Line #104 Main/UnableToCry


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6	->''"Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."''
7	-->-- '''Creator/WilliamWordsworth''', ''Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood''
8
9	Something terrible has happened, but a character finds themself unable to shed tears (or at least says they can't). In the classic scenario, a bereaved hero will angst (or {{Wangst}}) over their inability to cry for a dead loved one, lamenting that they must be a terrible person, dried up and dead inside, a monster! They never are; they're usually just suffering an undiagnosed HeroicBSOD, or are working up to an UnstoppableRage and can't let themselves break down, or [[TryingNotToCry swore]] they wouldn't let their enemies see them cry and now have an emotional block about it. Occasionally they cried so much over one traumatic event (or a series of them) in their life that they seem to have no tears left for anything else. And sometimes, they literally ''can't'' cry no matter how sad they might truly be because they lack tear ducts, whether naturally or due to FacialHorror.
10
11	In many works this will be leading up to a Big Scene where something triggers the character to [[CatharticCrying break down in floods of cleansing tears]], hopefully leading to catharsis, possibly leading to {{Narm}}. But alternatively, it can be simply a way of trying to explain/justify MenDontCry, in which case the tearless hero will remain [[TheStoic stoical]] till the end, maybe shedding [[SandInMyEyes half a freedom drop]] at most.
12
13	One common result of the BearerOfBadNews. A friend or relative may say "HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim".
14
15	In some relatively rare cases, the character can cry over ordinary things but has never wept for the one big defining sorrow of their life.
16
17	Obviously, this is TruthInTelevision to a degree, though fiction tends to be more {{Anvilicious}} about it.
18
19	Compare FrozenFace. Compare TearsFromAStone, for when they ''shouldn't'' be able to cry, but somehow do.
20
21	----
22	!!Examples:
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' has Eren Yeager in the Final Season, [[spoiler:where Sasha died from being shot by Gabi. And after hearing what her last word is, all he can do is laugh. Change to flashback from season 1, where Sasha said when they win and conquer land, they can farm animals and have meat. End of the flashback, Eren grits his teeth unable to shed tears losing his friend. Technically, it wasn't hIs fault he couldn't cry. Because it's Reiner's fault for showing too many painful hells to him.]]
28	* ''Manga/BlackButler'': In an inverted example, [[DevilInDisguise Sebastian's]] [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith human form]] has perfectly functional tear ducts, but he lacks any sort of emotion that would cause him to shed tears. Naturally, [[MyEyesAreLeaking he's shocked the first time something irritates them enough to make tears roll down his face]].
29	-->'''Sebastian''': I'm crying? Me? I'm not even capable of feeling emotions that would cause me to shed these...
30	* In ''[[VisualNovel/{{Clannad}} Clannad After Story]]'', Tomoya tells Ushio about how, when you become an adult, you often can't cry even when you want to. Not long after, though, [[spoiler:[[AvertedTrope he discovers he's still got plenty of tears left]], even though if anyone should be numb to sadness, [[TraumaCongaLine it's him]]]].
31	* Referenced in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' twice; the first time is when [[spoiler:Shirley Fennette's]] father has died, and when she's putting on a brave face her friends tell her not to, and ask if she's cried yet. They're reassured when she replies that she's cried a lot. The second time is after [[spoiler:the same unfortunate Shirley]] has died, and one of her estranged friends is dealing with her own grief, and is reassured by a coworker that as long as she can cry, she'll be OK. Both cases clearly work on the belief that being UnableToCry is a sign that something is ''seriously'', perhaps irremediably, wrong, while being able to express your grief is much healthier.
32	* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
33	** Erza {{ZigZag\|gedTrope}}s this; she cannot cry in her right eye, even when it was healed of damage from when she was a slave. She does, eventually, cry in her right eye at the end of the Tower of Heaven arc. She claims that it's because she already cried half of her tears out.
34	** Despite feeling sad and lonely, Lucy cannot initially cry when she loses her father. She speculates that it was a result of her father often treating her horribly until they made up somewhat. Then when she finds out that he has been sending her birthday presents for the last seven years, paid her rent so she didn't lose her home, and actually loved her all along, she breaks down crying.
35	* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': A young girl named Asuka can't cry for her dead father because she thinks that, if she does, he'll never rest. Kenshiro's response is to hold her, shedding TenderTears and stating that he'll cry in her place.
36	* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
37	** Alphonse -- having lost his original body and [[AnimatedArmor instead walks around with his soul bound to a suit of metal armor]] -- is incapable of crying, and it's a sensation he misses dearly. He comments on how Edward has the ability to cry, yet doesn't use it when Al wants to so badly.
38	** Happens to Edward in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the 2003 anime version]] when he kills Sloth and he comments that Wrath can cry for her while he can't.
39	* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'':
40	** [[TheStoic Sousuke]] remarks on his inability to cry when [[spoiler:Kurz supposedly dies]], though he wonders if he could have had Kaname been there. [[spoiler:In the final novel when, faced with certain death, he sees a video from his former classmates asking him to come back to school, Sousuke finally breaks down sobbing that he doesn't want to die.]]
41	** This also applies to [[spoiler:Kaname and Tessa shortly afterwards, when they find themselves unable to cry over Sousuke's apparent death; Kaname thinks to herself that it seems to be because it's so hard to believe that he'd actually be dead. She's right, of course]].
