Scylla and Charybdis: Difference between revisions

''Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis

''Hypnotized by you if I should linger

 

Situation in which a character must attempt to balance or choose between two (sometimes more) mutually exclusive obligations, desires, ideals, etc.; failure on either front would be disastrous, but it's equally [[Failure Is the Only Option|impossible to please everyone]]. When the trope is played for laughs, [[Hilarity Ensues]] as the character attempts to mollify everyone while the scheme inevitably unravels around him; it's typically subverted when the consequences of failure are revealed to be not so dire as originally believed. Often seen on chase-style cartoons where, by avoiding one foe or obstacle to a good meal, the [[Butt Monkey]] unwittingly runs into another problem (e.g. jumping into water to avoid a swarm of angry bees, only to fail to see the [[Piranha Problem|DANGER: PIRANHA]] sign behind the bushes until too late).

 

{{examples}}

* Many [[Love Dodecahedron]]s fall into this trope, with the poor fellow in the center doomed to infuriate (potentially violently) whomever he rejects if he makes a decision. Ranma of ''[[Ranma ½]]'' and Tenchi of ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' are extreme examples.

* In ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', Ichigo is trapped in a battle with a monster and desperately trying to finish up so that she can go on a date. In the end, the battle escalates so far that she misses the concert and appears, hours late and in tears. Of course, her boyfriend was nice enough to wait all that time in the rain.

 

 

{{quote|'''Naomi''': You do realize that if L or Kira were to find out they would kill you... If Light finds out he'll probably kill you. However he might keep you around as a pawn and use you to reach his ultimate goal of creating a cult civilization in which he's god. That means that if you don't find yourself drowning in a swimming pool you'll find yourself brainwashed and tortured and then thinking nothing at all... If L finds you that's a whole different story. L won't kill you but he will tie you to a chair and leave you there to rot for fifty days and then pretend to execute you only to leave you alive so that the government can perform nasty experiments on you. He probably won't give you a trial but instead will leave you in a mental institution or have you killed off by thugs. Then he'll steal your name and use it as yet another detective name and that will be the end of that.

'''Duck''': [[Only Sane Man|Why do you work for these people?]] }}

== Literature ==

* Although not following the trope, ''[[Rafael Sabatini|The Hounds of God]]'', Lady Margaret described herself as escaping Scylla, but being sucked into the whirlpool of Charybdis. This refers to her technically being rescued from being kidnapped, but only to be brought to trial for witchcraft.

 

 

* ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'': Raymond found himself in the middle of conflicts between his wife, Debra, and his family—especially his overbearing mother—on an almost episodic basis.

** Another ''Raymond'' example: At one point, Debra runs for president of the neighborhood co-op opposite [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis|long-time arch-rival]] Parker. Although Raymond loves Debra and hates Parker, he realizes that Parker would make a better president.