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We all know this character.
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Honestly, she's not even a character. All she (or he, but mostly she) does is get captured and remain in danger until the hero or heroine rescues them. The character is known for their dependence on other characters to rescue them, their lack of fighting abilities, and often their extreme gullibility. Their sole purpose in the story is to serve as a Macguffin everyone is fighting over, or to be the hero's prize for defeating the villain. They are the damsel in distress.
The Damsel in Distress is not only one of the most despised tropes, it is also one of the best-known. From Princess Peach in the Mario games to Princess Andromeda in Greek mythology, this trope has been used many times. In most cases, it involves the love interest of the hero being put in danger by some sort of villain and requiring a rescue. That is the version of this trope most people are familiar with and is the one that is nearly universally hated. However, not every damsel in distress is the airhead fairytale princess who stands around waiting for a man to save them. If you think about it, any media that involves one character being captured and another character saving them is acting out the Damsel in Distress trope. Many characters like Batman, Katniss Everdeen, and even Superman have been "damseled". There are actually many ways to "break this trope". Several of these you might recognize from media nowadays. Some of them do not even seem like a damsel in distress situation.
One way to add some variety to this trope is to characterize the damsel and introduce them before their capture. Usually when the trope is put into a story, the character in the damsel role is not written well--or at all. The character is essentially on the sidelines while the other (often male) characters get to do all the cool stuff. Something that could change that is to establish this person as a real fleshed out character prior to their being damseled. An extension of this would be to have the reader in the head of this person at some point during their time as a captive. Show them trying to escape, if you can. Whatever you do, do not silence the character. Do not make them a stock character. Even if they are only in one chapter, readers should feel something towards this character. When they're kidnapped, readers shouldn't just think, "Oh, I guess the protagonist has to save them now."