42	* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
43	** In the penultimate episode of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', as White Fang's plans fall apart, Dorothy Catalonia breaks down but can't shed any tears. As he leaves her behind, [[SugarAndIcePersonality Trowa Barton]] remarks: "That's sad. A woman who can't cry." In a subversion, once Dorothy is alone, she ''does'' start to cry.
44	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' Kira, in stark contrast to how he used to be, has gone from tear-prone as he was in SEED to not crying at all. Even in situations where the battle-hardened Athrun cries he doesn't shed a tear. The reason for such a severe change is never really touched upon but the implications of it being a combination of general battle weariness and PTSD are there.
45	* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'': Cyborg girl Claes whenever she sees something that reminds her of her dead handler Captain Raballo (who has been wiped from her memory).
46	-->'''Claes:''' Have you ever been tremendously sad, but the tears won't come out?\
47	'''Jean:''' Sure...it happens.\
48	'''Claes:''' That's how I feel right now. My heart is overflowing with tears, but they just won't come out of my eyes. At night when I'm asleep, they quietly spill out onto the pillow without my noticing.
49	* Shion from ''Manga/HellsParadiseJigokuraku'' is physically unable to cry due to his damaged eyes, and berates himself for his inability to mourn for his dead friend, Tenza. All he can do instead is seek revenge against the monster who killed Tenza.
50	* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Kaguya notes she is unable to shed any tears over [[spoiler:the death of her father]], even though she thinks that she should. This doesn't mean that she wasn't emotionally affected, though; [[spoiler:she's clearly quite sad when she wishes she could have taken Gan'an's picture]].
51	* {{Inverted}} in the manga of ''Manga/MegaManX'', in which the fact that [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots X]] ''can'' cry is what shocks Zero.
52	* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', [[StepfordSmiler Wolfgang Grimmer]] regrets his inability to cry or otherwise respond to emotional situations, such as his son's death, owing to his upbringing [[spoiler:at Kinderheim 511]]. This is {{subverted\|Trope}} when Grimmer bursts into tears when trying to comfort a traumatized child after [[spoiler:rescuing the child from suicide]]. Later, when [[spoiler:dying from a gunshot wound]], he is finally able to cry for his son.
53	* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Shinji, albeit outright stating that he is sad, finds himself unable to cry after [[spoiler:Rei saves his life via HeroicSacrifice. In fact, she isn't mourned by anyone at all and is quickly replaced by an identical-looking clone. So Shinji's inability to cry might just be foreshadowing]].
54	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', despite how much he wants to when [[spoiler:Rebecca tearfully announces to him her will to win the tournament for the Mera Mera no Mi]], the Thunder Soldier in the Dressrosa arc is ''literally'' unable to cry due to being a LivingToy. [[spoiler:Thankfully, his toy status is later fixed, revealing him as a human named Kyros. When the whole thing was over, he [[InelegantBlubbering made up for all those tearless years in one go]].]]
55	-->'''Thunder Soldier:''' Even toys have things they want to protect. But tears won't fall from these tin eyes...
56	* Played straight as the undiagnosed BSOD in ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'': Shinichi is horrified at finding himself [[ItGetsEasier becoming more callous]] as the carnage marches on, and especially at being unable to show emotion when [[spoiler:Kana is killed. His biggest hangup is being unable to cry at the funeral]].
57	* In ''Anime/PorcoRosso'', after Gina has just received news of the death of her third husband (all of them were pilots who died in wars or plane crashes), she remarks to her friend Porco that she can't even cry after waiting all this time for some news of his whereabouts.
58	-->'''Gina:''' It's strange. I've been waiting to hear something for months and now I can't even cry. I just feel numb.
59	* In ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'', when [[spoiler:Scheris dies]], Ryuho is initially frozen in stunned shock. Kazuma (in his own caring but rough way) tells him it's all right for a man to cry... and Ryuho [[AnguishedOutburst melts down]].
60	* Following the death of [[spoiler:Cosmo]], and the subsequent failure to revive [[spoiler:her]], in the series finale of ''Anime/SonicX'', Sonic was left not only unable to cry but unable to react properly. Despite regular complaints stating that he was "soooo mean", he was obviously mourning.
61	* In ''Literature/TheWayToProtectTheFemaleLeadsOlderBrother'', Dion is permanently unable to cry (and emotionally stunted in general) as a result of his upbringing. Due to this, he'a also endlessly fascinated with his half-sister's (who went through the same upbringing) ability to cry, to the point of going out of his way to [[KickTheDog give her reasons to be sad]].
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Audio Dramas]]
65	* Surprisingly averted in the story record based on Creator/{{Atari}}'s game ''VideoGame/YarsRevenge''. Yars are giant mutant houseflies. When a young Yar warrior in the story goes off to battle, his mother's huge multifaceted eyes have tears in them.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Comic Books]]
69	* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', Portia is this in spades, [[spoiler:before breaking down in the Ghoul's arms after he averts her attempted suicide]].
70	* The first issue of ''ComicBook/BlackestNight: Titans'' reveals Rose Wilson to be a literal example: Rose is rarely shown grieving usually doing something else like playing with her phone or going skinny dipping instead. While at first, this comes off as a {{Jerkass}} trait, this comic reveals she is simply unable to healthily cope thus doing her best to ignore the grief instead.
71	* The Machinesmith, a ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' villain who went through an EmergencyTransformation and is very unhappy about it. "I... I can no longer even... cry."
