The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde

The Birthday of the Infanta is one of Oscar Wilde’s fantastic and truly meaningful fairytales. This fantastic story takes place in one of the most special days for the entire Spanish kingdom, the twelfth birthdays of the young and beloved Princess Infanta. The whole of the kingdom and all of the servants are prepared for the young girl’s special day. Absolutely no expense is overlooked when it comes to the young girl’s celebrations. The only one in the whole kingdom who seems to be in sorrow, even on such a special day is the father and king of the princess. The King has been in grieving since the Princess was young. His lovely wife has died after only six months of becoming a mother. On this day he is especially upset as he looks at the girl and he remembers his beloved wife.
Thought the King may be in a sad mood the whole of the Princess’ party, including her cold hearted uncle, moves to great tents where the young girl is treated to a wonderful show including a dance performance by a little dwarf who previously lived in the woods. The dwarf, oblivious of his appearance which the others find monstrous and mock, believes that everybody laughs for his amazing dancing. The princess is so amused that she gives the dwarf a white rose which he treasures as a gift of her love. In a brief moment in the gardens after the show the beautiful flowers are disgusted by the dwarf’s appearance. Yet the birds and the lizard can see the dwarf’s real inner beauty. When the dwarf finds his way into the palace he is shocked when he finally discover that a monster he encounters is actually his reflection. Once the Princess and her friends find him in his sulking they laugh to the point where the dwarf falls dead. Unaware of the dwarf death the princess calls her uncle to tell the dwarf to keep dancing. The coldhearted uncle tells her he has died of a broken heart. The princess is quick to retort that, “For the future let those who come to play with me have no hearts,”
Oscar Wilde is known for his simple fairy tales that hold so much meaning and real life value. I really appreciated this work and I think The Birthday of the Infanta shows the harsh treatment of those who are not seen as being worth respect. Perhaps my favorite part of this story is the scene in the garden when the rooted flowers are appalled by the dwarf’s appearance. The flower who are not able to move, can only see the dwarf’s outer appearance and are unable to dig deep to see his truly kind and simple nature. The birds in contrast fly quickly around him and speak of the dwarf as a kind and beautiful thing. The birds have had experience with the dwarf and have seen his kindness as he feed them in his previous home in the woods. I think the flowers represent those people who are not able to move form what their eye show them and the birds represent the people who are able to look deeper into the soul of a human being.
The Birthday of the Infanta shows how society sets standard of what is beautiful and what is monstrous. Even thought the dwarf contains all the qualities that we would consider to make a good and kind hearted person, he is treated as a freak and is put on exhibition to be laugh at. In the final moments of his life even he asks why he was made so ugly and even goes as far as asking why his own father did not take his life when he saw how ugly he was. In complete contract the ugly hearted and evil spirited princess is seen as the embodiment of beauty and all that is good, while she is really a mean and spoiled creature who only cares about her own satisfaction. Her words at the end show her interest is in solely her own entertainment.