What the Fox said to The Little Prince...

‘It is only with the heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.’

At first glance, Antoinne de Saint-Exupery’s most famous novel, ‘The Little Prince’ appears to be a simple child’s fable – but although written from a child’s point of view, it is in fact, an enchanting metaphorical tale, making many profound observations about life, love and learning.

This has long been a favourite book of mine – containing some exquisite illustrations, which perfectly capture the magical essence of the novel. But on a recent visit to the North East, we had a family day out in Newcastle and took the opportunity of seeing an actual performance of The Little Prince at Northern stage.

It was a truly magical experience, captivating both young and old in the audience. Whilst watching, I was reminded again of its simple, yet very powerful message that we so often fail to look beyond the obvious. We tend only to see things through our ‘adult eyes’ and forget the mystery and complexity of life and love. The novel celebrates the natural ability of children to see things and people for what they really are – to cut through the superficial, the insincere and the trivial. For many of us, this is a skill we have long forgotten.

The Little Prince is a multi-layered tale, with many profound ‘messages’. Like any good metaphor, it allows the reader to take away their own unique understanding from their experience of reading.

For me The Little Prince is a reminder that, as adults, we can get so caught up with the everyday trivialities of life that we forget we are on a preciously short journey of discovery.

We resort all too often to making superficial assessments of situations and people, and fail to look beyond the obvious. In short, we so easily miss ‘what is essential’ by neglecting to see the world
through our hearts, instead of our eyes.

MG