On Visiting Earth, A Commentary on The Little Prince

(WARNING: SPOILER ALERT)

“There are 111 kings, 7,000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men—that is to say about 2,000,000,000 grown-ups.“

These were the figures that the little prince gave as he set foot on Earth. If you have read my previous posts, On the Grownups parts 1 and 2, these figures approximates how many adults behave in ‘extraordinary’ ways, as the little prince puts it.

The Garden of Roses and the Fox

Seeing a garden of roses, all bearing strong semblance to the rose in his planet, deeply, and painfully, carved the word ‘ephemeral’ into the little prince’s heart. The Geographer of the last asteroid he visited described his rose as such, ephemeral, in danger of speedy disappearance. The little prince questions his rose’s uniqueness.

It was the fox who taught him to see rightly. The term used by the author is taming, which is described as establishing ties, but this also translates to love. (Yes, it's cheesy, I know. But if you loathe it so much, don't read this book at all, or worse, discuss it with someone else.) Simply stated, it was the fox who taught the little prince about love.

I somewhat agree that the concept of love is taught to children who're old enough to get the gist of the novel. After all, regardless of age, love has been the source of misery and sorrow, bliss and contentment, but more importantly, purpose and meaning.

The fox instructs the little prince, to be patient, maintain distance, and say nothing.

Being patient entails perseverance. Anything worth having is earned. Maintaining distance entails trust. And trust is a key ingredient for establishing ties. Saying nothing entails understanding. As the fox says, “Words are the source of misunderstandings”.

The fox also instructs the little prince to be consistent, to come back at the same hour and not be radical with their meetings. Setting a designated schedule and amount of time means placing value not only for the person but also for the time spent with him or her.

As the little prince leaves, the fox starts crying. The little prince points out that the fox brought this on himself, if he hadn’t asked to be tamed; he wouldn’t be weeping in his departure. The fox then shares light from a different angle, what the little prince say may be true, but the more significant change, he is not like any other fox for the little prince anymore just like his rose against the similar beauty of the roses in the garden.

The Essential

“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well”.

Its delicate, luscious but elusive taste can be sampled, once again, in the latter part of the story. Both the pilot and the little prince were thirsty, and they were looking for source of water in the scorching desert. In the most literal sense, it is plainly difficult to find water in the Sahara desert. But they did find a well, yet getting water from the well is still trying. Fortunately, a pulley, a lever and a bucket were available. And the water they drank was the sweetest of all.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”. 

This famous line pertains to a concept which underpins the simple architecture of the entire novel. It is also this concept that catalyzes the complexity of the novel's effects to readers. Perhaps the book is simplest when read by a child.

Commentary Series Links:
> The Little Prince Book Review
> On Matters of Consequence
> On Talking Like a Grownup
> On Loving Figures
> On Grownups Part 1/2
> On Grownups Part 2/2
> Quotes from The Little Prince