Line #56 Main/MadonnaArchetype


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Art/CharityBouguereau https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_adolphe_bouguereau_1825_1905___charity_1878_2.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Now now, settle down everyone. You all need to wait your turn.]]
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4	"Madonna" comes from the medieval Italian word ''ma donna'', meaning "my lady". It is most commonly associated with UsefulNotes/TheVirginMary, a very prominent figure in Christianity and Islam as the mother of [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Jesus Christ]]. Since fiction likes to borrow much from the religious culture that it spawns from, there is often StockParodies of its most prominent or important characters, like Jesus, Satan, or in this case, Jesus' mother.
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6	The Madonna Archetype character can be any combination of the following:
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8	* Named [[ASaintNamedMary Mary or a variation of it]].
9	* Always begins as an average, if not modestly righteous individual before encountering the miraculous.
10	* Is [[TokenHuman the human]] of a pairing [[MuggleMageRomance between a normal person and an abnormal one]].
11	* MysticalPregnancy.
12	* Visually accompanied by a {{Putto}} meant to represent UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}.
13	* AwayInAManger.
14	* The child produced does or will most definitely become a MessianicArchetype.
15	* Becomes associated as a sacred figure, if not a symbol of worship to some, and often depicted with a HolyHalo.
16	* Always beautiful, or suffers from GenericCuteness at worst.
17	* Is usually a ProperLady or YamatoNadeshiko.
18	* A tendency towards motherliness and/or being a TeamMom.
19	* A propensity towards [[StockCostumeTraits blue and/or white clothing and/or head coverings]].
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21	SisterTrope to MessianicArchetype, MosesArchetype and SatanicArchetype. Compare MotherGoddess, JeanneDArchetype. See also DivineDate, MadonnaWhoreComplex, PassionPlay and PietaPlagiarism. Not to be confused with the entertainer Music/{{Madonna}}[[note]](though she chose the pseudonym as a conscious contrast to the archetype, so in a fashion, there is a connection)[[/note]].
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23	----
24	!!Examples:
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26	[[foldercontrol]]
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28	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
29	* Historia from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is one the darkest and most disturbing examples. Her name may not be Mary, but she used the fake name of Krista, which was the name of a motherly figure holding a child in a similar manner Mary would hold baby Jesus in the Madonna art style, from a book Frieda gifted to her. She is introduced as a kind-hearted girl possibly in love with Ymir, a Titan shifter. She is a ProperLady, considered a sacred figure for the wall worshippers and later to most of Eldians once she becomes their queen. She also has a very motherly side, spending most of her time as a queen, watching over the orphans from the Underground city. Historia is referred as a goddess by multiple characters. As an adult, she is expected to become a BreedingSlave for the 50 years old plan in order to save the Paradise Island from genocide, and all of her children would turn in a way into {{Messianic Archetype}}s, inheriting the Beast Titan and the Coordinate.
30	* Broadly speaking, the Priestesses are kind of this in the universe of ''Manga/FushigiYuugi''. They are young, virginal girls, who save the world by a special relationship with one of TheFourGods. Most memorably, in the OVA, Mayo's arrival has been foretold as being a pregnant virgin who arrives from another world to save this one. (Mayo, however, is ''most definitely'' a subversion of the trope, being less saintly YamatoNadeshiko, and more of an ApocalypseMaiden). [[spoiler: She does end up saving the Universe of the Four Gods, with help from Miaka, whose baby [[MysticalPregnancy she's been given to hold onto]], once she realizes the gravity of what she's done.]]
31	[[/folder]]
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33	[[folder:Art]]
34	* ''Art/CharityBouguereau'': A common AllegoricalCharacter from UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance and onward is the [[EmbodimentOfVirtue embodiment of Charity]], the highest of virtues and the one that defines the Virgin Mary. Her design is clearly made to evoke imagery of the Virgin Mary, depicted as dressing very modestly (this differs between cultures) as she is breastfeeding multiple {{putt\|o}}i.
