Oscar Wilde’sThe Happy Prince, published in May 1888, is a fairy tale book.
This is a story that gives the book its title, The Happy Prince, is the most well-known. The tale recounts the efforts of a statue of a prince, adorned with precious gems, and his friend, a small swallow, to help the poor and oppressed people in their city. Some critics interpret the story as a critique of capitalist ideologies.
Summary Of The Happy Prince
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, published in May 1888, is a well-known fairy tale that serves as the title story of the book. The narrative revolves around a statue of a prince, richly adorned with precious gems, and a small swallow who becomes his companion. Together, they strive to help the poor and oppressed in their city. Some critics view the story as a critique of capitalist ideologies, highlighting the disparity between wealth and poverty.
The story begins with a swallow who delays its migration to Egypt for the winter because it falls in love with a reed. However, the swallow eventually leaves this love behind and settles on the pedestal of a golden statue in a town. The statue, known as the Happy Prince, was once a living prince who lived a life of luxury and happiness, oblivious to the suffering of others. Now, as a statue, he can see all the poverty and hardship in the town from his high vantage point, particularly the suffering of children. Unable to bear their pain, he pleads with the swallow to help him bring some relief to the needy by delivering his precious adornments to them.
The swallow reluctantly agrees, and their first act of charity is to deliver the ruby from the hilt of the Happy Prince’s sword to a seamstress who is struggling to care for her sick son. Next, the swallow takes one of the statue’s sapphire eyes to a writer who is freezing in his garret, and the other sapphire eye to a young match girl who will be beaten by her father if she returns home without money. Despite the growing cold and the loss of his eyes, the Happy Prince is cheered by the swallow’s stories of Egypt. The swallow, touched by the Prince’s kindness and now deeply attached to him, decides to stay with him through the winter.
As winter intensifies, the swallow realizes that it is dying. In a final act of love and devotion, it confesses its feelings to the Happy Prince, and they exchange a tender kiss before the swallow dies at the Prince’s feet. The Prince’s heart, made of lead, breaks with sorrow.
The next day, the Mayor and Town Council pass by the statue. Seeing it in such a dilapidated state, they decide to melt it down and recast it. However, the lead heart, being too strong to melt, is discarded on a rubbish heap alongside the dead swallow’s body. In the end, God sends an angel to collect the two most precious things in the city. The angel chooses the broken lead heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow. In recognition of their selfless sacrifices, God grants them eternal life together in paradise.