pride goes before a fall theme
A character exhibits an unflattering amount of pride or overconfidence regarding some subject, and subsequently suffers a severe setback nominally related to that subject and their attitude.
Notes
When the pride is so excessive that the character deigns to put themself on par, or even above, the gods etc. then the theme "hubris" is used.
Examples
In voy6x13 "Virtuoso", The Doctor thought he was a virtuoso singer when he found a race of aliens that adored his music. Alas, they soon surpassed and grew bored with the Doctor who returned chastised to Voyager.
44 total · 3 choice · 32 major · 9 minor
| Story | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| as1985e2x10 | choice | The story lead up to Elma, haughty and proud, waging her entire fortune that she would win the pumpkin contest. Obviously she did not. |
| ds96x22 | choice | The Red Squad members, Tim Watters most notably, wrongly believed that they could do anything and went on a veritable suicide missing to attack Jem'Harad ship. |
| voy6x13 | choice | The Doctor thought he was a virtuoso singer when he found a race of aliens that adored his music. Alas, they soon surpassed and grew bored with the Doctor who returned chastised to Voyager. |
| ahp3x03 | major | Charles Courtney boasted of his skills as a private investigator but was quite embarrassed when Mr. Gregory revealed that Charles had bungled a case, which resulted in the execution of an innocent man. |
| as1985e1x19 | major | The horror novelist Jordan Manmouth made it abundantly clear that he held no fear of the supernatural monsters found in his writings. Jordan, however, ought to have taken the supernatural more seriously as he was subsequently terrorized by a grotesque apparition that appeared in any reflective surface he looked at. |
| columbo1971e0x01 | major | A recurring motif was Dr. Flemming's self-assured conviction that, thanks to his immense intellect, there was no conceivable way a mere police investigator could find him out. Lt. Columbo later pointed out that while Dr. Flemming might indeed outgun him in the brainpower department, Lt. Columbo's lengthy experience with murders counted for a lot more. |
| columbo1971e0x02 | major | Leslie Williams was a brilliant lawyer and knew very well that no mere police investigator could catch her out in the crime she had so carefully orchestrated. She at one point taunted Columbo in her office. She had sorely underestimated Lt. Columbo. |
| columbo1971e1x01 | major | Ken Franklin was a pompous ass who thought he had the perfect plan to get away with murder. Lt. Columbo caught him out by means of a clever trick. |
| columbo1971e1x03 | major | In the end, Columbo pointed out that General Hollister had hidden his signature revolver in plain sight in the museum cabinet display case, whereas any criminal worth his salt would have disposed of the incriminating murder weapon long ago. |
| columbo1971e2x07 | major | Emmett was arrogant beyond belief regarding his chess abilities, and had two major setbacks in the story: First he was defeated by Tomlin in an impromptu game at a French restaurant. Later he was distracted by Columbo and lost to a novice player in a few opening moves. |