Basic Trope: A character has an older sibling who died before the character was born.
- Straight: Alice was born five years after her older brother Bob died; she only knows about him from photographs and her parents occasionally talking about him.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice had a brother Andy, two sisters, Betty and Catherine, and another brother, Bob, all of whom died tragically before she was born.
- Alice's older brother Bob died one day before she was born.
- Alice's older brother Bob died before he was born, but Alice herself was born after him.
- Downplayed: Bob died when Alice was a baby. So, technically, he didn't die until after Alice was born, but because Alice was so young, she has no memories of her brother.
- Inverted: Alice's little brother Bob is the one who dies.
- Subverted: Bob turns out to be alive after all and has been missing all these years.
- Double Subverted: This Bob is actually an impostor, or adopted by Alice's family. Alice's real brother really is dead.
- Justified:
- Although they were devastated by Bob's death, Alice's parents still wanted to raise a child.
- Alice's parents hoped she would become a Replacement Goldfish for their deceased son.
- Alice's mother never even knew she was pregnant with… let's call him Bob, when she unknowingly miscarried. So as far as her parents know, Alice was their first success at conception.
- Averted:
- Alice is an only child.
- Bob is alive and well.
- Implied: Alice was always under the impression she was an only child. However, whilst searching the attic one day, she finds baby clothes and photographs that belong to a little boy. She thinks they might belong to an older brother who died before she was born, but doesn't want to ask her parents about it in case it upsets them.
- Defied: Bob's parents are so distraught by their son’s death, they cannot bear the thought of having and potentially losing another child.
- Deconstructed: Alice's parents constantly compare her to Bob (whom they idealize following his death) and wish she was more like her 'perfect' older brother, resulting in Alice feeling very inadequate and running herself ragged trying to make her parents proud of her.
- Reconstructed: Alice's parents decide that since Bob was Driven to Suicide, they should try to be Good Parents to Alice, and drop their high expectations on their daughter.
- Played For Drama: Alice's parents are both very overprotective, much to her frustration. She then finds out it's because she had an older brother, Bob, who was Driven to Suicide, and her parents just want to make sure their daughter doesn't repeat the same mistake.
Go back to Posthumous Sibling.
