Basic Trope: A hired servant is treated as a family member by the people he serves.
- Straight: Bob, the butler of The Von Trope Family, is considered by his master Albert as a trusted confidant and close friend. The master's children regard him as a Cool Uncle instead of a servant.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob is such a valued member of the family that when the patriarch dies, he receives as much inheritance as Albert's actual children (if not even more).
- All the hired help are considered family by the Von Tropes.
- Downplayed: Albert Von Trope and Bob are familiar enough with each other to engage in casual Snark-to-Snark Combat on a daily basis (which cannot be said of Albert's other servants), and he pays Bob much more than his work would normally earn. However, they're not that close with each other, and both are clearly more comfortable relating with others of the same social class.
- Justified:
- Albert's parents died when he was young, or are too busy to take care of him, and Bob served as his Parental Substitute.
- Albert values honesty, and Bob is an Honest Advisor, whereas most of the people Albert's social circle are back-stabbing, two-faced sycophants who can't be trusted.
- Albert simply doesn't believe in class distinctions, and believes that everyone can be his friend regardless of their background or social status.
- Inverted: Despite being Albert's biological son, Eric is made to clean and perhaps even live in the stables, and is generally treated no better than the lowliest servant.
- Subverted: Albert is very friendly and affectionate towards Bob, but that's just how he is with everyone, and he doesn't really consider Bob a friend, much less a family member.
- Double Subverted: Until Albert's family all die in an accident, and he begins to view Bob—the only person he has left—as a family.
- Parodied: Bob is hired as a butler for the first time by The Von Trope Family, and proves to be better at everything than everyone (including his masters) that he promptly replaces the patriarch as the head of the family.
- Zig Zagged: Albert sees Bob as a valuable family member and often tries to invite him to family gatherings, but his wife doesn't feel the same way and berates her husband for fraternizing with the lower class. Until Bob saved Alice's life, and she warms up to him, but Albert begins to feel jealous that the butler is getting his wife's affections.
- Averted: Bob is a butler and is treated as such.
- Invoked: On his deathdbed, Count Albert von Trope regrets he treated his butler only as a loyal employee and he asks his children to treat Bob as their friend and confidant because Bob's care of the family has been exemplary.
- Enforced: Bob is a Token Minority, and having him in a subservient position was decried by the test-screening audience as racist. Since it's too late to replace Bob's actor, or to rewrite his entire role, the producers change the dialogue to make the dynamic between Bob and his "masters" more friendly/informal.
- Lampshaded: "Bob is more than a butler. He's family."
- Exploited: Bob takes advantage of his masters' trust by borrowing money for gambling, getting drunk in the wine cellar, and generally not do his work properly.
- Defied: On his deathdbed, Count Albert von Trope asks his heir Cecil to treat Bob as his friend and confidant because Bob's care of the family and their house has been exemplary. Cecil von Trope doesn't like the idea of having such a close bond with servants, so he dismisses Bob from his services.
- Deconstructed: The von Tropes' preferential treatment towards Bob sparks the jealousy of the other servants, causing his work to suffer. Bob, who takes pride in his skills as a butler, starts to resent his masters for their kindness, which he views as condescending.
- Reconstructed: Bob eventually learns to not let other people's jealousy to affect his desire to do his best for the family he loves.
- Discussed: "Have you heard about the von Trope family? They associate too much with their servants, and Miss von Trope even dines with her lady's maid. So inappropriate! She should behave like a genteel lady."
- Conversed: "I hate it when in the movies, everyone loves their servants like they're better than their actual family. I can't imagine a guy cleaning my chamber pot who would like to be pals with me."
Back to Hired Help as Family.
