THE SELFISH GIANT by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an
Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one
of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his
epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal
conviction for "gross indecency", imprisonment, and early death at age 46.

Wilde's parents were successful Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. Their son became
fluent in French and German early in life. At university, Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to
be an outstanding classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known
for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter
Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and
social circles.

As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various literary activities: he

published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on the new "English
Renaissance in Art" and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he worked
prolifically as a journalist. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering
conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of
the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and
incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The
Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). The opportunity to construct aesthetic details precisely, and
combine them with larger social themes, drew Wilde to write drama. He wrote Salome (1891) in
French while in Paris but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on
the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Unperturbed, Wilde produced four society
comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-
Victorian London.

In The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde we have the theme of humility, salvation,
compassion, kindness, arrogance, loneliness, love and pain. Taken from his The Complete Short
Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after
reading the story the reader realises that Wilde may be exploring the theme of humility. Though
the Giant may be considered to be selfish at the start of the story; for removing the children from
his garden. His joy at seeing the little boy playing transforms him. The Giant shifts from being
selfish to being humble. He can see that his garden is providing joy to the little boy. As much joy
to the boy as the Giant gets from his garden. It is also interesting that Wilde compares the little
boy to Christ as by doing so it is possible that Wilde is suggesting that the Giant will receive
salvation just as the little boy (or Christ) did. This is not the first time that Wilde has introduced a
biblical theme into a story. In The Happy Prince both the Prince and the Swallow receive

1
salvation and enter Heaven seated next to God. There is also a sense that the Giant in his own
way loves the little boy such is the joy that the Giant gets from seeing the boy play in the garden.

It is also interesting that when winter passes and spring arrives nothing blossoms or
grows in the Giant’s garden. It is possible that Wilde is suggesting that with the arrival of spring
rather than there being growth and the flowers blooming the coldness of the winter remains.
Which in many ways mirrors how the Giant has treated the children by not allowing them play in
his garden. He too has been cold. If not arrogant. It may also be a case that Wilde is exploring
the theme of pain. The effects that the Giant incurs when he is no longer able to see the little boy
suggest not only was the little boy his favourite but it also highlights how lonely the Giant is
feeling. Despite all the other children now playing in the garden. There is also no doubt that the
little boy is special. Something that is noticeable by the wounds on his hands and feet. These
wounds mirror the wounds the Christ received when he was crucified on the cross.

It is also possible that Wilde is suggesting that should an individual have the ability to
share something, as the Giant does with his garden, they should share what they have with
others. The benefits of sharing are clear to see in the story. Not only does the Giant bring
happiness to the children but he also ensures that he will get into Heaven by his act of kindness
with the little boy. In reality the Giant has helped Christ. He has been humbled by Christ (and the
other children). All without him knowing why he should be chosen. From the beginning of the
story the Giant is not a likeable type of character. However as the story progresses he becomes
nicer and more likeable. Rather than throwing the children out of his garden he allows them to
play in the garden. It is as though the Giant has changed his personality. Firstly it was his garden
that he loved by the end of the story it is what the garden can do for others which is the most
important thing for the Giant.

Though some critics might suggest that the Giant has done very little, by allowing the
children play in his garden. He has in reality given all that he has to the children. He has no
family to care for or indeed a family who can love him. All his joy is derived from the children
playing in the garden. How compassionate the Giant can be is also noticeable by the fact he
wants to know who has wounded the little boy. He wants to protect the little boy. Which again is
a complete reversal of how the Giant thought at the beginning of the story when he built a wall
around his garden. Though the Giant was not open to love at the beginning of the story by the
time the story ends he is surrounded by love from the children in the garden. Something that
stems from the fact that the Giant no longer thinks about himself or his property in a selfish way.
By opening his garden to the children the Giant has also opened his heart to love. However the
Giant does pay a price. His life ends though he is assured of eternal life in Heaven with the little
boy. Again because he showed humility and kindness to others. Through his compassion for the
little boy the Giant has achieved salvation and the children still have a place to play. Thanks to
the change of heart of the Giant and the influence of the little boy.

2
 In my opinion, Oscar Wilde showed his best in The Selfish Giant because of his witty
dialogues, humour, careful choice of words and arrangement of words. Very simple and very
interesting story, The Selfish Giant is full of inner meaning and moral message. It suggests that if
we give happiness to others we can also feel happiness in our life. The only part that I did not
like was the sad end of the story.

Bibliography
Wilde, Oscar. The Selfish Giant & Other Classic Tales: Six Illustrated Stories. New York: Sky Pony Press,
2013