The Little

Prince
Literary Lens
BIOGRAPHICAL/NEW HISTORICISM
ANALYSIS

GEORGIA THEOS-LEGGIERI
 Table of contents

01 02 03
Introduction & Theory Overview Author’s
story recap Background

04 05 06
Example one: Example Two:
Final Reflection
Setting Life
Analysis Analysis
 Quick Recap
● Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, first published in
French in 1943, is widely regarded as a classic of children’s
literature. It has been translated into over 580 languages, making it
the most widely translated work ever published, second only to the
Bible.

● The story begins on Earth with the narrator – a pilot who crashes
his plane in the Sahara Desert. Stranded for eight days, the pilot
tries to repair his damaged plane while monitoring his limited food
supply. Then, the narrator meets a little boy, a self-proclaimed
prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. The boy has come from
another planet called B612, where he lives alone with a single rose.
Conflicted over the rose’s vain and contradictory nature, the boy
embarks on a journey. He departs his asteroid and visits six nearby
planets to learn about life in the universe.

● The Little Prince is more than a philosophical tale. It’s the timeless
story of a grown-up encountering his inner child, who wishes to be
of service to something bigger than himself.
April 1943
First edition ever published

Over 500
It has been translated to 580 languages

140 million
Copies sold worldwide
 OVERVIEW
● I chose to view The Little Prince through both a biographical lens and a new
historicism lens.

● A biographical approach can analyze how much of the book was influenced by Saint
Exupery's own life experiences. Many of the themes and characters in the book
reflect his own beliefs, values, and experiences, such as his love for aviation, his
spiritual beliefs, and his thoughts on human nature. Saint Exupery also drew from
memories of his difficult childhood, his troubling marriage, and experiences as a
pilot to create the character of the Little Prince.

● A new historicism approach can analyse how the book reflects the cultural and
social values of the time period. Saint-Exupery was living in exile in New York when
he began writing it, and the book could be seen as a reflection of his feelings of
alienation and displacement. Additionally, the book could be interpreted as a
commentary on the social and political upheaval of World War II. Since it was written
during the war, the text reflects the time it was written as the author wrote it when he
was distraught about what was happening in his country and in the world.

● Overall, The Little Prince can be seen as a deeply personal work that reflects not
only Saint Exupery's own life experiences but also the environment in which it was
written.

● Biographical criticism
examines the effect and
influence of the writer’s life on
his or her work. This is done
by using details from the
author’s personal life to
analyze the author’s work.
● By considering the text as a
direct reflection of the time
the book was written and/or
the life of the author, it
provides insight into the
literary work.
● It focuses on explicating the
literary work by using the
insight provided by
knowledge of the author’s life.
This means that the author’s
life experiences shape the
creation of their work.
● New Historicism is the
idea that literature
should be studied and
interpreted within the
context of both the
environment of the
author and the
environment of the
critic.
● This approach
BIOLOGICAL NEW
emphasizes the
LENS HISTORICISM importance of
considering the social,
political, and cultural
context in which it is
being read.
● It also seeks to
illuminate the complex
relationship between
literature, history, and
society.
 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
BIOGRAPHICALM HISTORICAL

● What aspects of the author’s ● What historical events or

personal life are relevant to movements might have
this story? influenced this writer?

● Do any of the events in the ● How does it reflect the time

story correspond to events in which it was written?
experienced by the author?
● What literary or historical
● Do any of the characters in influences helped to shape
the story correspond to real the form and content of the
people? work?
 AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND
● Before a work can be analyzed, it is important to first look at the author’s
background.

● In the twenty years before his writing career blossomed, Antoine de

Saint-Exupéry was an avid pilot. He began writing The Little Prince during
World War II after Germany’s invasion of France.

● In addition to his torturous thoughts of the war in Europe, he was forced to

flee his homeland for New York. His inability to fly planes had a profound
effect on him. Coincidentally, the story uses events from the author’s own life
and was undoubtedly influenced by the terror of the war.

● Saint-Exupéry drew from his own experiences, which also reflected

the political state of the world at the reign of Nazi Germany. The novel’s
overall nostalgic mood indicates both the author’s homesick desires to
return to France and his hopes of returning to a time of peace.

● Unfortunately, Saint-Exupéry had little time to enjoy the success of his book.
He disappeared while on a flight mission over the Mediterranean in 1944,
only a year after his book was published, and has since been presumed dead.
 EXAMPLE
ONE:
THE SETTING
 THE SETTING
● Even the book’s setting has subtle hints of biographical context.

● The Sahara Desert setting is where most of the book takes place.
This is where the narrator first meets the prince, and it is also
where the two spend all of their time together.

