History Main / HonorableMarriageProposal

A man who ''isn't'' [[ShotgunWedding the father of the child]] proposes to a pregnant woman in order to preserve her honour in a society with strong views on extramarital sex. Whether this is a suitable basis for a [[HappilyMarried happy marriage]] largely depends on the work's [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism idealism]].

If it happens nowadays, the guy either has a ''very'' strict [[HonourBeforeReason sense of duty]] or is just in love with the woman and making excuses. Also, expect his actions [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished to be criticised]] for implying that a single mother [[ValuesDissonance can't raise a baby alone.]]

SisterTrope to ShotgunWedding, when the ''father'' is pressured into "doing the honorable thing".

!!Examples:

* Sam Clay proposes to Rosa Saks for this reason in ''{{The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay}}''. She's pregnant with his cousin Joe's child, Joe has gone off to war and probably isn't coming back, and he's gay and [[spoiler:heartbroken as he's just split up with his lover.]]

* ''[[ASongOfIceAndFire A Storm of Swords]]'' has Robb Stark proposing marriage to Jeyne Westerling after he has sex with her. He has his reasons, as he's just as honorable as his dad but doesn't want to produce a bastard like he did. Unfortunately, he also promised to marry another lord's daughter, so that... doesn't go well.

* ''{{Friends}}'': Joey proposes to Rachel shortly after she has Ross's baby... ''by accident'' (he happens to be down on one knee when he picks up the ring Ross had bought for the same purpose).

[[AC:Religion]]

* [[TheBible King David]] tried to pass his marriage to Bathsheba off as one of these (or even as just a regular marriage), but he actually was trying to cover up the fact that he got her pregnant even though she was already married...and [[UriahGambit killed her husband]] to facilitate the cover-up.

** The above may explain [[NearRapeExperience why those dogs were chasing Lady]] - she was in ''heat''.

* In ''TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'', Ben, convinced that he is in love, proposes to Amy shortly after finding out she's pregnant with Ricky's baby. Since they're 15 and have only been dating a few weeks at that point, their parents don't approve. In fact, no one thinks that Amy ''needs'' to be married just because she's pregnant. None of these things stop Amy and Ben from secretly getting married. But since it's with fake IDs, the marriage is invalid and [[spoiler: they end up breaking up later anyway]].

* Horshack in ''WelcomeBackKotter'' proposes to Rosalie Totsie after she claims to be pregnant by one of the Sweathogs. She's lying to trick them into taking back rumors about her being "easy", but after the reveal [[HeartwarmingMoment she thanks Arnold for offering to do the right thing and asks him out on a date]].

** This may explain [[NearRapeExperience why those dogs were chasing Lady]] - she was in ''heat''.

* Central to ''TheMiracleOfMorgansCreek''. Made awkward by her [[AccidentalMarriage technical marriage]] to someone she couldn't remember and would probably never see again.

* In ''LaverneAndShirley,'' when Laverne thinks she might be pregnant (a few days after a drinking contest at a party where she can only remember bits and pieces), Lenny comes down to talk to Laverne.
-->'''Lenny''': So, me and Squiggy flipped a coin to see which one of us was gonna volunteer to be your husband.
-->'''Laverne''': Awwww, and you lost, huh?
-->'''Lenny''': No, I won.
** He then adds how he's going to go out for an exam to get a better job and adds:
-->'''Lenny''': I'm gonna make a good living. Plus, I'll practically never hit you or nothin'...
* In ''{{Deadwood}}'', [[spoiler:Ellsworth]] to Alma Garret, as she's bearing the child of a guy who's only (lovelessly) wed for the similarly-honorable reason of dutifully marrying the widow of his dead brother.

* The story of the Nativity is not strictly related, but Joseph hesitated to wed Mary because she was pregnant and he knew darn well it wasn't his. Not wanting to humiliate her, he planned to quietly cancel their engagement. An angel from Heaven had to step in and tell him everything was okay.

* Grover Cleveland did something roughly similar in real life. (He didn't marry the person, but did provide child support like money, even though he was only one of many possible fathers.)

* Sam Clay proposes to Rosa Saks for this reason in ''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay''. She's pregnant with his cousin Joe's child, Joe has gone off to war and probably isn't coming back, and he's gay and [[spoiler:heartbroken as he's just split up with his lover.]]
* Happens in the Naruto {{fanfic}} ''Teamwork''.
* In ''TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'', Ben, convinced that he is in love, proposes to Amy shortly after finding out she's pregnant with Ricky's baby. Since they're 15 and have only been dating a few weeks at that point, their parents don't approve. In fact, no one thinks that Amy ''needs'' to be married just because she's pregnant. None of these things stop Amy and Ben from secretly getting married. But since it's with fake IDs, the marriage is invalid and [[spoiler: they end up breaking up later anyway]]
* Also happens in a ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfic ("Father") where someone takes advantage of a drunk Asuka during a house party and she gets pregnant. Shinji instantly proposes to her. This, of course, is not something Asuka's father would tolerate and he attempts to force Asuka at gunpoint to cancel the engagement and have an abortion before returning to Germany for an ArrangedMarriage. The emphasis is on 'attempts' as [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Shinji]], [[ThreatBackfire Misato]] and [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Gendo]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome all gang up on him]]. Special mention goes to ''Gendo being a PapaWolf to Asuka''.
** Another fanfic has Asuka finding out that Shinji is now engaged with one of their classmates because they had an affair and he accidentally got her pregnant. That's actually a cover story; what really happened is that [[spoiler:the girl got raped by her own father and got pregnant from it]]. Since the bastard was a Nerv employee, Gendo quickly has him disposed of by Section 2 and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Shinji volunteers to provide the cover story]]. Of course, the girl then has a ConvenientMiscarriage and she moves out of the city, knowing that Shinji and Asuka love each other but CannotSpitItOut.
* In Emile Zola's book ''La Curee'' (''The Kill''), Aristide Saccard uses this ploy to marry a rich girl.
* Admiral Cole is implied to do this in ''{{Halo}}: Evolutions'' for his first marriage.
* In the novel ''The Lady and the Unicorn'', by Tracy Chevalier (author of ''GirlWithAPearlEarring''), set in the late Middle Ages, Philip marries Aleinor after she gets pregnant from another guy, to help her escape from an ArrangedMarriage to yet ''another'' man.
* In the newspaper comic, ''[=~9 Chickweed Lane~=]'', Gran/Edna says this is the reason she and Bill ultimately got married: He was "protecting her honor" after they discovered she was pregnant by the man she left to be with Bill.

