The Parasite

Alternate Titles: Rich Bitch, The Disappointment

Whereas the Orphan's story is often one of rags to riches, the Parasite's is often one of riches to rags. She may be a fallen star, a beloved child who has fallen out of favour, a socialite who has lost her place in society, a fiance who has been abandoned by her lover, a spoiled child who has lost her mother. Whoever she is, she craves what she once had, and is willing to do anything in order to regain her lost glory.
The Parasite, on first glance, often appears to be a helpful benefactress. She is willing to provide the hero, or heroine, with anything that they could possibly need or desire -- but she keeps a tidy ledger, and she values her favours much more highly than you would suspect. Whether she is waiting in the wings to take over your place in the spotlight, or is willing to betray her own family in order to forward your designs, she will make a big show of selfless devotion, but she secretly believes that her sacrifices entitle her to own you. If she feels that she has been betrayed or disappointed by someone that she has bought, she feels justified in destroying whatever she feels she has given them -- their career, their children, their life.
As a minor character, her deviousness often takes a more obvious form. She may play the invalid, needlessly prolonguing illness in order to gain attention, or she may sacrifice her own talents and abilities in order to spite others. If she gives birth, she tends to be either negligent or smothering, revealing the downward trail towards the Medea's deadly favouritism.
Amazonian versions of the character will often show a marked, but ultimately delusional, self-reliance; they are able to be all that they want to be, and accomplish all that they feel lies within them, only by pretending to be someone who they are not. This often leads to posturing and politicking in order to oust anyone else whom they feel wants to steal their spotlight, and causes them to be ungrateful and treacherous towards those who help or nurture them.

Archetypal Events: Riches to Rags, Lavish, Languish, Hysterics, Take Back, Escape into Fantasy

Common Plots:
Obsession: The Parasite falls in love with a Disgrace, who perpetuates a kind of fantasy in which she is propelled to the top of the world. He then becomes bored with her, and moves on. She becomes increasingly desperate to regain his affections or otherwise revenge herself on him. She may commit suicide, or, if he has impregnated her, she may murder his children (born or unborn) in order to punish him.

The Fallen Star: She was once loved and adored by everyone, now she lives in a crumbling old mansion, with the ghosts of her former glory. She cannot move forward into the future, but a Disciple has come along, and she believes that she can somehow, through him, vicariously reclaim her place in the spotlight, take vengeance on the lover who jilted her at the altar, or reclaim her lost youth. She takes him under her wing in order to groom him as a reincarnation of her past self and in the process she destroys him -- unless, of course, he is rescued from her clutches by other heroic characters.

False Invalid: The Parasite has lost something of great value to herself, often her mother, and she expects everyone around her to pet and adore her in order to make up the loss. She plays sick, or deliberately refuses to get better after an accident or injury, in order that others will have to bestow on her the attention that she feels she deserves.

The Man Who Could Never Be Enough: A Disciple falls in love with her, but he isn't good enough. Perhaps she loves someone else -- often a Disgrace -- or perhaps she has already married and is now bored because her husband didn't fulfill her unrealistic fantasies. She makes an elaborate show of considering her lover to be inadequate, but she is not willing to let him go. She may, however, be willing to arrange his death.

The Ruins of a Dream: The Parasite lives within the crumbling remains of her shattered ambitions, an old mansion that is falling to the ground or a wedding feast that has all but crumbled to dust. She may live in a fantasy world where she is unable to percieve the ruined state of her fortunes.
The Mill-Stone: The mill-stone or wheel serves as a symbol of the Parasite's demanding nature, her tendency to crush those around her beneath the grind-stone of her demands. The Orphan chained to a spinning wheel is symbolically oppressed in this way. May transform into a wheel-chair in which the Parasite languishes. (The unsuccessful wheel in the story of St. Cathering of Alexandria is a transformation of this symbol -- Catherine is a Mother-Virgin who cannot be destroyed by a mere Parasite symbol.)
Costume: The Parasite loves to dress up in fancy clothes, to deck herself out as something that she is not. This is often a literal stage costume, but may be an abstract persona.
A Major Award: The Parasite craves fame, recognition, success, the limelight. She wants to be honoured, not necessarily for her accomplishments, but simply for being herself. (It is worth noting that while the Disciple holds a light that he shines on the world, the Parasite -- his diametric opposite -- wants a spotlight that is turned on herself.)

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