The Happy Prince

First impressions

I really enjoyed this: short, touching, and apparently simple, although I do not think I have fully grasped everything in it yet.

Sacrifice inspiring sacrifice

The Prince gives away the valuables from his statue to the downtrodden. The bird helps him and is drawn in by his kindness, eventually sacrificing himself too. What struck me is the way one act of sacrifice inspires another. It is a lovely image, with a strongly Christian character.

Kindness and civic vanity

The ending makes the religious framework explicit: God is involved, and the Prince and the bird are brought together in heaven. Their kindness contrasts with the selfishness of the mayor and his council. The joke about wanting a statue of oneself is particularly good—funny, and perhaps the most recognisably Wildean moment in the story.

Still thinking

Like The Selfish Giant, this feels worth sitting with rather than immediately pretending to have a complete interpretation.