| rdfs:comment | - The male lead is about to go off to fight the Big Bad (or, on occasion, just the bad guy of the week), and there is a very real possibility that he won't be coming back in one piece. Knowing this, his female love interest decides it would be a good idea to hand him an object -- some piece of jewelry, a trinket, a piece of clothing, a token of some sort -- that she claims is of great personal importance to her (how important it really is is arguable, but more often than not, it's really only valuable in the personal sense). She makes him promise that he will give it back to her, thereby creating a small bit of assurance that he will return from the battle alive. He invariably will, if for no other reason than he promised he would return her "most prized possession."
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| abstract | - The male lead is about to go off to fight the Big Bad (or, on occasion, just the bad guy of the week), and there is a very real possibility that he won't be coming back in one piece. Knowing this, his female love interest decides it would be a good idea to hand him an object -- some piece of jewelry, a trinket, a piece of clothing, a token of some sort -- that she claims is of great personal importance to her (how important it really is is arguable, but more often than not, it's really only valuable in the personal sense). She makes him promise that he will give it back to her, thereby creating a small bit of assurance that he will return from the battle alive. He invariably will, if for no other reason than he promised he would return her "most prized possession." If the couple is still in Will They or Won't They? limbo, this is a sure sign that the scales are leaning more toward Official Couple. This is also a frequent possession of someone suffering under The Dulcinea Effect. Tales taking place during Medieval times, particularly those involving Courtly Love contain a literal favour from the lady. Generally an article of clothing made specifically for that purpose. Sub-Trope of It Was a Gift. Compare Memento MacGuffin, Knight in Shining Armor. Examples of The Lady's Favour include:
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