History Main / RejectedMarriageProposal

*** One of the most famous scenes in the novel involves this. Mr Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet is soundly rejected and comes with a ReasonYouSuckSpeech to boot; she tells him she despises him for being so arrogant and callous, treating Mr Wickham so poorly, and ruining her sister Jane's chances of marrying his friend, Mr Bingley, making him "the last man in the world whom [she] could ever be prevailed upon to marry." It doesn't help that Darcy's proposal came off as rather insulting, insinuating he was willing to put up with Lizzie's lack of prospects and 'trashy' family out of love for her. Subsequently, Lizzie discovers that Darcy isn't actually as bad as she first believed and she eventually falls in love with him but thinks there's no way she'll be getting a second proposal after her scathing rejection. Luckily, she's wrong.
*** Lizzie rejects the proposal of Mr Collins, who's a pompous twerp and only asks her because Jane is ostensibly [[SettleForSibling unavailable]]. He thinks she's just being modest and so proposes again (which is admittedly normal for the time period). She rejects him until he finally gets the message that she's genuinely uninterested. Her mother is displeased because marrying Mr Collins would've secured her financially, while her father just wants her to be happy. Mr Collins doesn't take it too badly, as he marries Lizzie's friend Charlotte not long after.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims'', any installment where Sims can propose marriage can potentially have their proposal be rejected, including ''VideoGame/TheSims2'', ''VideoGame/TheSims3'' and ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' (Sims can get married in VideoGame/TheSims1, but they wouldn't get engaged first; instead a dialogue box would pop up suggesting the couple get married and the Sims would then marry on the spot). Generally, a Sim will reject a marriage proposal if the relationship between them and the proposer isn't high enough, and/or at least one of them is in a bad mood. In ''The Sims 3'', Sims with the personality trait "{{Commitment Issues}}" are more likely to reject a proposal for, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin obvious reasons]]. Ditto for Sims with the "Noncommittal" trait in ''The Sims 4''.

* In the ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' franchise, if you attempt to propose to a LoveInterest without fulfilling the requirements to get married, they'll turn you down. Very often, you can also propose to almost ''any'' townspeople, and those who aren't eligible will often [[WhatTheHellPlayer turn you down in humorous ways.]]

A situation in which a character proposes marriage to another character, only to be turned down. Due to cultural traditions and customs around proposing, it's almost always a woman rejecting a man, though there are rare exceptions. There can be ''many'' different reasons for a marriage proposal being rejected. Maybe she doesn't love him, or had ulterior motives for being with him from the start. Maybe she does love him but thinks he [[InsecureLoveInterest deserves better]] or that marrying her would [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy screw his life up]]. She could've [[OopsIForgotIWasMarried forgotten she was already married]]. Perhaps the timing isn't right. Or maybe she just didn't like the ring.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Diana turns down quite a few proposals from ComicBook/SteveTrevor, but he keeps asking because they're dating and they both want to get married. It's just that as she's the Amazon Champions she's not supposed to get married until she finishes her never ending mission. As there are loopholes in the rules, like her having to keep her word if she promises to marry him if he beats her in a contest, they do eventually get married.

** ''Literature/MansfieldPark'': Henry Crawford tries to impress and court favour with Fanny Price, unable to stand the fact that [[RejectionAffection she's indifferent to his charms]]. When he genuinely falls in love with her, he proposes only to be rejected. He visits Sir Thomas, Fanny's uncle, to ask his consent to the marriage. Subsequently, Fanny has to explain her rejection to her uncle, citing Henry's immoral and flirtatious character, but Sir Thomas finds it ridiculous that she would reject such an advantageous marriage. At this point, Fanny is secretly in love with her cousin, Edmund, which is another reason why she's reluctant to accept Henry's proposal; nor can she be completely honest about the extent of his rakish behaviour in order to protect the reputation of her cousins, Maria and Julia, with whom he had also flirted. Fanny is viewed with disdain for rejecting Henry, until [[spoiler: he runs off with the [[YourCheatingHeart now-married]] Maria, at which point everyone realises Fanny was right about him]].