72	* ''Comicbook/{{Concrete}}'': Ron's new alien body just isn't wired to weep, so feelings that he would have cried from in his previous body cause him to vomit instead. Unfortunately his new stomach is filled with extremely caustic acid strong enough to dissolve rocks and wood, meaning he naturally tries to avoid vomiting if possible. His inability to achieve emotional release is probably one of the contributing factors to his [[spoiler:becoming depressed]] as the series goes on.
73	* Jesse Custer, the protagonist of the series ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', saw his father killed in front of him at the age of five. Naturally, he cried his eyes out, until the murderer, a sadistic bastard, sneered at him for crying. Jesse stopped crying right then, refusing to show weakness to these monsters, and swore never to cry again. He never does, even when [[spoiler:the love of his life is similarly murdered (by the same people) in front of him]]. [[spoiler:In the end of the series, he is finally able to cry again when Tulip is about to leave him for good. This is what convinces her to try to make their relationship work.]]
74	* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': When Tim has to attend the funerals of his father, his girlfriend, and a school friend who'd died in his arms after he failed to save her all in the same week, he finds that by the end of the week, for the last funeral, he just can't cry anymore no matter how disrespectful he feels that is.
75	* In one ''ComicBook/RomSpaceKnight'' story, Rom spends the issue trying to rescue a little girl from his enemies the Dire Wraiths. When he finally reaches her, he can't detect any life signs and believes she has drowned. He cradles the little body in his arms and shudders, making little choking sounds, and [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]] realizes the cyborg literally ''can't'' cry. [[spoiler:Namor manages to save her life with Atlantean tech, though.]]
76	* Professor X in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' was unable to cry at his son Proteus' funeral and he berated himself for it. Of course, the fact that Proteus was a mass murderer who killed over a million people worldwide and was going to kill him might have something to do with that.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
80	* Parodied in an early ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' arc where Dogbert tells a psychiatrist he's unable to cry over Dilbert's death. When the therapist tells him that dogs can't legally inherit from humans, he of course starts bawling.
81	* In Creator/GahanWilson's ''ComicStrip/{{Nuts}}'', the Kid wonders why he can't cry when his favorite uncle dies until he imagines his dog dying instead and then weeps his heart out.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Fan Works]]
85	* In ''WebVideo/DragonballZAbridged'' version of ''The World's Strongest'', [[AdaptationalHeroism Dr. Wheelo]] is nothing but a BrainInAJar and thus cannot cry, [[TheWoobie despite every event conspiring to make him want to.]]
86	* In ''Fanfic/LimitlessPotential'', Roll finds herself unable to cry when X explains to her that she's been rebuilt a century in the future and that everyone she knew, including Mega Man and Dr. Light, are long dead, which only distresses her even more. Justified given that when she was given her new body, Dr. Fujiwara saw no reason to give her the capacity to cry.
87	* In ''Fanfic/NeonMetathesisEvangelion'', [[BrokenAce Asuka]] has opened up to Rei and Shinji, she has admitted to herself and even to them that she loves them, she knows she is loved... but one thing still hasn't changed about her: She hasn't cried in ten years, not even at the funeral of her mother. She won't cry now, no matter what.
88	* In ''Fanfic/TheOuroboros'', Mikey is the only one of the six spacefarers who remains dry-eyed after relaying the news that [[spoiler:Splinter died in their absence]]. This is implied to be partly because he was forced to snap into HeroicSafeMode after learning this, and none of the others are in any condition to help pull him out of it after hearing that.
89	* The titular character of ''Fanfic/ThanksKyubey'' physically cannot cry due to biology, which is a departure [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica from canon]] [[spoiler:insofar as all of Kyubey's species in canon are incapable of emotion at all, but the Kyubey in the fanwork is capable of emotion and empathy [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch unlike every other Incubator]].]]
90	* ''WebAnimation/WhatIfNoelleLostHerself'': Noelle laments that she hasn't been able to cry over [[spoiler:her father's passing]], wondering what's wrong with her and why she hasn't been able to shed any tears.
91	* In ''Fanfic/WhatTomorrowBrings'', Jake recalls feeling too hollow to cry at [[KillTheOnesYouLove Tom]]'s funeral in the original timeline.
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
95	* The Princess in ''Anime/NarutoTheMovieNinjaClashInTheLandOfSnow''. To do a scene where her character cries (she's a RebelliousPrincess-turned-actress), she needs eye drops. [[spoiler:She does cry for real at the end, though.]]
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
99	* In ''Film/AmazingGrace'', John Newton, the blind former slave trader, is last seen dictating his memoirs/confession to a scribe, (in which he gives full details of the atrocities he took part in,) and tells Wilberforce that despite decades of crushing guilt, he wasn't actually able to weep until he wrote it. The TearsOfRemorse he is finally able to shed are clearly a great weight off his soul.
100	* In ''Film/BicentennialMan'', Andrew is envious of Portia when she cries after Little Miss dies. He comments that it isn't fair to be capable of feeling so much sadness and incapable of expressing it.
101	-->"It's cruel that you can cry and I cannot. There is a terrible pain I cannot express."
102	* ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'': "Why do you cry?" "He is Conan. Cimmerian. HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim."
103	* ''Film/Conspiracy2001'': Offscreen, Dr. Kritzinger tells Reinhard Heydrich a story about an old friend who had an abusive father but a doting mother. The man was unable to cry at his mother's funeral but was strangely broken down in tears and sobbing uncontrollably at his father's funeral. It was because his father's hatred defined the man's life more than his mother's love ever did, rendering him an empty shell who had lost his purpose when the object of his hatred was gone. This ties into a warning that Kritzinger is trying to give Heydrich about his anti-Semitism.
