What Is the Meaning of the Pansy Flower?

Pansies in the garden.

Flowers have always enchanted us. The botany, literature and lore of flowers describe the meaning.

Meaning

The pansy is named from the French word "pensee" meaning thoughts, in particular the thoughts of lovers. The myth grew that you could see a loved one in the face of the pansy.

Legend

The pansy flower resembles a face.

Legend tells the flower was originally white, and blushed bright purple where it was pierced by Cupid's arrow. This accounts for the flower's reputation of bringing thoughts of loved ones.

Botany

The garden pansy sold at stores today originated in the early 19th century in England. William Thompson, a gardener on the estate of Lord Gambier, began crossing various Viola species with Viola tricolor to make a larger flower with a more pronounced "face." By the 1880s pansies were one of the most popular flowers and remain so to this day.

Literature

Ophelia expresses her sadness with flowers.

Shakespeare's famous character Ophelia used the meaning of the pansy to express herself in Hamlet:
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray you, love, remember.
And there is pansies, that's for thoughts."

Lore of Flowers

A small bouquet of pansies.

In Victorian times, the language of flowers evolved into a parlor game for sending secret messages to your girlfriend. Books and lists were published giving each flower a meaning. A small bouquet of pansies meant "Think of me."

References

• "The Meaning of Flowers;" Gretchen Scoble and Ann Field; 1998

Resources

• Language of Flowers: Flower Meanings