* Downplayed in ''[[Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey Fifty Shades Darker]]''. Christian spontaneously proposes to Ana, but she says she needs time to think about it because they haven't known each other that long (about a month) and she's worried he's only proposing because she was considering leaving him, believing they're incompatible. Not long after though, she tells Christian she accepts and they announce they're engaged at his birthday party. Despite this, Christian still proposes to Ana 'properly' with a ring as well.

* Creator/JaneAusten:

* In ''Literature/AnnaKarenina'', Kitty very awkwardly rejects Levin's initial marriage proposal, because she is hoping the more dashing Vronsky will propose to her instead. Unfortunately, Vronsky was only playing around with her and does not propose, leaving Kitty with no romantic prospects. This sends both of them into despair; Kitty falls ill and has to leave the country to recover, while Levin retreats from society to isolate himself at his country house. The embarrassment of this rejection keeps both of them from getting together for most of the book, despite their mutual interest in each other.

* ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'': Laurence the 19[[superscript:th]] Century OfficerAndAGentleman tries to make an HonorableMarriageProposal to his lover, Admiral Roland. Not sharing his concerns about her not being an "honest woman", she nonchalantly turns him down and returns to their earlier conversation, leaving him slightly bemused.
-->''"Why no, dear fellow. It would be a puzzle to give you orders, you know, if I had vowed to obey; it could hardly be comfortable. But it is very handsome of you to have offered."''

A situation in which a character proposes marriage to another character, only to be turned down. Due to cultural traditions and customs around proposing, it's almost always a woman rejecting a man, though there are rare exceptions. There can be ''many'' different reasons for a marriage proposal being rejected. Maybe she doesn't love him, or had ulterior motives for being with him from the start. Maybe she does love him, but thinks he [[InsecureLoveInterest deserves better]] or that marrying her would [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy screw his life up]]. She could've [[OopsIForgotIWasMarried forgotten she was already married]]. Perhaps the timing isn't right. Or maybe she just didn't like the ring.

Which of the two characters is presented more sympathetically depends on a number of factors. If the one being proposed to is excessively harsh in their rejection, or was being intentionally deceptive about their feelings, they will usually be portrayed as unsympathetic. If the one proposing is an AbhorrentAdmirer, is trying to force or coerce someone into marriage, or is [[NotGoodWithRejection overly pushy about it]] even after being rejected, they're usually the unsympathetic one. In other cases, they're both presented sympathetically and it's simply a matter of them misunderstanding where their relationship currently stands. Either way, a proposal being turned down is often an embarrassing and upsetting situation for both parties; it's exceptionally awkward if the proposal and subsequent rejection occurs in a public place. Within the story, the rejection can be played for [[PlayedForLaughs laughs]], [[PlayedForDrama drama]], or sometimes both at once depending on the tone, context and who we're intended to sympathize with.

* Early in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', Belle rejects Gaston's marriage proposal. She is portrayed completely sympathetically, as Gaston is a loutish, arrogant jerk who feels entitled to her and she has zero interest in him. She pretends to be flattered and manages to kick him out of her house, while telling him [[ExactWords "I just don't deserve you"]]. Gaston ends up humiliating himself in front of several people, he having been so certain Belle would accept his proposal he'd ''already set up the wedding ceremony''. Subsequently, he is driven to extreme measures to gain her hand in marriage, including threatening to send her father to an asylum unless she accepts.

* PlayedForLaughs at the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}''. In a voiceover, Eugene states that after years of asking, he finally agreed to marry Rapunzel; after some prompting from Rapunzel however, he admits ''he'' was the one asking her. Presumably, Rapunzel didn't want to get hitched right away, as she'd only just discovered her true identity and been reunited with her real parents, which is a lot to take in; this is further elaborated on in [[WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries the series]].

* ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'': Early on, Alice is proposed to by UpperClassTwit Hamish in front of dozens of people, including their parents (although she had found out he was going to ask her to marry him beforehand, so she wasn't ''completely'' unprepared). Alice clearly doesn't want to marry him, but feels pressured to do so, especially because marrying Hamish would secure her and her mother financially. Instead of giving a definitive answer, she says she needs some time and runs off after the White Rabbit. At the end of the film, after she returns from her adventures in Wonderland (only a few minutes have passed in the normal world), [[GrewASpine Alice]] refuses Hamish's proposal and instead goes into business with his father, Lord Ascot, to support herself.

* ''Film/TheFinestHours'': At a dance early in the movie, Miriam suddenly asks Bernie to marry her. He's so taken aback, he reflexively says "no". Hurt, Miriam rushes out into the parking lot, where he catches up with her and eventually agrees to it, after he clears it with his comminding officer.

* ''Literature/BloodAndChocolate'' has a bizarre inversion of sorts, combined with AccidentalProposal. Vivian, a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent loup-garoux]], inadvertently wins the Bitches Dance, a fight between the females of the pack where the victor becomes the new pack leader's mate. Vivian wasn't actually participating and only gets involved to [[ParentsInDistress protect her mother]], but as a result she's declared the winner. The pack leader, Gabriel, is fine with it as he's in love with Vivian, but Vivian herself is horrified and refuses to become his mate, not least because she's already got a boyfriend, Aiden. [[spoiler: However, she eventually comes around and they up being happy together]].
* In ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', Lucy Westenra gets ''three'' marriage proposals in one day from Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmwood and Dr John Seward. Although she's fond of all her suitors, she declines Morris and Seward's proposals and chooses to marry Holmwood; unfortunately, she dies and [[CameBackWrong comes back as a vampire]] before the wedding can take place. Even though she rejected them, Morris and Seward still love Lucy; Seward does what he can to nurse Lucy when she falls gravely ill after being fed on by Count Dracula, and Morris also donates blood to her. Seward and Morris join forces with Holmwood and Van Helsing to kill the vampirized Lucy so her soul can rest (they let Holmwood be the one to stake Lucy as he was her betrothed). The three suitors then help hunt down Dracula partly to avenge the woman they all loved.

* ''Literature/{{Emma}}'':
** Emma persuades her friend Harriet to reject a marriage proposal from Robert Martin, a gentleman farmer, even though she is fond of him, because Emma is convinced Harriet's a better match with Mr Elton, a local clergyman. But...
** Mr Elton then proposes marriage to ''Emma'', believing her in love with him; Emma is offended and declines, explaining she thought he was interested in Harriet. Mr Elton dismisses Harriet as being beneath him, upsetting Harriet and leaving Emma ashamed at her misjudgment of the situation.

* The title character of ''Literature/JaneEyre'' turns down St. John's proposal that they marry, saying they should go to India as friends, because she loves him [[LikeBrotherAndSister more like a brother]] and he only wants to marry her because he thinks she'll make a good missionary's wife than from love. He argues that they would be happy enough once they got married, but Jane is decidedly unconvinced. Just when she's considering giving in, she inexplicably hears her true love, Mr Rochester, calling to her and decides to return to him.
* ''Literature/LittleWomen'': [[VitriolicBestBuds Jo March and Theodore "Laurie" Lawrence]] grew up together and it looks like they might end up having a ChildhoodFriendRomance. However, when Laurie proposes to Jo she tells him at length how she thinks they're LikeBrotherAndSister, how unsuitable both she and her mother think such a marriage would be, breaks down every point he tries using to convince her, and tells him she thinks she'll never marry anyone. Despite many readers shipping them together when the story was being released, Jo's rejection of Laurie made it pretty clear Louisa May Alcott disagreed.
* ''Literature/MansfieldPark'': Henry Crawford tries to impress and court favour with Fanny Price, unable to stand the fact that she's indifferent to his charms. When he genuinely falls in love with her, he proposes only to be rejected. He visits Sir Thomas, Fanny's uncle, to ask his consent to the marriage. Subsequently, Fanny has to explain her rejection to her uncle, citing Henry's immoral and flirtatious character, but Sir Thomas finds it ridiculous that she would reject such an advantageous marriage. At this point, Fanny is secretly in love with her cousin, Edmund, which is another reason why she's reluctant to accept Henry's proposal; nor can she be completely honest about the extent of his rakish behaviour in order to protect the reputation of her cousins, Maria and Julia, with whom he had also flirted. Fanny is viewed with disdain for rejecting Henry, until [[spoiler: he runs off with the [[YourCheatingHeart now-married]] Maria, at which point everyone realises Fanny was right about him]].