104	* Addressed directly in ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy''. Hellboy and Abe are listening to "Can't Smile Without You" and Abe notes that he physically can't smile and isn't even sure if he has tear ducts. [[spoiler:Then Nuala dies--turns out he does.]]
105	* In ''Film/TheHoliday'', Amanda Woods can't cry. It's part of the trumped-up reason her boyfriend says he cheated on her during the DefenestrateAndBerate scene at the beginning: that he's freaked out by her emotionlessness. But eventually ThePowerOfLove is upon her, and she finds herself crying because she has to leave her new love interest. This produces a delighted reaction to her and leads straight into a RaceForYourLove scene.
106	* Referenced in ''Film/MysticRiver'' where Sean Penn's character sobs "My own little daughter and I can't even cry for her!" "Jimmy...you're crying now."
107	* In ''Film/{{The Secret Garden\|1993}}'', like the book it's based on, Mary is this way after being neglected by her birth parents. Part of her CharacterDevelopment is learning how to cry.
108	-->'''Mary:''' ''(voiceover)'' I was angry, but I didn't cry. I didn't know how to cry.
109	* A unique example in ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'', Scotty tells Spock that the daughter of Chancellor Gorkon didn't 'shed one bloody tear!'. Spock points out Klingons don't have tear ducts. Furthermore, the first missive she issues clearly shows her bereavement.
110	* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'':
111	-->'''T-800:''' I know now why you cry. But it's something I can never do.
112	* The action star Tug Speedman in ''Film/TropicThunder'' can't cry on set, leading to a rift between him and the "award winner" Kirk Lazarus.
113	* In ''Film/TheWildChild'', Victor's years of isolation in the forest have caused his ability to cry, among other things, to atrophy. He is never observed crying at the institute, despite his cruel treatment by the other kids. He finally cries for the first time late in the movie after being punished by Itard.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Literature]]
117	* Aliens and animals in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' don't cry.
118	** In book 5, Marco discovers that his MissingMom, 'dead' for several years now, is actually a host to a [[PuppeteerParasite very high-ranking enemy]]. He's in gorilla morph at the moment, something close enough to human to feel a similar kind of emotional pain, but also something that doesn't burst into tears - his only physical reaction when he sees her and realizes what's happened is to sit down abruptly.
119	** In ''The Andalite Chronicles'', the alien Elfangor falls for a human girl and chooses to flee the war and [[StayWithTheAliens stay with her]]. They were together for long enough to let him become familiar with human form. When he has to return and resume being an Andalite, in the narration he talks about crying as Andalites do - only in his hearts.
120	** Tobias spent ''so'' much time [[ShapeshifterModeLock trapped]] in the form of a red-tailed hawk that even when he regains the ability to morph, he's unfamiliar with human biological responses to anguish and doesn't easily cry. This saves his life in book 23 --[[spoiler:he's just found out Elfangor was his father and had wanted and loved him, but he needs to pretend that he doesn't believe what he's been told.]] That said, after that situation is resolved he morphs human in private and then he does cry.
121	*** At the end of the series, Tobias morphs human so that he can cry [[spoiler: so that Rachel can see him just before she dies.]] Hawks, of course, can't.
122	* One book in the ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' series involves Claudia dealing with the loss of her beloved grandmother. At the funeral, she finds herself unable to cry; unaware that it's a fairly common reaction to loss, she worries something is wrong with her. When her emotions do catch up with her, they manifest in bizarre and unpredictable ways; it isn't until she breaks down completely that she's able to begin to heal.
123	* ''Literature/BalladOfAShinigami'': Since the dead can't cry, Momo cries for them.
124	* In ''Literature/TheBellJar'' by Creator/SylviaPlath, Plath's AuthorAvatar Esther realises she has never cried for her father and breaks down sobbing at his graveside.
125	* In ''Literature/BlindFaith'' by Ben Elton, protagonist Trafford lives in a dystopian society where every detail of one's life is public to all, and people are frequently encouraged to "emote" and share their every thought with others. At one point, a colleague is unable to cry when she is urged to express her feelings over the death of her baby son. Others in the office are disappointed with her, but Trafford notes that her quiet dignity somehow makes a bigger statement than a flood of tears.
126	* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' novel ''Set Piece''. As Ace, stuck in ancient Egypt, gets to grips with the fact that the Doctor [[spoiler:''did'' apparently die]] and is not coming back for her, she tries to grieve for the Doctor's loss and finds she can't cry.
127	-->'It doesn't hurt.' She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to find some part of herself that wanted to cry. 'Why doesn't it hurt?'
128	* In the ''Literature/DolphinTrilogy'', John is [[RaisedByWolves raised by dolphins]] and doesn't laugh or cry because he had no one to learn those behaviors from. In his early adulthood, he [[RescueRomance rescues Della from drowning]], and when she cries in front of him, he's alarmed and confused by her behavior, although he can see it's a distress signal. When Della leaves him, he finally cries for the first time since the dolphins took him in.
129	* The eponymous character of the ''Literature/{{Eisenhorn}}'' novels in the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' universe is not only unable to cry but [[FrozenFace can't express nearly any facial expression change]] due to nerve damage sustained under torture, which his captor explicitly taunts him over.
130	* In Creator/AletheaKontis's ''Literature/{{Enchanted}}'', Rumbold while [[spoiler:saying goodbye to his mother's ghost.]]
131	* The protagonist of Brian Keene's short story "The Garden Where My Rain Grows" suffers from this problem. He can get sad over the deaths of loved ones, but he's never been able to cry. Not before the apocalypse[[labelnote:*]]which, ironically, comes in the form of a never-ending rainstorm[[/labelnote]], not after, not when his oldest friend is decapitated by Satanists. He finally finds himself able to cry at the end, after [[spoiler: a [[KrakenAndLeviathan Kraken]] kills his LoveInterest]].
132	* Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt in ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Blood Pact'' is a particular example. [[spoiler:Due to [[Main/EyeScream having his eyes ripped out]] during his torture on Jago in the novel ''Only in Death'']]. he is unable to cry when his old friend, Doctor Tolin Dorden reveals [[spoiler:that he is dying of blood cancer, as his new eyes are artificial implants which cannot perform that one function]].
133	-->'''Ibram Gaunt:''' My eyes will not let me cry, old friend.
134	* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Harry meets with the Diggorys at the end to talk to them about Cedric's death. Mr. Diggory sobs throughout, but the book notes that Mrs. Diggory seems beyond tears.
135	* ''Literature/TheInnsmouthLegacy''. Aphra Marsh refuses to cry when she reads the FBI file on her [[TheyWouldCutYouUp mother's murder and autopsy by government scientists]]. She's one of the [[FishPeople Deep Ones]] so the shedding of salt water has religious associations.
136	* In Creator/JohnHemry's Literature/PaulSinclair novel ''A Just Determination'', the other junior officers grow worried over Carl Meadows after a sailor's death because he is neither crying nor otherwise reacting after days.
137	* In ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'', unicorns never cry because they never feel the kind of human grief and regret that would prompt them. After a stint as a human to save her fellows, the unicorn confesses that she is now full of tears even though she cannot cry.
138	* ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'': Mermaids are unable to shed tears, which makes their grief all the worse. When the title character [[spoiler:becomes an angelic spirit for choosing to die rather than sacrifice her prince's life, she weeps for the first time]].
139	* In ''Literature/LordOfEmperors'', the widowed, hunted, and revenge-seeking Empress must be convinced to "allow herself to grieve" by a physician who is sheltering her from the new Emperor's guards. "We must bend before we break" is a big philosophy for said physician, and is borne out several times in the ending.
140	* The central character in ''Literature/TheMentalState'' undergoes a series of traumatic experiences that deeply affect him. To cope with everything and enable himself to deal with situations constructively, he shuts down almost all of his emotions, becoming a sociopath. [[spoiler:He only escapes from this mindset after he is forced to revisit the event that scarred him in the first place, resulting in him breaking down in tears and howls.]]
141	* In Teresa Frohock's ''Literature/MiserereAnAutumnTale'', Lucian freezes after [[spoiler:Catarina]] dies. Rachael holds him a long time and nearly gives up before he sobs.
142	* Molly the StreetSamurai from ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', mainly because she has mirrored shades surgically implanted over her eyes, so her tear ducts are redirected into her mouth. She's so unspeakably badass that she doesn't cry, she ''spits''.
143	* In the ''Literature/{{Nightside}}'' series, Merlin Satanspawn's eyes are flames that burn within empty eye sockets. When Taylor and Suzie meet him in the 6th century, he sadly speaks of how, after King Arthur died, he couldn't even weep for his friend and protege because his eyes aren't built that way.
144	* This is the meaning of the title of Creator/AlanDeanFoster's novel ''Nor Crystal Tears''. The Thranx are a race of intelligent [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant insects,]] and while they feel love and sorrow just as humans do, they cannot cry.
145	* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's ''Literature/OctoberDaye'' novel ''Rosemary And Rue'', Toby is unable to cry the entire day after she realizes that she had been transformed for fourteen years and lost her entire life; only at evening does she break down.
146	* In the "First Lay of Gudrun" of the ''Literature/PoeticEdda'', Gudrun does not weep over her murdered husband Sigurd. Several women attempt to console her by relating their own sad stories but fail to get a reaction. Finally, Gudrun's sister Gullrönd uncovers Sigurd's corpse; when Gudrun sees Sigurd's face, she cries.
147	-->''Gudrun sat by the dead Sigurd; she did not weep like other women, even though her heart was near to bursting with grief.''
148	* Played straight in ''Literature/TheSecretGarden'', in that Mary "doesn't know how to cry." She figures it out in the end.
149	* In ''Literature/SecretLies'' by Amy Dunne, Jenny can't seem to cry since her grandmother's death, until near the end of the book when [[spoiler:her girlfriend has been brutally attacked]].
150	* ''Literature/SirenNovels'': Vanessa loved her sister Justine, but after Justine's death, she finds herself unable to shed a tear.
151	* Shellpeople in ''Literature/TheShipWho'' are humans in [[ManInTheMachine life support capsules]] with most of their nerves rerouted so they can serve as [[WetwareCPU biological AI cores]]. They can't cry, and sometimes regret this as they can see it's a release of sorts. One of the lesser-known functions of [[BrainsAndBrawn a shellperson's brawn]] is to [[HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim cry for them]].
152	* Albert Camus' ''Literature/TheStranger'': One of the points used against the main character in his trial is the fact that he didn't cry at his mother's funeral. He argues that it is hard to cry for a woman who lives a long happy life and then dies peacefully.
