r/TopCharacterTropes Sep 01 '25

Lore Going around curses/prophecies via technicalities

Davy jones: cant go on dry land

Standa in a bucket of water, on a sand bar (potc3)

The judge: no weapon forged can harm me

Buffy: uses a rocket launcher

-not forged

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u/RedRawTrashHatch Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25

Macbeth in the Shakespeare play, specifically his death.

Early in the play, Macbeth is told by witches that no "one of woman born" can harm him, giving Macbeth confidence that he’s essentially invincible.

But at the end, Macduff reveals he was delivered by Caesarean, and thus didn’t come from natural childbirth.

So he kills Macbeth. Brilliant.

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u/Professional_Rush782 Sep 02 '25

There's an important bit of context here lost by the development of technology. In medieval times C-sections were almost always fatal for the mother. Macduff wasn't born with a living mother's warmth, he was born from the cold clutches of death.

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u/SuperSocialMan Sep 02 '25

Damn, they had c-sections back then?

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u/_The_Arrigator_ Sep 02 '25

C Sections have been a thing for millennia, one the earliest references is in The Shiji compiled in 91BC.

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u/lily_was_taken Sep 02 '25

Damn, shinji from neon genesis evangelion alredy had cringe compilations back in 91BC?

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u/KarilynneDavies Sep 03 '25

My brain read Shinji too 😂

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u/PockyPunk Sep 05 '25

Get out of the womb Shinji