# Fictional characters who were probably virgins at an unexpectedly late age. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053 "2014-04-26T14:19:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/61 "2014-04-30T17:39:37Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Miss Havisham from Dickens’ _Great Expectations_. Now it’s been nearly 50 years since I read the abridged version of the novel in my 9th grade literature textbook. (The pain still lingers, by the way…perhaps I would appreciate it more now.) But my memory is she was jilted at the altar by someone who swindled her out of her fortune, and vowed perpetual revenge on the male species from that point forward. Unless there are specifics of a pre-marriage dalliance with this fellow in the novel, it seems safe to assume that, commensurate with the times, she was a virgin on her wedding day, and remained so forever after. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/62 "2014-04-30T17:42:16Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Unless there are specifics of a pre-marriage dalliance with this fellow in the novel, it seems safe to assume that, commensurate with the times, she was a virgin on her wedding day, and remained so forever after. Forever as dry, spoiled, and untasted as the cake on her table. DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN. ☹ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/63 "2014-04-30T21:13:27Z")
Hagrid? The nurse from The Pirates of Penzance? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/64 "2014-04-30T21:32:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sherlock Holmes Holmes was a master of disguise, who would disappear for days or weeks at a time in opium dens and other places of ill-repute, pretending to be an everyday beggar, sailor, or other normal person. He might not have had any interest in nor appreciation for women and sex, but I wouldn’t see him forgoing a trip to a prostitute’s room if that’s what it took to sell a role - though obviously I would expect him to try and avoid it where possible, so that he could continue to snoop in the main area. Basically, I wouldn’t say that it’s a foregone conclusion in Holmes case. But short of asking him straight out, you’d never know one way or the other, since it wouldn’t have mattered to him enough to comment on. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/65 "2014-04-30T21:46:40Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I’d say Severus Snape. After pining for Lily an excessively long time, some Hogwarts hottie cornered & shagged him when a summer break faculty party got too wild. > > He is rumored to have almost smiled. Speaking of HP, I’d say Prof. McGonagall. Although I’ve seen a couple sites that claim she had been married. That’s not in the books and I haven’t seen anything from Rowling to confirm that. Very likely Dumbledore as well, unless he got it on with Grindelwald. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/66 "2014-04-30T23:14:05Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Tarzan is not an ordinary fellow. Must I remind you about the [meteor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wold_Newton_family)? So, no cite. If you dig through Tarzan and get an age reference that nails down when he met Jane, come on back. If I find a copy in my library (under all the eldritch and arcane volumes of forbidden knowledge), I’ll pore through it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/67 "2014-05-01T01:18:31Z")
Polgara was around 3500 when she married Durnik, and I assumed a virgin at that time due to propriety and general lifetime ice Bitch-ness. However I kind of outgrew the series by the time the book about her came out and I never read it, so it’s possible that’s canonically disproven. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/68 "2014-05-01T02:57:55Z")
Almira Gulch in the Wizard of Oz? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/69 "2014-05-01T03:39:23Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Speaking of HP, I’d say Prof. McGonagall. Although I’ve seen a couple sites that claim she had been married. That’s not in the books and I haven’t seen anything from Rowling to confirm that. > > Very likely Dumbledore as well, unless he got it on with Grindelwald. [Pottermore](http://www.pottermore.com/), which is Rowling’s official HP site, confirms it. Rowling posted McGonagall’s backstory there, which states that she’s married and even has a daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/70 "2014-05-01T03:51:55Z")
ETA: no wait, she didn’t have a daughter, I was confusing her mother’s biography. She did [marry](http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Professor_McGonagall#Between_Wars), but not until later in life. However, her husband died after only three years. She did, however, keep her maiden name. I can’t link to the story on Pottermore directly, since you have to have an account there, but the information is taken from the site. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/71 "2014-05-01T04:34:27Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > [Pottermore](http://www.pottermore.com/), which is Rowling’s official HP site, confirms it. Rowling posted McGonagall’s backstory there, which states that she’s married and even has a daughter. Ah. I don’t have an account there so couldn’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/72 "2014-05-01T14:06:03Z")
Nobody has mentioned The Phantom of the Opera? Disfigured since birth, living in an underground palace? Kind of hard to get the babes unless you kidnap one. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/73 "2014-05-01T16:17:33Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody has mentioned The Phantom of the Opera? Disfigured since birth, living in an underground palace? Kind of hard to get the babes unless you kidnap one. Confirmed by the Lloyd Webber musical, at least. From memory: [QUOTE=Charles Hart] Christine Daaé: Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood? Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh? Phantom: This fate which condemns me to wallow in blood Has also denied me the joys of the flesh. My face, the infection that poisons our love… [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/74 "2014-05-01T17:54:57Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody has mentioned The Phantom of the Opera? Disfigured since birth, living in an underground palace? Kind of hard to get the babes unless you kidnap one. Well he wasn’t a virgin ‘until’ a late age. He probably died a virgin. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/75 "2014-05-01T18:01:46Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Well he wasn’t a virgin ‘until’ a late age. He probably died a virgin. I was going to mention _Love Never Dies_, but I don’t hate you enough. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/76 "2014-05-01T19:33:25Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > _Sourcery_ indicates that the University is pretty strict about its celibacy policy, though. There must be students who break the rules anyway – we know of one from _Sourcery_ – but the other wizard characters don’t seem to have much in the way of sexual experience. IIRC, one of the early books mentions that Rincewind is a virgin and given what we learn of Ridcully’s backstory in _Lords and Ladies_ it seems likely that he is as well. When he first uses magic in _The Colour of Magic_, there is a throwaway line about his sex life. > [@](#): > > “Rincewind knew what orgasms were, of course, he’d had a few in his time, sometimes even in company…” ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/77 "2014-05-01T19:41:37Z")
> [@slitterst](#): > > When he first uses magic in _The Colour of Magic_, there is a throwaway line about his sex life. > > > [@](#): > > > > “Rincewind knew what orgasms were, of course, he’d had a few in his time, sometimes even in company…” Hmm, I think I was just misremembering that line. I thought it said he’d _never_ had an orgasm in company, but I checked and you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/78 "2014-05-01T19:45:18Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > I meant the real Spock. I’m getting conflicting and confusion information as to TOS canon. The internet claims Spock was over 150 years of age at the time of his death, and that he was betrothed telepathically to T’Pring at age seven. He must have been quite old when he presumably bedded Jill Ireland’s character (Leila) in “This Side of Paradise”. > > In a couple of places, it’s claimed that Vulcans experience _pon farr_ every seven years. I can’t reconcile that with the plot of “Amok Time”. I believe the fanon interpretation is that, while Vulcans do get their ‘urges’ every seven years, they don’t actually have to make the beast with two backs - recall that Spock doesn’t get any during Amok Time, and he’s fine afterward. I believe some novel (The IDIC Epidemic?) indicates that they can have a telepathic satisfying of those urges. Of course, the same novel (if it’s the one I’m thinking of) has Spock starting an affair with the hot young thing, and vowing off women forever after she dies - remaining engaged to T’Pring out of family loyalty. Presumably he was better about scheduling vacation time every 7 years in Starfleet, and couldn’t get the time off for the TV episode. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/79 "2014-05-01T21:33:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Granny Weathwerwax is in her eighties, and can still handle a unicorn. It takes two hands . . . ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053/80 "2014-05-01T21:35:45Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Most of the wizards at Unseen University would quality, I think. The OP said **"unexpectedly** late age" – no character in an ostensibly celibate calling would count. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-who-were-probably-virgins-at-an-unexpectedly-late-age/687053.md?page=5)