The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Taming a being means being aware that it may disappear one day. However, Saint-Exupéry suggests that the pleasure of a relationship can end in the pain of separation. It will take distance, time, and contemplation for the little prince to understand his feelings towards his rose.

These are locked in their appearance and it is only after taming them that we can know and appreciate their uniqueness. The little prince understands that by taming his rose, he managed to take her out of the indistinct masses for him, the rose is now “unique in the world.' With these words, Saint-Exupéry wants us to understand that our eyes alone cannot perceive the uniqueness of an individual or a thing. It is through this teaching that the little prince figure out how he feels about his rose: 'I think she tamed me' (Chapter XXI). Readers of The Little Prince will all no doubt remember the fox's lesson: 'If you want a friend, tame me' (Chapter XXI). The sky is full of planets where old wells creak because on one of them lives a pilot who had found a friend in the desert. The stars are bells that recall his laughter. For example, thanks to the prince’s willingness to tame the fox, the pilot’s interest in the prince, and the prince’s effort in caring for his flower, the world becomes full of signs: the wheat fields are a reminder of the golden hair of the little prince.

The fox, who told the prince how to tame something, adds 'You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.' Due to the effort invested in a relationship, one’s experience of the world changes. There are thousands of roses in a garden similar to the one the little prince left on his planet, but his rose is unique because he watered, protected, and 'tamed' it. EffortĮffort is what makes relationships unique.

Understanding does not come from numbers or statistics or worldly accomplishments, but rather from loving someone or something (even if they are imperfect) and investing time in it. Beyond the appearances, there is the spirit that must be seen with the heart. He had already done it by starting his text with drawings of a boa constrictor 'opened' and 'closed,' which may have been to tell readers that every being hides a treasure, a mystery that we have to discover. When the fox says, 'The essential is invisible to the eye,' the little prince repeats the phrase to remember it, which is also a way for the author to indicate its importance for the message of the story.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry