love vs. the public good theme

A character must choose between the loved one on one hand, and a general good, such as a cure for cancer, on the other.

Examples

If time traveler Peter Standish had married his love Helen Petigrew, then the timeline would have been irreparably altered in "I'll Never Forget You" (1951).

4 total · 1 major · 3 minor

StoryLevelMotivation
movie: I'll Never Forget You (1951) major Peter Standish fell in love with Helen Petigrew, but if he married her instead of her sister Kate Petigrew, as he was supposed to, then the future would be irreparably altered, since it was his destiny to marry Kate and father two children.
movie: 2067 (2020) minor Should Ethan stay in the present to care for his gravely ill wife or go on a possibly one way trip into the future in a last ditched effort to save humanity?
movie: Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1994) minor When faced with the choice, Victor elected to continue with his research into conquering death over his fiancée Elizabeth. However, the pair later reunited and got married.
pkded1x03 minor Linda spelled out to Ed that wishing his mentally disturbed son Sam back into existence would have bad ramifications for society.