153	* Mermaids in the ''Literature/{{Thora}}'' books don't cry. Instead, their tails turn pale when they're sad.
154	* ''Literature/{{Uglies}}'': All through ''Specials'', Tally says that she doesn't think that Specials are physically capable of crying. She gets pretty close to crying at quite a few points, but she never actually cries. [[spoiler: Until the end.]]
155	* In ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'', [[WellExcuseMePrincess Gregor]] really starts warming up to [[DefrostingIceQueen Luxa]] when she tells him that she has not cried since her parents' deaths. [[spoiler:When her cousin Henry betrays her at the end of ''Gregor the Overlander'', she goes into a [[HeroicBSOD catatonic state]] of sorts, and it seems like she still won't cry - until she sees [[ParentalSubstitute Vikus]].]]
156	* Rand Al Thor continually hardens himself as a defence mechanism in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', to the point it is mentioned on several occasions he wanted to cry, wished he could, but finds himself unable to, as well as expressing any true emotion anymore, and even trying to stop himself feeling them. This was just one aspect of a 7-book breakdown.
157	* In ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', Elphaba's skin reacts to water like acid, including her tears. When her beloved teacher is murdered and all the students are consoling each other, she has to force herself to stand far away from the crowd and put on a cold face, lest she risk breaking down and burning her face.
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
161	* In ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'', a contestant named Tiffany was eliminated during Cycle 4. She took the elimination in stride and said that she has had such a hard life and cried so much, getting eliminated from a reality show was pretty small by comparison. This rather famously sent Tyra into a complete rage.
162	* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'':
163	** Michael Bluth never cried as part of a RunningGag that GOB kept calling him a heartless robot. It wasn't a matter of ''couldn't cry'' as it was he didn't feel that he needed to. He did shed a few tears in the finale, though, which elicited opposite reactions from those around him; GOB, especially, who'd made a big deal about his failure to cry, found the sight repulsive and unmanly, and it's what convinced his mother to sell out the company to Stan Sitwell.
164	** His sister Lindsay finds herself unable to cry on command like she used to, though she does finally manage it when she believes her father is dead.
165	--->'''Lindsay:''' I used to think of Dad dying; that used to work. I once tried thinking of Mom dying, but I just ended up smiling.
166	* This happens to Mariah Cirrus, rescued from a sleeper pod in an abandoned ship in the ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E05TheLongDark The Long Dark]]", due to the cryogenic process drying out her tear ducts.
167	* ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'': Liberty, right after [[spoiler: JT's death]], though she eventually does cry.
168	* Parodied with Chandler in ''Series/{{Friends}}'' in, naturally "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." And of course, once he breaks through and becomes ABLE to cry, he CAN'T STOP, culminating in a hilarious ShipperOnDeck moment when he laments about wishing Ross and Rachel could just work it out. (This is a CompressedVice; he cried in several previous episodes, sometimes being pointed out as the ''most'' likely to.)
169	* Played extremely {{Narm}}ishly on the sixth season finale of ''Series/GreysAnatomy''--while caring for the critically injured Dr. Percy (and having almost been shot herself), a flustered Dr. Bailey ''actually says'' "Where is that water coming from?" and has to be gently told that she is crying by Music/MandyMoore's character. Also, one of the patients was clinically depressed but never cried because he cried out all his tears when he was a newborn baby.
170	* In ''Series/HomeImprovement'', Tim Taylor's boss Mr. Binford, who was like a second father to him, dies, and he is unable to cry for him or show grief the way the other characters do. After a bit of thinking (and a visit to his neighbor Wilson), he realizes that he just doesn't show grief the same way as everyone else. Notably doesn't end with a scene with him breaking down in tears. The episode said that Tim cried at the actual funeral, but didn't show it on-screen. Part of the story was that he didn't want Brad to think crying isn't "manly" because everyone shows grief differently.
171	** This later appears again when Jill's father dies and Randy can only respond by making [[GallowsHumor death jokes]]. Tim tells him it's okay to react that way, but to be considerate of others and only make the jokes around those who will be okay with them (namely ''him'').
172	* ''Series/{{House}}'' claims he cannot cry in one episode, although he's cried at least twice and got misty-eyed far more times than a supposed StrawNihilist should.
173	* Ana Lucia's inability to cry (at least until Day 48) is mentioned in ''Series/{{Lost}}''. Notable in that we don't see her cry during any of her traumatic flashbacks either, and when she finally ''does'' breakdown, it's likely that she was finally letting out the grief of the past few months of her life.
174	* PlayedForLaughs with [[AlphaBitch Brooke Alvarez]] of the ''[[Website/TheOnion Onion News Network]]'', who claims to have had her tear ducts cauterized.
175	* The Mayor in ''Series/SpinCity'' is unable to cry because his father always said tears were a sign of weakness. When he needs to, he stabs himself in the thigh with a pen.
176	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Data, being an [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots android]], has this problem, despite the [[TheWoobie multiple tragedies]] that inform his life. It's patently obvious to everyone but him (including the audience) that he can ''feel'', however. He loses this limitation after getting Soong's [[PersonalityChip emotion chip]]. The [[ExpandedUniverse novel]] ''Immortal Coil'' has everything he didn't express all drop on him at once, to the point of what would be clinical depression in a human.
177	-->'''Data:''' You know that I cannot grieve for you, sir.\
178	'''Soong:''' You will. In your own way.