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37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* An old ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' arc had the team trying to find and protect the "Celestial Madonna," a woman prophesied to birth the most powerful being in the universe. The Madonna herself turned out to be [[spoiler: Mantis]].
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41	[[folder:Fan Works]]
42	* In ''Fanfic/NoGraveCanHoldMyBodyDown'', through implications from their visions, the cult surmises that the goddess has a "mortal beloved". [[spoiler: To the surprise of everyone InUniverse and [[InternalReveal to none of the readers]], that person is Chloe, Max still pining for Chloe even though they cannot be together.]]
43	* After her granddaughter Azalea is born, Medusa frames Chrona in ''Fanfic/ChildBornOfLove'' as a form of Holy Mother destined to birth children that would bring Witch-kind into a new era of control over the world. [[spoiler: What makes this ironic is that she ends up becoming the witch equivalent of the AntiAntiChrist, being their DarkMessiah "the Witch of Destruction" who is very much on the side of their enemies at Shibusen.]]
44	[[/folder]]
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46	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
47	* The plot ''Film/TheTerminator'' centers around Sarah Connor, a normal, unremarkable American girl who is targeted to be killed by [[SatanicArchetype the Terminator]] because her future son [[MessianicArchetype John Connor]] would grow up to be mankind's savior. She eventually ends up conceiving John with Kyle Reese, the very man sent back in time by John himself (compare to how an angel was sent to Mary) to protect her.
48	* Heidi [=LaRoc=] from ''Film/TheLordsOfSalem'' was chosen by the titular [[HollywoodSatanism Lords of Salem]] to be the chosen mother of TheAntiChrist as revenge for her ancestor Reverend Jonathan Hawthrone burning them at the stake. By the end of the film, [[spoiler: the modern iterations of the Lords succeed in their mission. The Antichrist is born and Heidi is found possessed and glowing [[AtopAMountainOfCorpses atop the bodies of all of the village's female descendants]] in a manner that evokes the Virgin Mary]].
49	* Charlie from ''Film/{{Legion}}'' is the pregnant waitress at the Paradise Falls Diner. When the angels begin invading and start the end of the world, [[ArchangelMichael Michael]] explains to her that her baby is destined to be the savior of mankind. While God had lost faith in humanity and thus sent Michael to kill it before it was born, Michael himself still believes in humanity and decided to protect it instead.
50	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
51	** Shmi Skywalker, a strongwilled slave woman who conceived Anakin [[TrulySingleParent without a father]] -- in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Qui-Gon speculates he was conceived by the Force; in ''ComicBook/DarthVaderDarkLordOfTheSith'' it appears that [[spoiler:Darth Sidious/Palpatine was involved somehow.]] However she got pregnant, her son Anakin was an immensely powerful young man destined to "[[MessianicArchetype bring balance to the Force]]" -- and he did, after [[DarkMessiah falling to the Dark Side]], assisting in the Empire's evil as TheDragon, before being brought back to the Light by [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dying to save his son]].
52	** Rey's mother has shades of this in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''. She lived in a desert as a junk trader and gave birth to a child born with extradordinary abilities, who grows to become the saviour of the galaxy and even [[spoiler:gets brought back from the dead]]. The outfit Rey's mother wears is also very similar to how the Virgin Mary is often depicted (a blue cloak with a hood).
53	* The deuteragonist of ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'' is Kee, the first pregnant woman in a ChildlessDystopia in eighteen years. Given that the baby represents a new hope for humanity, Kee herself has many allusions to the Virgin Mary: Theo realizes she's pregnant in a barn (analogous to a manger), she jokes that she was a Virgin and that she doesn't know who the father is, and when her baby is born people react to it like a religious figure. Theo himself plays the Joseph role by shepherding Kee to safety.
