Materialism, Love and Sacrifice in “Nightingale and the Rose” by “Oscar Wilde”

Oscar Wilde: (1854-1900)

Oscar Wilde was an Irish Short Story writer, Playwriter and poet. He was
born during the Victorian age of English Literature and became one of the pioneers of the
“Aestheticism” movement. The main motto of Aesthetic writers was “Art for Art sake”.
Much of Wilde’s writing is based upon Aestheticism and while reading Oscar Wilde it
feels like reading an Aesthetic writer whose writing gives goosebumps and artistic
feelings to readers. He became one of the most popular playwriters of the 19 th century.

Nightingale and the Rose Summary:

"The Nightingale and the Rose" is about a student

who is in love with a woman, the professor's daughter. She told him that she would dance
with him if he brought her red roses, but there are no roses in the Student Cake.
Nightingale listens to a loving student complain about his hopeless love and takes pity on
him. He knows how rare true love is, and he knows it when he sees it. The Lizard,
Butterfly and Daisy tell Nightingale that it is ridiculous that the young Student should cry
over a red rose, but Nightingale takes pity on him. He flies to a nearby patch of grass and
asks the rose tree to give him a red rose, and in return, he sings about it. But the rose tree
says it only produces white roses, so it can't give her what she wants. It suggests going to
the rose tree next to the sundial. Nightingale suggests the same deal with this tree but
replies that it only produces yellow roses, so it can't help. However, this directs him
directly to the rose tree under the student's window. Although that rose tree produces red
roses, in winter its branches are frozen and unable to produce them. Nightingale asks if
she can get one red rose for the Student. The tree replies that the only way to get a red
rose is for the Nightingale to sing in the moonlight and let the thorns penetrate her heart,
causing her blood to penetrate the tree and produce a red rose. Nightingale agrees because
she believes that love is more valuable than life and that a human heart is more valuable
than her own. That night, the Nightingale sings with her heart against the thorn, until it
finally pierces her heart, singing 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 is dead. The
next morning, the student opens the window and sees a red rose on the tree and believes it
is there by sheer luck. Choosing a rose, she goes to the house where her lover lives and
gives her a red rose. But another suitor, Chamberlain's nephew, has sent her jewellery
more valuable than flowers, so she says she'll dance with him at the ball that night
instead. A student judges a girl for her instability and she calls him rude. He throws a red
rose into the gutter where the carriage rolls over it. Walking home, he decides to abandon
Love in favour of logic and philosophy, which have more practical uses.

Sacrifice:

Sacrifice is explored through Nightingale's benevolence in the name of true

love and helping others. When Nightingale saw the Student crying for her love, her
whole-hearted trusting affection compelled her to support the boy. So he decided to
support her and left home to look for a red rose. Finally, he found a red rose, but the tree
was damaged and could not bear it. The only option was to "build it out of music in the
moonlight" and "smear it with your heart" and he did. The theme is conveyed in this story
through the stages of the nightingale. It reveals how one life would sacrifice itself to
make another happy. Instead of being selfish, we should follow the path that Oscar Wilde
wanted us to understand through the actions of Nightingale.

Love:

"The Nightingale and the Rose" is a story about the nature of love. The
nightingale agreed to take a red rose for the greatest price, which was her life. He did it
because he believed that love is divine and random. This cannot always be expressed
logically. Nightingale finally proved it by sacrificing her life. What does true love mean?
To explain this, Wilde combines and separates two types of love. First, the story presents
love at a high price: the nightingale gives him life. Therefore, the Disciple can possess a
red rose, an object he ardently desires. On the other hand, it shows a different kind of love
between a young girl and a student. He asked for a red rose for his love. Later, when the
Student received the rose, the Girl suddenly changes her mind when another admirer
gave her jewels that she values more. By presenting the characters of the story in this
way, the author explains that true love involves countless sacrifices. If love is built based
on wealth or possessions, it is not true at all. The only "true lover" in the story was
Nightingale. He was the only one who had true feelings, and for those feelings, he was
ready to sacrifice his life. Even though he knew he would get nothing in return. The truth
was only loved for him. He did it for his love and to make his loved one happy, that was
enough for him. That's how love should be. We can learn a specific lesson from the bird
about how we should behave toward our loved ones.

Materialism:

"The Nightingale and the Rose" combines the extreme rationality of the
Student with the materialism of the girl. Because he only perceives the world in
"realism", the Student cannot come out with selfless behaviour. It gives no value to man
or bird by practising it. The girl is the most selfish and controlling character in the story.
As a result, rationality certainly breeds materialism if not reinforced by emotion. His
logic in refusing the student's red rose: "Everyone knows that jewels cost much more than
flowers." The only feelings the Student had for the Girl were material love because he
was only impressed by her beauty. Therefore, when the girl refused him, he threw the
rose and returned to his study, realizing that love is simply impractical. Because he didn't
appreciate Nightingale's true love, he got nothing in return. Love is such a pure feeling
that it cannot be explained or treated with materialism and beauty.