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He loves me, he loves me not orShe loves me, she loves me not (originallyeffeuiller la marguerite inFrench) is a game ofFrench origin[citation needed], in which one person seeks to determine whether the object of their affection returns that affection.
A person playing the game alternately speaks the phrases "He (or she) loves me," and "He loves me not," while picking one petal off a flower (usually anox-eye daisy) for each phrase. The phrase they speak on picking off the last petal supposedly represents the truth between the object of their affection, loving them or not. The player is typically motivated by attraction to the person they are speaking of while reciting the phrases. They may seek to reaffirm a pre-existing belief or act out of whimsy.
In the original French version of the game, the petals do not simply indicate whether the object of the player's affection loves them, but to what extent:un peu or "a little",beaucoup or "a lot",passionnément or "passionately",à la folie or "to madness", orpas du tout or "not at all."
A humorous twist on the game is "He loves me, he loves me lots."
In Part 1 ofGoethe's Faust, Gretchen engages in the game. (1808)
This fortune-telling is shown as a pantomime in the 1st act ofGiselle, ballet byJean Coralli andJules Perrot (Paris, 1841).
In Part 6 ofAnna Karenina, Kitty and Levin play this game (regarding whether another character will propose that day). (1877)
InHow Will I Know, American singerWhitney Houston speaks the phrases of this game. (1985)