54	* ''Film/BabylonAD'': The Neolite sect planned to invoke this with Aurora, who is a virgin who only got pregnant through their genetic manipulation. They planned to have her be a modern Virgin Mary whose miraculous pregnancy and childbirth would make them the dominant religion.
55	* ''Film/TheWiz'' reinterprets the Good Witch Glinda to resemble the Virgin Mary as she's often depicted in art. Glinda wears a long, sparkling blue robe and matching veil that only reveals a small portion of her hair paired with a crown of stars. She's only ever seen on a starry backdrop surrounded by floating babies that resemble attendant cherubs. These innocent children are the only characters Glinda is even seen on-screen with, adding to her etherealness. Glinda's personality also bears resemblance to the Madonna Archetype, being a very maternal and graceful sort of character.
56	* ''Film/RosemarysBaby'''s entire plot has such blatant parallels to Holy Mary and Jesus. The central character of the story is a young housewife called Rosemary, she is beautiful, gentle, sweet, and all she wants in the world the most is to have three children with her husband. Unfortunately, things don't go well for her. Unbeknown to Rosemary, her own husband conspired with her secretly Satan-worshipping neighbors to have her impregnated by Satan himself in exchange for a thriving acting career. Rosemary is raped by Satan one night, which leads to a MysticalPregnancy, thinking the father is her husband. Her son is even born on June 25 , the exact opposite date of Christmas in 1966, and his birth is honored as the new "Year One." By the time Rosemary learns the truth, is too late for her to escape, and has no other choice but the accept that her own son is the Anti-Christ.
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59	[[folder:Literature]]
60	* The Fairy with Turquoise Hair from ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'' is depicted as a FriendToAllLivingThings forest dweller who saves Pinocchio from being hanged and from whom she is worshipped as a beloved sister and later mother figure that takes care of him after Geppetto is lost at sea. Her pale skin and long blue hair evoking of Mary's cloak also cements her status as the story's Madonna Archetype. Creator/StevenSpielberg acknowledged this in a scene from ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' when David, who's searching for the Blue Fairy in order to BecomeARealBoy, stares at a statue of Mary lit in blue neon lights while visiting Rouge City, wondering if it's her.
61	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
62	** Galadriel is depicted as motherly, has a name which translates to "lady crowned in light" in her language (thus alluding to a halo), and was entrusted with one of the rings of power by a higher being- a great responsibility. Tolkien also stresses her purity, stating that she was "unstained" and "had committed no evil deeds." Some critics debate whether or not Galadriel is truly meant to resemble Mary in any way. Given Tolkien's strong Catholicism, these traits all suggest the parallels are intentional -- but we also know that for the same reason, Tolkien had consciously avoided steering too close to Catholic dogmas. So, like we said, critics debate.
63	** The Vala Varda Elbereth also carries some similarity to Mary, or rather, she is regarded with a similar respect and devotion by the Elves. It's been said that the poem ''A Elbereth Gilthoniel'' is the Elven equivalent to the "Hail Mary" prayer.
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66	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
67	* On ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', the ChristmasEpisode features [[TeenPregnancy a pregnant teenage girl]] who's run away from home. She has to be induced, because she has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HELLP_syndrome HELLP syndrome]]. She escapes from the hospital, and goes into labor in a city park, where Turk has come to rest (after having been burned out by all the horrible cases he's seen that night). He delivers the baby, and gets back into the Christmas spirit, with everyone singing Christmas carols together.
68	* Oddly enough, invoked with Vala in ''Series/StargateSG1'' - oddly because before giving birth to a so-called messiah, Vala is a pirate and apparently ReallyGetsAround. In addition to the mystical, divine pregnancy, she also wears a long blue gown during pivotal scenes on the Ori ship. In retrospect, she did also display the only TeamMom traits in the series, often shown hugging her more-stoic teammates or visibly worrying about them (but also driving them crazy).
