History Main / ReturningTheHandkerchief

For returning the handkerchief to make any sense, it has to be a washable cloth one (and it usually tends to be a fancy, decorated one at that), which is slightly peculiar considering the prevalence of simple paper tissues in modern society -- especially Japan. This might contribute to the fact that the trope is largely [[DiscreditedTrope discredited]] these days; if a literal handkerchief does appear in the story, the setup is likely to be parodied or not played entirely straight.

* In ''Manga/{{Hekikai No AiOn}}'', Tatsuya starts to weep when he believes he'll never be a "man of high caliber" and Seine gives him a handkerchief. Later, he tries to invoke this trope just to talk to her because she say to him to stay out of her way.

* ''{{Othello}}'' may be the earliest subversion. Cassio doesn't love Desdemona, but Iago makes sure he finds and returns her handkerchief, so as to frame him for having an affair with her. (It's worth noting that early critics were appalled to see a lighthearted comedy trope used to set up multiple murders, although opinion has softened over the years as critics have become more used to the concept of PlayingWithATrope.)

* In ''LesMiserables'' Marius finds a handkerchief left behind on the seat where Cosette and Valjean were sitting. He assumes it was Cosette's and makes a point of showing it to her to demonstrate his feelings. However, since the handkerchief was actually Valjean's, she doesn't have any idea what he is going on about.
* Early in ''TheThreeMusketeers,'' D'Artagnan meets Aramis while the latter has his foot on a handkerchief. D'Artagnan picks it up and hands it to Aramis, accidentally revealing Aramis's relationship with a lady and creating an opportunity for a duel.

* In the ''GachaGacha'' manga by Tamakoshi, this occurs between Arisa and the protagonist, although Arisa is not the sweet type, the boy go dirtied because she insisted on him fixing her bike.

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC: {{Film}}]]

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC: Theater]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

[[AC: WebComics]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

* OlderThanSteam: In ''{{Othello}}'', Iago makes sure that Desdemona's handkerchief gets returned to Othello by way of Cassio, whom Iago wants to frame as making advances on Desdemona, making this.

* Inverted, subverted and combined with an IndulgentFantasySegue in ''BokusatsuTenshiDokuroChan''.

A common ShipTease device and an occasional form of MeetCute and/or SamaritanRelationshipStarter in {{anime}} and {{manga}}, a ReturningTheHandkerchief scenario usually plays out according to the following script:

Western audiences might be more familiar with a common {{parody}} of this trope, in which Boy A immediately offers the handkerchief back after being done with his business, and Girl B politely rejects the sopping mess with a "keep it". The two forms likely evolved independently, however, and the classic gag is not this trope. This is not to say that ReturningTheHandkerchief is exclusively an AnimeTrope - for instance, many GenreSavvy ladies in Victorian fiction provoked just this sort of behavior from gentlemen they were courting by visibly misplacing their handkerchiefs.

* In ''{{Othello}}'', Iago makes sure that Desdemona's handkerchief gets returned to Othello by way of Cassio, whom Iago wants to frame as making advances on Desdemona, making this OlderThanSteam (and possibly OlderThanPrint, given that Shakespeare based it off of an Italian story a century prior).

* In ''{{Hekikai No AiOn}}'', Tatsuya starts to weep when he believes he'll never be a "man of high caliber" and Seine gives him a handkerchief. Later, he tries to invoke this trope just to talk to her because she say to him to stay out of her way.

* Occurs in ''LuckyStar'' between Yutaka and Minami. As Minami was the Girl B, this trope was slightly {{inverted}}.

* In ''{{Othello}}'', Iago makes sure that Desdemona's handkerchief gets returned to Othello by way of Cassio, whom Iago wants to frame as making advances on Desdemona, making this OlderThanSteam (and possibly OlderThanPrint, given that Shakespeare based it off of an Italian story a century prior).

* In ''{{Othello}}'', Iago makes sure that his wife's handkerchief gets returned to him by way of Cassio, whom Iago wants to frame as making advances of Desdemona, making this OlderThanSteam (and possibly OlderThanPrint, given that Shakespeare based it off of an Italian story a century prior).

* Hilariously {{inverted}} in ''Nichijou'' when a violently {{tsundere}}girl returns the handkerchief dropped by the guy she likes.
In the process of returning it she shot him with [[BFG three rocket launchers]], [[StuffBlowingUp a grenade, and a mini-nuke cannon.]]

* In the 2005 PrideAndPrejudice film, Lydia attempts to do this with the soldiers marching through town but it fails as they don't even notice.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aneimo-returning_the_handkerchief-4koma.jpg
[[caption-width:176:All there is to it.]]

* There's a mutant, and averted, version of this in ''Emma''. Realizing that a well-to-do caller on her mistress has genuinely forgotten his gloves, she rushes out to return them. Initially, she fails, but manages to actually do so later. A further mutation of this occurs when she and the man in question begin to start up a friendship, which looks to be very quickly heading for romantic territory when Emma tells him she's always wanted a silk handkerchief for her own. He buys it for her on the spot.

A common ShipTease device and an occasional form of MeetCute in {{anime}} and {{manga}}, a ReturningTheHandkerchief scenario usually plays out according to the following script: