Quick Departure for a Quote

Because this blog is, in reality, for a class I'm taking, I'm going to need to take a quick departure from Fell's Point history to write up an assignment.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a story that's grown up with me and a large portion of the Western Hemisphere tends to agree that it's an important work.

The book confused me when I first read it but I chalk that up to the speech my uncle delivered when he handed it to me. He opened to the first page and started in about using your imagination, seeing the world in a new light, and pretty much all the other themes that Saint-Exupery explores in the guise of a simple tale about a boy who appears suddenly in the desert.

The problem with this is that my uncle laid all these themes out to me before I even got the chance to read it as the simple story it is. Plus, it's probably not really necessary to tell a ten-year-old to use his imagination. It all sounded like a "lesson" of some kind, so I put it aside.

Despite such an irritating introduction, I later read it, liked it, and carried it around sometimes like a good luck charm. I came back for a re-visitation a few more times up to my twenties before the book became a sort of annual reading for the start of autumn. I've always discovered new favorite parts and passages and sometimes think about getting tattooed or drawing something related. Mostly I just sort of think about it a lot.

There are two separate passages that stay with me now, and have for a few years. They share a theme.

The first is said by a fox who, despite being a wild animal, wants to be tamed by the little prince so they can be friends. He explains:

"To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world....”

Artist: Antoine de Saint-Exupery - http://www.antoinedesaintexupery.com/

The second quote is said by the little prince after seeing a garden full of roses. He has a rose of his own that he cares for (and is sometimes manipulated by). Until now, he believed her beauty was unique and he's upset to see dozens of similar roses. Later, he turns on them and says:

“You're beautiful, but you're empty... One couldn't die for you. Of course, an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than all of you together, since she's the one I've watered. Since she's the one I put under glass, since she's the one I sheltered behind the screen. Since she's the one for whom I killed the caterpillars (except the two or three butterflies). Since she's the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since she's my rose.”

Artist: Antoine de Saint-Exupery - http://www.antoinedesaintexupery.com/

These are powerful statements even within the context of being said by a speaking fox or being heard by roses that are listening. Taken out of that context and applied to something personal, like my dog, and it's easier to understand why I'd be angry when I hear about people dropping their dog (or cat) off at the shelter because they "have a baby now". Maybe she's no longer as special to you, worth the effort it takes to care for her but some serious thought should be put into how special you still are to her.

  Artist: Riya. I can't find any other information on this...

Applied to a relationship, these lines become a very conscious way of thinking about how much I value someone and, in return, thinking of how much I'm valued.

There's one more line that comes back to these passages and sums up the real message. The little prince says he has to return to his rose and the fox, while upset, seems to understand. He says:

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important. Men have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose . . ."