Open Access
American Research Journal of English and Literature
ISSN (Online): 2378-9026
DOI: 10.46568/arjel
Sacrifice Unacknowledged: A Literary Analysis of “The Nightingale and the Rose” by Oscar Wilde
Abstract
The Nightingale in Oscar Wild’s very romantic short story overhears the lamentation of the Student, who is in turmoil without knowing how
he, in that wintry weather, provides a red rose for his dream sweetheart, his Professor’s Daughter, who has demanded him to get one for her
to match the colour of her ball dress, promising to dance with him if the latter manages. Having assessed the decisiveness of a red rose for the
attainment of the Student’s dream, the Nightingale embarks on a project to produce one for him, at the expense of her own life. Finally, she
succeeds, but dies on the spot, as the rose blooms, absorbing her heart’s flesh. The red rose equips the Student to go ahead with his plan but
the Professor’s Daughter, overjoyed by the jewels she has received from the Chamberlain’s nephew, changes not only her ball dress but also
her dance partner. She rejects the red rose along with the Student. Thrown on to the road by the frustrated Student, the red rose gets crushed
under a cart wheel, manifesting the indifference of the humans. Wilde exposes through the behaviours of both the Student and the Professor’s
Daughter the moral decay of the Victorian society, where material objects gather prominence, undermining the ethical and moral foundations
of human relationships.