* ''Literature/{{Persuasion}}'': At nineteen, Anne Elliot was engaged to Captain Wentworth, but was persuaded to call it off despite loving him. At twenty-two she was proposed to by Mr Charles Musgrove, but Anne refused him because she still loved Wentworth.
* ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'':
** One of the most famous scenes in the novel involves this. Mr Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet is soundly rejected and comes with a ReasonYouSuckSpeech to boot; she tells him she despises him for being so arrogant and callous, treating Mr Wickham so poorly, and ruining her sister Jane's chances of marrying his friend, Mr Bingley, making him "the last man in the world whom [she] could ever be prevailed upon to marry." It doesn't help that Darcy's proposal came off as rather insulting, insinuating he was willing to put up with Lizzie's lack of prospects and 'trashy' family out of love for her. Subsequently, Lizzie discovers that Darcy isn't actually as bad as she first believed and she eventually falls in love with him, but thinks there's no way she'll be getting a second proposal after her scathing rejection. Luckily, she's wrong.
** Lizzie rejects the proposal of Mr Collins, who's a pompous twerp and only asks her because Jane is ostensibly [[SettleForSibling unavailable]]. He thinks she's just being modest and so proposes again (which is admittedly normal for the time period). She rejects him until he finally gets the message that she's genuinely uninterested. Her mother is displeased because marrying Mr Collins would've secured her financially, while her father just wants her to be happy. Mr Collins doesn't take it too badly, as he marries Lizzie's friend Charlotte not long after.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Gendry proposes to Arya after he's legitimized by Daenerys, as they're [[SuddenlySuitableSuitor now of the same social standing]]. However, although Arya has feelings for Gendry, she refuses to marry him because she doesn't want to be a lord's wife and she's [[RebelliousPrincess ill-suited]] to the lifestyle. Gendry is understandably upset, but doesn't hold it against her, and Arya gets to live her life the way she wants.

** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E10TheresSomethingAboutMarrying There's Something About Marrying]]" features Patty attempting to get married to her girlfriend, Veronica. However, it is revealed in the final act that Veronica is actually a man named Leslie Robin Swisher, dressed up as a woman in order to participate in a LPGA tournament. When Marge reveals his true gender to everyone at the wedding, Leslie attempts to propose to Patty as a man. She promptly rejects it:

** The earlier episode "Principal Charming" has Patty dating Seymour Skinner (This was before she came out as a lesbian). Eventually Seymour proposes to her but Patty rejects him. Not because she didn't love him but because being a twin, she did everything with her sister Selma and couldn't leave her behind.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E13TogetherForever Together Forever]]", Steven proposes to Connie. She gently rejects him, saying that while she does care about him, she thinks it's way too soon in both of their lives to consider it (Steven's only sixteen years old and Connie is even younger than he is). Steven suggesting that they spend all their time fused together doesn't help, as Connie wants to be her own person. Steven is upset, but accepts her rejection graciously. It's indicated that Steven mostly asked Connie to marry him as a poor attempt to cope with his trauma, as he was afraid of losing Connie when she revealed she was leaving to attend college.
* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' elaborates upon the [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} film]]'s gag about Eugene attempting to propose to Rapunzel; it forms a minor subplot although it's played for a [[CerebusRetcon bit more drama here]]. Most noticeably, in the [[Recap/TangledTheSeriesBeforeEverAfter pilot]] Eugene attempts to propose to Rapunzel before her coronation in front of the whole court, but she rejects him as she isn't ready for it and is afraid that it'll lead to her being trapped once more, after she spent eighteen years locked up by Mother Gothel.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019'' (the CGI remake of the 1994 film) includes a similar scene to "THe Madnes of King Scar" sequence, though without the song, in which Scar asks Sarabi rather than Nala to become his queen. It's indicated Scar has been attracted to her for years, but she [[AllLoveIsUnrequited chose his brother Mufasa]]; Scar also believes that with [[OneHundredPerCentAdorationRating Sarabi]] at his side, the rest of the pride will respect him more. Sarabi refuses, prompting Scar to decree that the lionesses will eat after the hyenas from now on "and they don't leave much behind".

* The CGI remake of ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019'' includes a similar scene, though without the song, in which Scar asks Sarabi rather than Nala to become his queen. It's indicated Scar has been attracted to her for years, but she [[AllLoveIsUnrequited chose his brother Mufasa]]; Scar also believes that with [[OneHundredPerCentAdorationRating Sarabi]] at his side, the rest of the pride will respect him more. Sarabi refuses, prompting Scar to decree that the lionesses will eat after the hyenas from now on "and they don't leave much behind".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': Jasmine vigorously rejects [[BigBad Jafar]]'s marriage proposal twice. The first time, she says no, then rushes to her father and tells him she wants to marry Prince Ali (Aladdin) instead. Aladdin's arrival and Jafar being exposed as a traitor straight after leads to the latter having to exit the scene suddenly. The second time, [[DarkestHour Jafar has taken over after he stole the lamp]]. Even though refusing could be [[BullyingADragon very dangerous]] for her this time, Jasmine [[BigNever yells]] this won't happen and use FoodSlap to emphasize her refusal.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': Jasmine vigorously rejects-twice-[[BigBad Jafar]]'s marriage proposal. The first time, she says no then rush to her father and tells him she wants to marry Prince Ali (Aladdin) instead. Aladdin's arrival and Jafar exposed as a traitor straight after leads to the latter having to exit the scene suddenly. The second time, [[DarkestHour Jafar took over after he stole the lamp]]. Despite refusing could be [[BullyingADragon very dangerous]] for her this time, Jasmine [[BigNever yells]] this won't happen and use FoodSlap to emphasize her refusal.

* In ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', Lindsay Monroe rejects the marriage proposal of Danny Messer when she is pregnant with their daughter Lucy as she feels he only proposed to her because he considered it his [[GiveTheBabyAFather "duty"]] instead of genuine love. [[spoiler:Right before she goes on maternity leave, he proposes to her again - and this time, she accepts.]]

* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIV'': Part of Rosella and Edgar's [[ZigZaggedTrope game of pinball]] when it comes to StandardHeroReward. Lolotte tried to invoke this and a cross of AndNowYouMustMarryMe when it came to marrying Rosella (disguised as a peasant) to her hunchbacked "son" Edgar. Turns out Edgar was GoodAllAlong and helped Rosella escape due to IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy. After Lolotte was killed, her rival Genesta restored Edgar to his true form of a [[SuddenlySuitableSuitor handsome fairy prince.]] Edgar offered ''himself'' as StandardHeroReward for Rosella, but she had to turn him down ("Sorry, Eddie. Gotta get the magic fruit to my sick dad...") ''Wisely,'' when they meet again in the seventh game, he merely asks for a proper courtship. Both the FanSequel and the Telltale Games version sow that TheyDo

* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E13TogetherForever Together Forever]]", Steven proposes to Connie. She gently rejects him, saying that while she does care about him, she thinks it's way too soon in both of their lives to consider it (they're both only sixteen years old). Steven suggesting that they spend all their time fused together doesn't help, as Connie wants to be her own person. Steven is upset, but accepts her rejection graciously. It's indicated that Steven mostly asked Connie to marry him as a poor attempt to cope with his trauma, as he was afraid of losing Connie when she revealed she was leaving to attend college.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': When [[spoiler:Durkon]] asks to marry [[spoiler: Hilgya]] to make up for accidentally abandoning her after getting her pregnant, her response is to [[DisproportionateRetribution kill him with a Flame Strike]]. And then [[BackFromTheDead bring him back to life]], since he is kinda necessary under the circumstances. She doesn't actually ''say'' "no", but as his mother points out later, the implication is obvious.

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* Early in ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'', Belle rejects Gaston's marriage proposal. She is portrayed completely sympathetically, as Gaston is a loutish, arrogant jerk who feels entitled to her and she has zero interest in him. She pretends to be flattered and manages to kick him out of her house, while telling him [[ExactWords "I just don't deserve you"]]. Gaston ends up humiliating himself in front of several people, he having been so certain Belle would accept his proposal he'd ''already set up the wedding ceremony''. Subsequently, he is driven to extreme measures to gain her hand in marriage, including threatening to send her father to an asylum unless she accepts.

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