sister to raise her]], although her and Summer's InsertSong "Red Like Roses, Part 2" is about a mother apologizing to her mourning daughter that she'll have to finish what she left behind, which foreshadows later revelations in the story.

* ''Fanfic/TrustingInFaith'' is a oneshot where Nessarose and Glinda were romantically involved in university. While they were [[StarcrossedLovers unable to make their relationship last into adulthood]], their feelings lingered even after years apart. After Nessarose is [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremoniously killed by a falling house]], Glinda goes to her funeral. She does cry, but she tries not to be too sad because she knows that Nessarose was always very interested in heaven. The fic ends with a quote referencing the nature of this trope:

* In ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', the covers for ''The Final Problem'' arc of the manga feature the major characters (Fred, Louis, Moran, Albert, Sherlock) with falling rose petals (and, in Sherlock's case, lying on a bed of them). In the next arc, William is featured with a crown of thorns with a red rose over his now-missing eye, and refers to "those held captive by the rose," referring to the past tragedy of William's plan.

* In ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'', Rose was on the Titanic, her fiance (by ArrangedMarriage) was a JerkAss and her new boyfriend dies while urging her to live. She lived for almost 90 years afterwards, becoming pretty much a living legend; after telling the people digging in the sea for the Titanic what she witnessed there (in an extended flashback which comprises the bulk of the movie, Rose [[spoiler:makes her final break with the past and apparently dies shortly thereafter.]]

* In ''Film/{{The Phantom of the Opera|2004}}'', The Phantom gives Christine multiple red roses with black ribbons around them. When Raoul is proposing to Christine on the rooftop of the opera house, she has one of the roses with her, but she drops it on the ground to listen to Raoul's proposal. After they have left, The Phantom comes forward of the shadows and kneels down and takes the rose in his hand. He then starts crying, but when he can hear Raoul and Christine sing their love song, he crushes it. At the end of the movie, we see a red rose lie by [[spoiler:Christine's tombstone.]] There is a black ribbon around it.

In contrast to its [[FlowersOfRomance strictly romantic usage]], roses have long been dual symbol of beauty and tragedy. The reasons for this are evident in the rose itself. The soft, fragrant petals are outwardly very beautiful, making it one of the most famous flowers in the world and perfect for romantic occasions. On the other hand, the stem of the rose is covered with sharp thorns, causing pain to careless hands. The colors of the rose can further this association, since they can be any shade from a deep blood red to an innocent white.

This trope is for characters and situations where the pleasure/pain duality is particularly evident. Frequently, a character with the name Rose is portrayed as being beautiful, yet [[TheWoobie ends up with a life full of trauma and tragedy]]. In other cases, roses can be used to symbolize any character or event with this duality. The trope can also be invoked by characters who adopt the rose as a symbol for this very reason. If you see a bunch of red roses in a scene and it doesn't look like anything romantic will be happening, expect tragedy. GothicHorror uses this trope ''frequently'' in all variations; a blood-covered rose is a very popular, almost iconic, image of the genre.

* Rose from the ''VideoGame/StreetFighter'' series. Beautiful, level-headed, a powerful LadyOfBlackMagic, [[spoiler: Bison's "[[EnemyWithout other self]]"]]... and much every ending she's ever had is a DownerEnding. [[spoiler: Save for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', where Rose ''finally'' manages to survive to Bison's influence due to her [[TrueCompanions best]] [[PlatonicLifePartners friend]] [[VideoGame/FinalFight Guy]].]]

* In ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', the covers for ''The Final Problem'' arc of the manga feature the major characters (Fred, Louis, Moran, Albert, Sherlock) with falling rose petals (and, in Sherlock's case, lying on a bed of them). In the next arc, William is featured with a crown of thorns with a red rose over his now-missing eye, and refers to "those held captive by the rose," referring to the past tragedy of William's plan.

* ''Theatre/OpheliaMillais'': There are roses drifting by Ophelia's face and dress, alluding to her brother calling her "the rose of May", and to her fleeting happiness and tragic drowning.

* in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', Lisa the Librarian is also known as the "Witch of the Purple Rose." She also mentions that in Mondstadt, roses not only represents romance but also secrets. [[spoiler: She is heavily implied [[YourDaysAreNumbered to be dying soon]] because of a curse.[[/folder]]