179	* In ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', when Reverend Jim's father dies, Jim is upset because he hasn't cried yet. Then he realizes he ''is'' crying. And he asks, "But am I crying because I miss you, or am I crying because I didn't cry?" He decides it doesn't matter and he's glad the tears have finally come.
180	* Part of the plot in the SoapOpera ''Yo Amo a Paquita Gallego''. The titular character is unable to cry, as she never had done that, not even at her birth. But, as one character points "those who are unable to cry are unable to sincerely laugh neither", so the plot has a real delight in doing all kinds of very awful things, even to ludicrous levels, [[BreakTheCutie just to see if she ever breaks]]. When Paquita finally cries, near the end of the soap, it serves as the signal that the universe can stop throwing shit at her ASAP.
181	[[/folder]]
182
183	[[folder:Music]]
184	* Music/AliceCooper's "I Never Cry" (though the narrator may be lying to himself).
185	* The Jackson Browne song "Doctor, My Eyes".
186	* Music/JayZ's "Cashmere Thoughts" gives us:
187	-->''"I never cry. If I did, I'd cry ice"''
188	* ''Cemetery Gates'' by ''Pantera''.
189	-->And when she died I couldn't cry. The pride was in my soul.
190	[[/folder]]
191
192	[[folder:Poetry]]
193	* In Creator/AlfredLordTennyson's poem [[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45379/the-princess-home-they-brought-her-warrior-dead "Home They Brought Her Warrior Dead",]] a queen does neither weep nor speak when her husband is brought home dead. Her handmaids believe she will die if she does not weep, but their efforts have no effect until an old nurse brings the queen's child to her. The queen weeps, saying she will live on for his and her child.
194	* Edgar Lee Master's [[https://www.bartleby.com/84/186.html "Charles Webster"]]:
195	-->''Till you stood, too full for tears, by the cot,''
196	[[/folder]]
197
198	[[folder:Theater]]
199	* Althea, the eponymous princess from ''Theatre/TheLightPrincess'' did not cry at her mother's death when she was 6 years old, and hasn't cried since. Her inability to cry (as well as her lightness) gets her labeled as a freak by her father and her kingdom. She eventually does cry, when she is afraid that the man she loves is dying/dead.
200	* ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus'': Titus cuts off his own hand as part of a deal to have his sons spared from execution. He gets the hand back along with the heads of his sons. [[LaughingMad He breaks into laughter]], and when asked why he's laughing over ''this,'' replies, "Why, I have not another tear to shed."
201	[[/folder]]
202
203	[[folder:Video Games]]
204	* The normally emotionless Lita from ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' states that she'd rather have scorpions crawl down her cheeks than tears [[spoiler:before her emotional breakdown by her brother's deathbed. Eddie responds by saying that would make an awesome album cover]].
205	* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'':
206	** [[spoiler:After Shanoa is forced to kill Albus and his spirit warns her about Barlowe's treachery, she laments the fact that she can't cry for him due to [[EmotionlessGirl having lost her emotions]].]]
207	** At the end of the game, [[spoiler:Albus' last request before he leaves for the afterlife in Shanoa's place is to see Shanoa smile. Having regained her emotions at this point, she does with tears streaming down her cheeks]].
208	* Sapphire from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3\|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' can't cry even if she wants to. [[spoiler:At least, [[TearsOfJoy not out of sadness]].]]
209	* In the ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' mission ''Those'', young child Bryan Wilks asks you two check on his dad in the midst of a [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant fire ant]] infestation. You will find him dead in his house. Upon receiving the news, Bryan will say that he kind of already knew and is frankly too tired to cry.
210	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'':
211	** Hector in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' admitted being unable to cry at the deaths of his parents even though he wanted to.
212	** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Ike finds himself unable to cry when [[spoiler:his father dies]], and asks Rhys to [[HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim cry for him]].
213	** Byleth in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is noted by their father Jeralt to never have cried, even as an infant. [[spoiler:Jeralt's death puts an abrupt end to this as they shed tears for the first time]].
214	* The entirety of Organization XIII in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. Since they have no hearts, they're physically incapable of feeling emotion. However, Roxas cries after [[spoiler: Xion's death]]. This [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadows]] that [[spoiler: the Organization members can grow hearts through social interaction, which Xemnas deliberately prevented them from doing so as part of a GrandTheftMe plot.]]
215	* ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'':
216	** Tia was constantly teased as a child to the point of crying because her name was so close to the word, "Tear". Maxim, her childhood friend and UnrequitedLove, would always save her and eventually told her the source of her torment was because she cried so easily. She eventually became strong enough to not cry all the time, but at Maxim's wedding (to another woman), admits she hasn't cried since she was a child and fears not being able to anymore. [[spoiler: At the game's ending, the moment that Maxim dies, Tia, in another part of the world and unaware of what has happened, [[ImCryingButIDontKnowWhy suddenly finds herself crying uncontrollably without knowing why]].]]
217	** In the remake, ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', [[spoiler:she cries earlier in the story, when her new boyfriend Dekar sacrifices himself to save her from Idura]].
218	* Solid Snake from ''VideoGame/MetalGear'', due to sheer jadedness.
219	-->"I don't need a handkerchief." ... "I don't have any more tears to shed."
220	* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', this is the main problem with Naoki Konishi, the Hanged Man Social Link. He finds himself being unable to properly mourn his sister's death, which makes him seem cold in the eyes of others. At the end of his story arc, he's able to properly mourn and move on.
