Aristocrat’s Anagnorisis: A Sociological Reading of Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince” and “The Selfish Giant”

Abstract

There exist two distinct classes of individuals in our world: the affluent and the poor, the impoverished. The disparity between these two factors dictates social equality. The smaller the gap, the greater the possibility of achieving social equality. The core idea of this research paper is the realisation of this truth by the aristocrats or the rich, a phenomenon the researcher refers to as the 'aristocrat's anagnorisis.' This realization paves the way for social equality, a prominent objective of Socialism and Marxism. The latter proposes a wealth distribution solution to achieve this goal. This paper rereads two of Oscar Wilde’s short stories, “The Happy Prince” and “The Selfish Giant,” through the lens of Socialism. The researcher finds out the commonalities between these two stories and interprets the symbols used by the author that support Marxist ideology to bring about social equality.