bird in a gilded cage theme

Someone faces living in luxury but without freedom.

Examples

Harry Mudd was waited on by an army of ostensibly loyal androids and had everything he could wish for except the freedom to leave in tos2x12 "I, Mudd".

11 total · 9 major · 2 minor

StoryLevelMotivation
ftt1982e5x02 major Princess Henrietta was a privileged royal brat who was thought to have everything a princess could ask for, yet she was not happy with being confined to her castle.
novel: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1872) major The Nautilus had everything the dedicated naturalist Professor Aronnax could ever want: a vast library that doubled as a smoking room, a lavishly adorned drawing room in which paintings of the great masters hung, glass cases full of specimens from the sea that no naturalist had ever beheld, etc. On top of all that the Nautilus was to Aronnax a dream vessel from which to conduct advanced marine research.
rd1988e6x02 major Legion decided to keep the crew captive in seemingly luxurious conditions. The crew demurred.
tftc1989e2x18 major Young Theodore was held captive in a sumptuous room with all the things a boy might seemingly ever desire: toys and desserts for every meal.
tng1x17 major Wesley, Harry Bernard Jr., and other kidnapped children had everything they could want except the freedom to reunite with their human parents.
tos2x12 major landing party held in luxury by androids
tz1959e4x03 major Phillip was told that he could never leave Peaceful Valley, though their remarkable technology could clearly give him a carefree life wanting for nothing.
voy3x20 major Harry on planet
voy3x24 major Voyager crew and Jarleth
movie: La Grande Illusion (1937) minor early there were comments about how well the Germans treated their prisoners