(Parts of this were originally published on March 28, 2013)
Trope: The Lost Lenore
Description: The Lost Lenore is a dead love interest of one of the main characters. Not only is she dead, her absence has a profound effect on the character for the rest of the work, to the point where it influences the plot. Lost Lenores can either be dead at the beginning of the story or die early on, but either way, it’s the reaction to her death that determines if she qualifies for this trope. Just being dead isn’t enough; it’s whether or not she has the same level of significance, if not more, as she would if she were alive. While they’re often female, every now and then a male Lost Lenore pops up.
Examples: Lenore from The Raven (duh), April from Rent, Ellie from Up, Glenn from Fire Emblem: Three Houses (as an aside, holy shit, is there a lot of fanfic about a character who never even appears on screen)
Pros: Love is powerful and can even transcend death. A Lost Lenore can also be the inspiration for all sorts of plots for the lover she left behind, from some soul-searching and self-discovery to kick-ass vengeance. In romance, the audience is touched if the hero is able to work through his grief and learn to love again.
Cons: It can be hard to land in the sweet spot of “has grieved appropriately and is ready to move on.” As always, this is subjective, and what might be “too soon” to one reader is another reader’s “what took so long?” Tone is important to keep in mind here, too, as anything overly cheery will feel incongruous right after Lost Lenore’s death. Also, considering they’re dead (or die quickly), Lost Lenores can be difficult to develop and make into three-dimensional characters.
Would/Did I Use It?: Meyta from Disintegration definitely qualifies. That’s not a spoiler, it’s in the blurb of the book. She’s dead by the second chapter, but don’t think for a moment that she’ll be easily forgotten. (And that’s all I’ll say about her, as I don’t want to reveal true spoilers!) I also have a less-common male example in Kevin, April’s dead husband in Elysium. Not only is she still grieving him at the start of the book, which kicks off the plot, but a simulation of him actually shows up at one point via virtual reality. What would Poe have to say about THAT, hmm?