221	* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' has Princess Elise who can't cry... but only because she was trained not to, after her father sealed an unspeakable evil into her, that can only escape if she cries.
222	* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', ChosenOne Colette laments her inability to cry at one point, as a part of [[spoiler:the angel transformation process which is sealing away her soul piece by piece.]] She does get better by the end but at the time...
223	* In ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' an optional line of dialogue has Geralt say "I can't cry. Don't know how." after [[spoiler:Vesemir dies]]. Whether he physically can't due to his mutations or finds it extremely difficult due to his upbringing/jadedness is up to the player's interpretation.
224	[[/folder]]
225
226	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
227	* In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Ultimate Robot]] [=K1-B0=] laments that he can't cry in the wake of [[spoiler:Miu Iruma's murder, since they'd grown attached to each other in the past couple of days]].
228	* What happens to Alan Aramaki in the Last Season of ''VisualNovel/RoseGunsDays''. [[spoiler:He realizes that his girlfriend Meixue, who was shot by a sniper -- who is his best friend Keith to make things worse -- is no longer responding because she already died from her bleeding]]. Yet no tears run. He can only sport a BrokenSmile instead.
229	[[/folder]]
230
231	[[folder:Webcomics]]
232	* Antimony of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' is fairly contained about losing her mother and being abandoned by her father, until she gets a chance to relax and then WHAM come the waterworks.
233	[[/folder]]
234
235	[[folder:Web Original]]
236	* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick has said she'd rather drink away any sad feelings than cry and mess up her mascara. So when she ''is'' sobbing or even just tearful, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness something is very badly wrong]].
237	[[/folder]]
238
239	[[folder:Western Animation]]
240	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': Carmen can't produce tears because she's a cactus and her body is made to retain moisture.
241	* For a villainous example, in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE14HeartOfIce Heart of Ice]]", Batman is horrified when he discovers [[TragicVillain Mr. Freeze]]'s DarkAndTroubledPast. When Mr. Freeze himself shows up immediately afterwards...
242	-->'''Mr. Freeze:''' It would move me to tears, if I still had tears to shed.
243	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', [[TheStoic Huey Freeman]] never cries, except for one scene in the first season finale... possibly. It was raining.
244	* The ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "The Tower of Dr. Zalost" has a very unique example. The villain Dr. Zalost has a rat henchman who appears cold and only snarls or sighs. Towards the end, the rat gets hit with the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Happy Cannonball]] which turns him into a crying baby. Fans have speculated that he was [[EmotionSuppression bottling up his emotions]] which prevented him from letting any tears out.
245	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E7MyThreeSuns My Three Suns]]", Fry [[ItMakesSenseInContext drinks an alien emperor whose body is made of liquid and sleeps in a glass bottle and is crowned the new emperor]], which seems great until it becomes clear that the role has a ridiculously high turnover rate, being almost a guaranteed ticket to assassination. When it turns out that the old emperor he drank isn't really dead, but is alive inside his stomach, the options of getting him out are narrowed down to Fry crying, which he can't because he's "too macho"; even a reminder that he [[HumanPopsicle outlived everyone he ever loved]] is [[AngstWhatAngst easily shrugged off]]. Bender finally finds some success by telling him that Leela was brutally murdered on her way over to help him out, but Leela, who's not in on the plan, actually shows up before he's shed more than a few tears. [[spoiler:The ultimate solution, of course, [[CuttingTheKnot is for all his friends to kick the crap out of him until he sheds tears of pain]]. It works. Then the emperor himself says, "Thanks for crying me out!" and takes over the pummeling.]]
246	* Crops up in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E5TanksForTheMemories Tanks for the Memories"]]. While [[EverybodyCries most of the other ponies are reduced to tears]] by Rainbow Dash crying over her pet tortoise, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack appear unaffected.
247	-->'''Pinkie Pie:''' [[HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim I'm mostly sad because you're NOT sad!]]\
248	'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Me? What about Applejack?\
249	'''Pinkie Pie:''' Applejack cries on the inside, Twilight!\
250	'''Applejack:''' It's true.[[note]]It's worth noting that Applejack has cried in other episodes, but mostly tears of joy, and never a big public display of emotion.[[/note]]
251	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E21GirlyEdition Girly Edition]]":
252	-->'''Lindsey Naegle:''' Bart, look up here! This is where the tears would be if I could cry! But I can't. Botched facelift. You could learn a lot from him, Mary Anne!\
253	'''Lisa:''' It's Lisa.\
254	'''Lindsey Naegle:''' Mary Anne's better!
255	* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', Butters' dad Stephen seems to either be unable to shed tears or is only pretending to cry.
256	* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "[[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS4E3HaveYouSeenThisSnail Have You Seen This Snail?]]", Spongebob's pet snail Gary has run away. Near the end, Patrick tries to get Spongebob to let it out some more, after days of failed searches, but he laments that he can't cry anymore and that he's out of tears. It's subverted a second later when Patrick finds some balsa wood lying around, prompting Spongebob to turn on the OcularGushers again because Gary really loved balsa wood.
257	* This is the focus of the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E24AnIndirectKiss An Indirect Kiss]]", in which Steven must help a disfigured Amethyst with his mother's healing SwissArmyTears, thus pushing him to try to cry, even though he finds himself unable to, even when he tries to force it when thinking about his mother, who he [[MissingMom never knew]]. Fortunately, he later discovers he has healing ''spit'' instead at the end of the episode.
258	[[/folder]]

Context Main / UnableToCry