Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers
29,188
edits
Duty First, Love Second: Difference between revisions
m
added Category:Dignity Tropes using HotCat
m (Vorticity moved page Loved I Not Honor More to Duty First, Love Second: ATT:BOLD edit to Word Salad Title that generates parser errors in my mind, bring it up in the forums if you disagree ok :D) |
m (added Category:Dignity Tropes using HotCat) |
||
| (3 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
Line 17:
</div>
How can [[The Hero]] balance his love life with saving the world, especially when [[Love Hurts]] and [[Love Is a Weakness]]? Some heroes conclude that the only solution is to leave a love life out of the equation and become a [[Celibate Hero]]. Others (usually of the [[Refusal of the Call|reluctant]] or adolescent variety) take the opposite approach and [[Always Save the Girl]] whenever love and heroism conflict. Finally, others [[Take a Third Option]]
Instead of becoming a [[Celibate Hero]], heroes who say "loved I not honor more" enter a committed relationship and accept the strain that their role will put on that relationship. They allow themselves to fall in love, but the romance must take a backseat to duty. They'll dislike having to leave the wife or girl home alone to go save the world, but they won't hesitate (long) to do it. Making a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save the girl is perfectly acceptable, but [[Love Makes You Evil|turning to the Dark Side]] isn't. There will be times when the lovers can't spend as much time together as they want, when the girl will get jealous of her non-human rival, and when he will have to make a [[Sadistic Choice]]. There will be tears for his safety on her part, guilt on his part for making his beloved suffer, and periods of believing that she would be better off without him. But in the end, she will have to admit that his devotion to a heroic cause is one of the things she loves and admires most about him, and they will have the satisfaction of knowing (and making sure their enemies know, too) that withstanding so much tension and danger makes their love all the stronger.
Line 25:
Classic [[Gender Flip|gender flipped]] cases usually revolve around the girl being [[Women Are Wiser|more sensible]] in a struggle with passion, telling the guy that since it's impossible for them to be together, whether due to an [[Arranged Marriage]] or a [[Virgin Power]], they should be practical and accept that instead of sacrificing ''everything'' to satisfy their passion. Reason and morality are higher callings than love to her.
The most obvious modern solution to this trope is for [[The Hero]] to pick a girl who can be his [[Battle Couple|partner]] rather than be forced to [[Stay in the Kitchen|sit at home]] waiting for him, but this wasn't always an option throughout history. Not that many [[Violently Protective Girlfriend
This trope can be particularly hard on villains who make a [[Heel Face Turn]] while in a committed relationship. They'll have to rely on [[Love Redeems]] to get their significant other to understand why he suddenly left her to side with the enemy.
Line 34:
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Kenshin Himura and Kaoru Kamiya from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''. He ''did'' attempt to leave her behind when he went to Kyoto, but after an [[Heroic BSOD]], Kaoru (and Yahiko) followed him there.
* A good part of Miaka and Tamahome's conflict in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' comes from this trope and [[Bodyguard Crush]] clashing with the fact that {{spoiler|she'll have to return to her world once Suzaku is summoned and he'll stay in the Four Gods Universe forever.}} {{spoiler|They get their happy ending anyway.}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Contrary to Joe Quesada's opinion, plenty of superheroes find love and take this road. Yes, there's always a danger their beloved will get [[Stuffed Into the Fridge]], but the greater risk is of them losing their anchors to humanity.
* [[Empowered]] and [[Dark and Troubled Past|Thugboy]] have a relationship like this after Thugboy's [[Mook Face Turn]].
== Film ==
Line 46:
== Literature ==
* This issue comes up frequently in ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (novel)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]'' sequels, with Sir Percy even quoting Lovelace's poem a few times. Sir Percy's "loved I not honor more" philosophy is pitted against his brother-in-law Armand's [[Always Save the Girl]] philosophy in ''Eldorado'', which also reveals just how much Percy hates himself for the pain he causes his wife Marguerite.
* Gone with the Wind - Rhett himself quotes this just before he leaves Scarlett, Melanie, the two children, and Prissy, to finally (and belatedly) join the war against the Yankees.
* The Bronte sisters seem to like this trope. Charlotte's [[Jane Eyre]], once she learns about [[Bertha in The Attic]], refuses to sacrifice her morals and live with Mr. Rochester as his mistress if they can't get married...
* … and Helen in Anne's ''[[The Tenant of Wildfell Hall]]'' breaks up with Gilbert after the two of them finally make their mutual [[Anguished Declaration of Love]] because she's still technically married to an abusive [[The Alcoholic|alcoholic]].
* Redcrosse and Artegall in Books 1 and 5 of ''[[The Faerie Queene]]'' get engaged to Una and Britomart, respectively, and then reluctantly leave them to carry out their knightly missions.
* Invoked in ''[[Nightside|A Hard Day's Knight]]'', complete with the [[Trope Namer]] quotation.
Line 83:
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' actually [[Gender Flip
{{quote|'''Bubbles:''' Hey, Robyn, we're sorry...
'''Buttercup:''' ... we left you behind all the time.
Line 92:
... ... ...
'''Zuko:''' STOP! This isn't about you! This is about the Fire Nation!
'''Mai:''' Thanks, Zuko, [[Sarcasm Mode|that makes me feel all better]].
'''Zuko:''' ''Mai,'' I never wanted to hurt you, but I have to do this to save my country. }}
* This shows up in, of all places, the 1960s cartoon ''[[Underdog (animation)|Underdog]]'' in the episode "The Witch of Pickyune," when Underdog meets a witch who will only wake his love interest from an eternal sleep if he helps her [[Take Over the World]]. Proving himself to be smarter than [[Star Wars|Anakin Skywalker]], he flat out refuses (before accidentally saving the girl anyway with a [[True Love's Kiss]]).
Line 98:
* Number 1 abides by this philosophy on ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', but his girlfriend Lizzie eventually has enough and breaks up with him in "Operation G.I.R.L.F.R.I.E.N.D."
{{quote|'''Lizzie:''' I'm tired of competing with the Kids Next Door.}}
* In ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'' [[Plastic Man]] is married to Ramona, a woman [[Henpecked Husband|with a fairly abusive attitude]]. One of the episodes, "Long Arm of the Law!", even focuses on his difficulties in reconciling his family life with crime-fighting. The episode incorporates nearly all the tropes associated with
* This is definitely at play in Thundercats2011 reboot. {{spoiler|Tygra grows jealous over the course of the first thirteen episodes by Cheetara's constant attention with Lion-O. She holds his hand, grasps his shoulder and even kisses him on the cheek. Tygra assumes he's already lost his chance with her and it makes him even angrier at his younger brother. It turns out this was a case of
* [[Invoked]] on ''[[Hey Arnold!]]''--[[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Helga]]'s sister [[Parody Sue|Olga]] is set to get married, but Helga discovers the fiancé just wants to inherit their family business. While she's at first perfectly fine letting Olga throw her life away for a man who doesn't love her, she eventually threatens to expose the man unless he [[Runaway Bride|leaves her at the altar]], forging a note that claims he left to help starving children in a third world country (or something).
Line 111:
[[Category:Drama Tropes]]
[[Category:Loved I Not Honor More]]
[[Category:Dignity Tropes]]
| |||