Name: The Little Prince
Rating: 4.9 (94 reviews)
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What’s in it for me? Uncover the magic of a timeless parable, and learn what matters most in life.

The Little Prince is often positioned as a children’s story. But its simplicity belies a profound message on friendship, adulthood, and what’s truly important in life – a message as relevant today as it was 80 years ago. No wonder it’s the second-most translated book in the world, beaten only by the Bible.

At its heart, The Little Prince is a product of its time. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – frustrated and exiled to North America amid the horrors and humiliations of World War II – wanted to present a more personal and humanizing perspective. While it’s not overtly about war, the tale makes points about love, innocence, and what we hold important in a way that only a French author in 1943 could.

Saint-Exupéry’s own experiences are scattered throughout the novella in varying degrees of metaphor. As a pilot, he really did crash-land in the Sahara desert – and the loneliness and beauty he felt during this experience could certainly have been the prince’s inception.

This Blink will take you through the main events of this beautiful parable, with brief analyses of the themes along the way. For a very short summary of the story, you can skip to the final section. Otherwise, open your heart – and prepare to see the world through the curious eyes of the little prince.

The prince’s home, and the things we don’t understand

Our story begins with the unnamed narrator as a child, drawing – or rather trying to draw – a simple picture of a boa constrictor that has eaten an elephant. To his dismay, the grown-ups are unable to understand what he drew, mistaking it for a hat.

Fast-forward to many years in the future. After crashing his plane in the desert, the narrator meets a small, curious boy – the titular little prince – who asks for a drawing of a sheep. Unlike the grown-ups of the narrator’s past, the prince recognizes his ambiguous drawing straight away. Then, he asks if the sheep would eat bushes or a rose.

You see, the prince comes from a small asteroid – barely bigger than a house – on which he spends his days pulling up the sprouting baobab trees that threaten to overrun his planet. He would very much like the sheep to eat these weeds.

But the prince also owns a rose, who he loves dearly and would not like to come to any harm. Despite this love, he feels tormented by her vanity – she’s constantly demanding his attention, complaining of dangers, and speaking in contradictions that confuse and frustrate the prince. As he tells the narrator on Earth, “I was too young to know how to love her.”

That’s why he decided to leave. First, he cleaned out the three tiny volcanoes that also occupy his planet. Then he uprooted the last of the baobab plants. As he watered his precious flower one final time, she asked for his forgiveness, explaining that both of them had been foolish. She requested that he remove her protective glass, saying, “I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.”

The prince left her proudly hiding her tears, and began the adventure that eventually led him to Earth.

ANALYSIS

Right away, we’re introduced to a theme that’s prevalent throughout the book: you often need to look under the surface to see the true meanings of things – and grown-ups are notoriously bad at this. This is shown by the adults who fail to realize there’s an elephant inside the narrator's picture of a boa constrictor.

Contrast this with the little prince’s immediate childlike acceptance and understanding of the drawing of the sheep, and you’ll see the different perspectives of adults and children. Something is lost along the way as we grow older.

As the prince continues telling the story of his home planet, we’re introduced to some more themes and symbols of the book. The baobab trees that require constant maintenance, lest they overrun the planet? These symbolize the bad habits or negative thoughts that will hurt us if we leave them unattended. It’s no stretch to see them as representing the destructive roots of Nazism that were overrunning Saint-Exupéry’s home country and the rest of Europe at the time of writing.

Which brings us to the rose – which, as usual, symbolizes love. This particular rose and the prince’s undying love for her were likely inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s wife, Consuelo. At this stage in the prince’s life, he doesn’t understand the rose. He’s frustrated by her contradictions and pushed away by her vanity.

But as the rose wisely points out, you have to endure the caterpillars to enjoy the butterflies. In other words, you need to accept the unpleasant things in a relationship or situation if you want to get to the really good part.

The prince isn’t ready for this. As he reflects to the narrator, he was too young to love the rose, which is why he left. He still had some growing up to do, and some lessons to learn. Keep this in mind as we go back in time and follow the prince on his journey to Earth.

A journey through the stars, and the absurdity of grown-ups

Feeling disenchanted and misunderstood by the rose he loves, the little prince decides to leave the safety of his small asteroid. In the pursuit of knowledge, he visits some neighboring planets.

On the first, he meets a king. Strangely, there are no other people around for the king to rule over – and what’s more, the king only seems to give orders if his instructions are already coming to pass. For instance, he claims to rule over the stars and the sun. When asked to command the sun to set, he agrees, but only when the sun is ready – at sunset, to be exact. Amused, the prince travels to the next planet.

Taming a fox, and a lesson on friendship

The prince eventually arrives on planet Earth, landing in the middle of an African desert. He’s promptly greeted by a yellow snake who speaks in riddles.

When the little prince comments on how lonely it is in the desert without people, the snake points out that it’s also lonely among people. The prince remarks that the snake is no thicker than a finger – and it retorts that it’s more powerful than the finger of a king. The snake claims it can take the prince back home to his asteroid with just a single bite.

Returning home, and the secret to happiness

Before the little prince can return home, he comes across two new characters. First, there’s a switch operator who’s controlling fast-moving trains full of people. They’re going nowhere important, and all the passengers are fast asleep – except for the children, who are eagerly looking out the windows.

The prince observes that the children know what they’re looking for. He comments on the importance they place in a toy as simple as a doll, and how they cry when it’s taken away.

Key ideas in The Little Prince

What is The Little Prince about?

The Little Prince (1943) is the classic allegorical tale about a stranded pilot’s extraordinary encounter with a wise and curious little boy from another planet. As the boy shares his fantastic and poetic journey, he reveals profound lessons and observations regarding life, love, and the importance of looking with our hearts.

About the Author

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French author and aviator who studied in the prestigious art school l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts before joining the military in 1921. His career as a pilot took him all over the world before he disappeared during a reconnaissance mission over Corsica in 1944. His other works include Wind, Sand and Stars and The Wisdom of the Sands.