Introduction
‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ is a fairy tale by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), included in his 1888 collection The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Whereas ‘The Selfish Giant’ (from the same collection) deals with Christian love and the title story is about socialism and kindness towards others in society, ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ is about romantic love.
Analysis
‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ is about a Student who is in love with a woman, a Professor’s daughter. She has told him she will dance with him if he brings her red roses, but the Student’s garden does not contain any roses. The Nightingale listens to the lovelorn student lamenting his hopeless love, and feels sorry for him.
She knows how rare true love is, and she knows it when she sees it. The Prince is giving a ball the following night, but although the Student and the woman he loves will both be there, she will not dance with him without a red rose.
A Lizard, a Butterfly, and a Daisy all tell the Nightingale that it’s ridiculous that the young Student is weeping over a red rose, but the Nightingale sympathises with him. She flies to a nearby grass-plot and asks the Rose-tree to give her a red rose, and in exchange she will sing for it. But the Rose-tree says it produces only white roses, so cannot give her what she wants. It suggests going to the Rose-tree by the sun-dial.
The Nightingale proposes the same deal with this tree, but it replies that it only produces yellow roses, so cannot help. However, it directs her to the Rose-tree right under the student’s window. However, although this Rose-tree does produce red roses, the winter has frozen its branches and it cannot produce any.
The Nightingale asks if there is any way she can get one red rose for the Student. The tree replies that the only way of producing a red rose is for the Nightingale to sing by moonlight while allowing a thorn to pierce her heart, so her blood seeps through to the tree and produces a red rose. The Nightingale agrees to this, because she believes Love to be more valuable than Life, and a human heart more precious than hers.
She goes and tells the forlorn Student what she is going to do, but he doesn’t understand her, because he only understands things written down in books. The Oak-tree, in which the Nightingale has built her nest, does understand her words, however, and requests one last song from the Nightingale. She sings, but the Student, taking out his notebook, is rather unimpressed, because the bird’s song has no practical use.
That night, the Nightingale sings with her heart against the thorn, until it eventually pierces her heart while she sings of love. Her heart’s blood seeps into the tree and produces a red rose, but by the time the flower is formed the Nightingale has died.
The next morning, the Student opens his window and sees the red rose on the tree, and believes that it is there thanks to mere good luck. Plucking the rose, he goes to the house where his sweetheart lives, and presents her with the red rose. But another suitor, the Chamberlain’s nephew, has sent her jewels, which are more valuable than flowers, so she says she will dance with him instead at the ball that night.
The Student denounces the girl for her fickleness, and she calls him rude. He throws the red rose into the gutter, where a cart rolls over it. As he walks home, he decides to reject Love in favor of Logic and Philosophy, which have a more practical use.
Themes
The central idea of the story "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde is the theme of love and sacrifice. The story revolves around a young student who falls in love with a beautiful girl, but she refuses to dance with him unless he brings her a red rose. The student is heartbroken as he cannot find a red rose anywhere in the garden. The Nightingale's Sacrifice - In desperation, the student turns to a nightingale for help. The nightingale feels sorry for the student and decides to help him by sacrificing herself. - The nightingale flies around the garden all night in search of a red rose. Finally, she finds a rose tree that can produce a red rose but warns the nightingale that it requires a sacrifice of her life to produce the rose. - The nightingale decides to sacrifice her life for the sake of love and sings a beautiful melody while pressing her breast against the thorn of the tree. The blood from her heart flows into the tree, and a red rose blooms. The Student's Betrayal - The student is overjoyed to find the red rose and takes it to the girl. However, the girl rejects the rose as she has found someone else to dance with. - The student is shattered, and the rose withers away in his hand. He realizes too late the true value of the nightingale's sacrifice for love. The Theme of Love and Sacrifice - The story highlights the theme of love and sacrifice, where love can inspire selfless acts of sacrifice. - The nightingale's sacrifice shows the depth of her love for the student and the willingness to give her life for the sake of his love. - The student's betrayal shows the superficial nature of his love, where he is more concerned about his own desires than the sacrifice made for him. In conclusion, "The Nightingale and the Rose" is a poignant story that highlights the theme of love and sacrifice. The nightingale's selfless act of sacrifice for love is contrasted with the student's superficial love, which leads to his betrayal of the nightingale's sacrifice.
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