A House of Pomegranates is a collection of four short fairy tales by Oscar Wilde. In each story the author tried his best to deliver a moral, while adapting to the dark tone of the fairy tales. However, each story in the collection is quite fun and enjoyable, perfect for readers seeking a perfect fairytale narrative.
Wilde quotes that these short stories are , “ meant partly for children, and partly for those who have kept the childlike faculties of wonder and joy, and who find in simplicity a subtle strangeness”; meaning, the targeted audience are only children and adults who never let their inner child die as they grow. This statement is true, children would fall in love with the storyline more than adults would. However, as wilde mentioned, if you are someone with a child-like imaginative outlook, you’ll definitely find it to be enjoyable. If you really enjoy an immersive and imaginary storyline you can seek similar experience in the gaming world like pay by phone casino platforms.
In Wilde’s story The Young King, a charming, handsome, young king was obsessed with owning the most beautiful things in the world. Eventually he gets three nightmares which made him change his mind, realising the real value of human life. In the first dream, he witnesses the weavers dying in a dark cellar room just to weave a threat for his royal outfit. In the second dream, he sees the life of some slaves who are dying everyday to collect the pearls. In his third dream, he passes by some miners working hard to find precious rubies for his royal crown and jewelleries. Upon witnessing this cruelty the king realizes that kindness and love is more important than any precious gems.
The second story, the Birthday of Infanta, is about the king of Spain’s daughter. On her 12th birthday celebration, she finds a dwarf to be funny and enjoys his performance. But the dwarf mistaken it, thinking the princess fell in love with him. The dwarf was ill treated by the world, thus, this new feeling made him happy. The dwarf then looked himself in the mirror and realised that he was ugly and the princess was laughing at him because he found him funny and not that she loved him. He couldn’t bear the pain and eventually died. The dwarf might not look pleasing but he had a pure soul. But the foul minded princess who seemed beautiful outside didn’t feel bad at all, instead she said, “For the Future let those who come to play with me have no hearts”, proving she never had a heart and was spoiled. Isn’t it so pathetic?
The third and the Longest story of all, The Fisherman and his Soul, is a classic mermaid story. Here, a fisherman tries to get rid of his soul to live his life with a mermaid. When the fisherman confesses his love to the mermaid, she tells him to get rid of the soul in exchange for her love as mermaids have no soul. The man quickly agrees, telling, “My soul is of no use to me”. With the help of a witch the fisherman’s soul was successfully removed from his body. The soul tried hard to trick the fisherman and enter his body again. Every time the soul appeared before him it offered him a wish, including wisdom, and courage, but the fisherman refused. Finally, the soul told him about a young lady. The fisherman got tempted and let the soul back inside his body. It took control over his body and made him do bad things, eventually killing the mermaid and the fisherman.
The final story, The Start Child, is about a child who was found by a woodcutter following a shooting star falling on the earth. The child was wearing a star necklace and eventually grew into a young and beautiful girl, turning the woodcutter cruel and proud. Soon, he meets the real mother of the child on his doorstep but was hesitant to accept the truth looking at her poor appearance. He mocks her and draws her away. As a result he was cursed and became ugly. But, finally he gets a chance to redeem himself.
If you are a fan of Oscar WIlds’ writing or if you love fantasy themes, it is worth reading this book, ‘A House of Pomegranates’.