* {{Inverted}} on ''TheSimpsons:'' a fifteen-year-old girl [[ItMakesSenseInContext who believes that Bart is sixteen]] tries to trick him into marrying her, and eventually reveals that she's actually pregnant from another guy. Bart is actually willing to go through with it, but Homer, Marge and the girl's parents stop them.

* In ''{{Lady and the Tramp}}'', {{Heterosexual Life Partners}} Jock and Trusty both offer themselves as an option after Lady returns home from the pound. Being a dog of the nineties (the 1890s, but whatever), Lady politely declines.

* In ''{{Frasier}}'' Niles (somewhat drunkenly) plans to propose to Daphne after an overheard conversation leads him to believe she's pregnant with Frasier's child.

* In ''LaverneAndShirley,'' when Laverne thinks she might be pregnant {a few days after a drinking contest at a party where she can only remember bits and pieces.} Lenny comes down to talk to Laverne.
-->Lenny: So, me and Squiggy flipped a coin to see which one of us was gonna volunteer to be your husband.
-->Laverne: Awwww, and you lost, huh?
-->Lenny: No, I won.

-->Lenny: I'm gonna make a good living. Plus, I'll practically never hit you or nothin'...

* Also happens in a ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfic (can't remember the name) where someone takes advantage of a drunk Asuka during a house party and she gets pregnant. Shinji instantly proposes to her. This, of course, is not something Asuka's father would tolerate and he attempts to force Asuka at gunpoint to cancel the engagement and have an abortion before returning to Germany for an ArrangedMarriage. The emphasis is on 'attempts' as [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Shinji]], [[ThreatBackfire Misato]] and [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Gendo]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome all gang up on him]]. Special mention goes to ''Gendo being a PapaWolf to Asuka''.

* Also happens in a ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' fanfic (can't remember the name) where someone takes advantage of a drunk Asuka during a house party and she gets pregnant. Shinji instantly proposes to her. This, of course, is not something Asuka's father would tolerate and he attempts to force Asuka at gunpoint to cancel the engagement and have an abortion before returning to Germany for an ArrangedMarriage. The emphasis is on 'attempts' as [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Shinji]], [[ThreatBackfire Misato]] and [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem Gendo]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome all gang up on him]]. He returns to Germany with no daughter, money, home OR pride.
** Another fanfic has Asuka finding out that Shinji is now engaged with one of their classmates because they had an affair and he accidentally got her pregnant. That's actually a cover story; what really happened is that [[spoiler:the girl got raped by her own father and got pregnant from it]]. Since the bastard was a Nerv employee, Gendo quickly has him disposed of by Section 2 and [[CrowningMomentOfHearwarming Shinji volunteers to provide the cover story]]. Of course, the girl then has a ConvenientMiscarriage and she moves out of the city, knowing that Shinji and Asuka love each other but CannotSpitItOut.

*** This scene doubles as a CMOH for this troper.

* Strongly implied in, [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar of all things,]] LadyAndTheTramp. After Tramp spends the night alone with Lady, Jock and Trusty discuss proposing to her to protect her honor.
* The story of the Nativity is not strictly related, but Joseph hesitated to wed Mary because as she had become already pregnant. An angel from Heaven had to step in and tell him it was okay.

** Joey proposed to Phoebe when everyone thought that she was the one that was pregnant (not to "preserve her hnour", but because it's tough to be a single mother). Once they find out it's really Rachel, he promptly asks the ring back from Phoebe so he could propose to Rachel. Made funnier by the fact that Phoebe gleefully accepted Joey's proposal, then seems upset when Joey says he needs the ring back.

* In the novel ''The Lady and the Unicorn'', by Tracy Chevalier (same from ''GirlWithAPearlEarring''), set in the late Middle Ages, Philip marries Aleinor after she gets pregnant from another guy, to help her escape from an ArrangedMarriage to yet ''another'' man.

* In ''{{LaverneAndShirley}}'' When Laverne thinks she might be pregnant {a few days after a drinking contest at a party where she can only remember bits and pieces.} Lenny comes down to talk to Laverne.
Lenny: So, me and Squiggy flipped a coin to see which one of us was gonna volunteer to be your husband.
Laverne: Awwww, and you lost, huh?
Lenny: No, I won.
He then adds how he's going to go out for an exam to get a better job and adds
Lenny:I'm gonna make a good living. Plus, I'll practically never hit you or nothin'...
This scene doubles as a CMOH for this troper

* Happens in the Naruto {{fanfic} ''Teamwork''.