From The Little Prince
Originally written in French, as Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and later, translated into various languages. Although this is a novella, and not explicitly poetry, I believe that the eloquence of diction, and meaning, is just as poignant throughout the novella, than in any other work of poetry.
Something interesting about this particular passage is not in need of any prior knowledge nor context. But it does help. The Little Prince travels to different worlds in the universe, asking questions until they are answered, and confronts universal themes including love, loneliness, friendship, and loss.
The Little Prince lives on an asteroid, where a beautiful, vain, rose has begun to bloom. Although the rose is vain, dramatic, and regularly causes scenes to draw the attention of the Prince to her, he still loves her. The Prince, however, is aware of her emotional manipulation and sets off to explore the rest of what the literal universe has to offer. Prior to his deportation, the rose apologizes for actions and wishes that he enjoys his travels. Showing his affection and deep adoration for her, he offers her protection in a glass structure, but she maintains that it is unnecessary, as she is capable of taking care of herself.
While on earth, he finds himself lonesome and looks to the fox to play with him. The fox appears defensive, saying to the boy ” You do not live here […] what is it that you are looking for?”.
In the passage above the Prince is nearly beseeching the fox to be his playmate. However, the fox remains guarded and apprehensive about “establishing ties”, as he says to the Prince. Elaborating further, the fox appears that he is in contrast with his own emotions, stating that to establish ties “is an act too often neglected”, yet he continues on to explain to the boy that he is “[…] nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if [the prince tames the fox] then we shall need each other. To [ the fox the boy] will be unique in all the world” and vise versa. To which the Prince responds “[he is] beginning to understand […] There is a flower … [ and he thinks] that she has tamed [him]”.
The fox errs on the side of caution when the Prince looks to develop a greater than surface-level friendship, in evident fear of becoming hurt. With the background content of the Prince’s relationship with the rose, a somber tone is established. The rose proves to be unique to the boy, with her absence highlighting his loneliness, as he searches the entirety of the universe for someone that’s presence is similar to the likes of the rose. Presumably, the fox has endured a similar form of companionship, and discusses the friendship form of attachment in a regretful tone, implying that it is not worth the trouble for the serendipity and rapture at the moment.
Upon the departure, the Prince tames the Fox. The Fox begins to cry and the Prince says “Then it has done you no good at all!” but the Fox replies, “It has done me good.”
Spoiler ahead!
However, throughout the novella, the Prince remains lonesome but grows throughout his adventures throughout the universe. He is morbidly troubled and just looks to go home. The novel is without a true resolution, with readers having to interpret whether or not he has returned home to his beloved, and beautiful flower or perished.
There has been a great deal of discourse on the internet, discussion groups, and book clubs about the meaning of this work.
From reading the novella, researching the life of the author, and thus, analyzing, I leave this as my interpretation.
Being published in the 1940s, it was a difficult time in the world, and particularly in France, as the Vichy government worked to strip all of France of its inherent “French-ness”. On another note, the author had a notoriously tumultuous relationship with his wife. A notably poignant part, not featured in this passage of the novella that I’d like to highlight is when the Fox says to the Prince, as he departs is:
“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. . . . It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. . . . People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said, “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose. . .”
The rose knew her wrongdoings, prior to the Prince’s departure, and remained in the boy’s thoughts, and his heart throughout the remainder of the novel. When the Prince miraculously disappears, it is because love has drawn him home, and brought him back to what he left, and subsequently, found himself looking for, once more.