69	* ''Series/UglyBetty'': Invoked by Wilhelmina in the episode where Christina gives birth (she's a surrogate for Wilhelmina's posthumous child with Bradford). As Christina goes into labor in the middle of a fashion runway, Wilhelmina orders the models, who are wearing very angel-inspired costumes, to surround her and raise their wings for privacy. When the CleanPrettyChildbirth is over minutes later, Wilhelmina holds her infant son aloft to triumphant music as she's raised on a hydraulic platform and lights focus on her.
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72	[[folder:Video Games]]
73	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', the mother of [[HalfHumanHybrid half-Esper]] main character Terra is a human woman named Madeline, literally Madonna in the original English translation, and the Esper Maduin, a member of a race of magical superbeings created to fight in the ancient War of the Magi. Their daughter, Terra, becomes the first human in a thousand years to be born with the gift of magic -- only for the EvilEmpire to storm the OtherWorld of the Espers, capturing Maduin and many of his fellow Espers. Madeline dies in the fighting, and the Emperor himself rips Terra from her arms. The game begins when Terra finally breaks free of the Empire's control, and joins the heroic [[LaResistance Returners]], a link between humans and Espers and the key to defeating the Empire.
74	* Elisabet Sobeck from ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' flip-flops between this and MessianicArchetype, but the story as a whole paints her as this. She is the GreaterScopeParagon of the story, having been the creator of Project: Zero Dawn - [[spoiler: gathering what was left of humanity's greatest minds to create [[DeusEstMachina GAIA]] to restore the Earth after the Faro Plague destroyed it]] - and ultimately sacrifices herself to save the rest of Zero Dawn's Alpha team. [[spoiler: Over nine-hundred years later, after [[SatanicArchetype HADES]] goes rogue and has GAIA destroyed, GAIA's last act was to have Elisabet cloned at the cradle, essentially immaculately conceiving the game's hero [[MessianicArchetype Aloy]] in a long-term gambit to save humanity.]]
75	* Hiroko of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' does not appear to be one at first; she's designed after Myth/{{Lilith}} and the other heroine Beth wears a closer approximation of the traditional outfit. But she gets involved in the plot to [[MamaBear rescue a kidnapped little boy]], and [[spoiler:she is a virgin mother. She was chosen as the surrogate for [[TheHero Aleph]], an ArtificialHuman designed to be the Messiah, invoking this trope]].
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78	[[folder:Webcomics]]
79	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
80	** Kanaya Maryam's last name is Maryam, the Aramaic (also Hebrew or Arabic) version of the name Mary. She is associated with the zodiac sign Virgo (the virgin). A mother grub (the species responsible for giving birth to new trolls) has given up its role as birth mother to become her lusus. When the start of the Sgrub session kills her lusus, Kanaya acquires the Matriorb, an artifact that can be used to hatch a new mother grub. This makes her responsible for saving the genetic future of trollkind.
81	** Kanaya's ancestor, the Dolorosa, is an even more straightforward example of the trope. She raised the abandoned [[MessianicArchetype Signless]] from a grub (unheard of for trolls, who are instead raised by lusii and not their own species) and protected him in secret like a mother as he preached his beliefs up until he was tortured and killed for them. Her name is another term for Mary, specifically her suffering self after Jesus's crucifixion.
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84	[[folder:Western Animation]]
85	* In a rare male example, Greg Universe in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' represent the Virgin Mary to his son Steven's role as a MessianicArchetype. He happens upon a beautiful otherworldly being (Rose Quartz) whom he then conceives a child with, a miracle in that gems do not reproduce like humans. He would go on to raise Steven without her, helpless to stop Steven from putting himself in danger and ultimately becoming the planet's (and later the known galaxy's) savior. The episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E9ThreeGemsAndABaby Three Gems and a Baby]]" goes on to cement this as it subtly reenacts AwayInAManger in the Nativity with Greg playing the part of both Mary and Joseph.
86	[[/folder]]

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