● The narrator explains: “The first night […in the desert] I went to
sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation. I
was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the
middle of the ocean” (Saint-Exupery 2). After the crash, the
narrator experiences a feeling of loneliness. He has no friends or
meaningful connections.

● Furthermore, the setting itself clearly derived from the author’s

1935 experience of having been lost for almost a week in the
Arabian Desert. Saint-Exupéry wrote about the ordeal in detail in
his 1939 memoir Wind, Sand, and Stars. Along with his navigator,
he suffered hallucinations, loneliness, and fought dehydration and
starvation for days.

● As the narrator of the story is also a pilot who crashed onto a

remote land, this personal experience provided a setting for the
characters of the novel.
 BAOBAB TREES
AND THE WAR
● The baobab trees are described in the book as “the bad plants” that grow very
quickly and take over the planet. They start off as tiny weeds, but if not
uprooted and discarded when they are little, they firmly take root and can
even cause the planet to split apart. As the Little Prince warns the narrator:
“You must see to it that you pull regularly all the baobabs, at the very first
moment when they can be distinguished from the rose-bushes which they
resemble so closely in their earliest youth.” (Saint-Exupery, 16)

● Moreover, the baobab trees can be interpreted as visual representations for

Nazism. This comparison makes sense when considering that the author
fought in World War II against the Nazis, and that Nazi Germany was still rising
to power when he was writing the book.

● This biographical reference highlights the Prince’s comment about the

baobabs looking similar to rose bushes. At the very beginning of something,
you can’t tell good from the bad. Similarly, the Nazis started out like other
political parties– but, eventually they grew to tremendous power and caused
damage.
 EXAMPLE
TWO:
PERSONAL
LIFE
 THE ROSE:
THE AUTHOR AND HIS WIFE
● Prior to coming to Planet Earth, the Prince is isolated alone with a single rose.
This rose is the object of the little prince’s affection. He waters her, covers her
with a glass globe at night, and puts up a screen to protect her from the wind.
However, petulant and vain, his beloved rose starts to become demanding and
difficult to please. This prompts the prince to leave his planet and set off on his
journey.

● The author’s doubts of his marriage are reflected in the vast field of roses the
Prince finds when he first visits Earth. “It is the time you have wasted for your
rose that makes your rose so important.” (Saint-Exupery 110) While at the garden,
the little prince realizes that, even though the rose is not a unique type of flower,
she is unique to him because he has loved her.

● Similarly, it is believed that the author had his real-life rose: His wife, Consuelo.
Despite a tumultuous marriage, Saint-Exupéry kept his wife close to his heart and
portrayed her as the Prince’s rose, whom he so tenderly protects. Just like the
rose, Consuelo was vain, which prompted the author to spend some time away
from her. They faced numerous challenges, including infidelity on both sides. The
prince’s journey to a faraway planet reflects how distant the author felt he was
from his wife. However, it was likely this journey that made Saint-Exupery realize
how much he loved her.
 THE CHARACTER:
THE AUTHOr’S CHILDHOOD
● In the book, the traditional ideas of innocence are reversed. The young characters are the
ones with the most wisdom, and it’s the grown-ups who, over and over again, appear to
not understand anything. Grownups are those who have lost their innocence– and as a
result, have stopped seeking the truth.

● However, The prince as innocent and curious about the adult world. He asks many
questions, but he lacks knowledge and experience. He has a childlike sense of wonder,
and his interesting remark that “Only the children know what they are looking for.”
(Saint-Exupéry 113) highlights the importance of innocence and curiosity.

● Saint-Exupéry had a difficult childhood, marked by frequent moves and a strained

relationship with his father who died when he was only four years old. His mother then
struggled to raise him and his siblings on her own. His younger brother, Francois, died at
fifteen from rheumatic fever. The death of his brother profoundly shaped him since the
two were extremely close.

● These experiences contributed to his desire to create a character who embodies the
innocence and wonder of childhood he lost in his own childhood. It could be seen as his
way of trying to preserve his innocence, which had been profoundly shaped by his early
experiences.
 REFLECTION
When approached from a biographical/historical lens, the novella can be interpreted as more of a memoir
than anything else. The character of the little prince is the author’s way of immortalizing not only his
childhood self but the friends he lost during the war.

The book was written during a tumultuous time in world history, with World War II raging and many
people struggling to find meaning in their lives. By examining the book through this lens, it is easier to
better understand the ways in which the text reflects the terror of the time. For example, through this
perspective, the character of the Little Prince can be seen as a representation of the innocence and wonder
that were lost during the war. The book's focus on the importance of human connection can also be seen
as a response to the violence and destruction of the war.

Furthermore, examining the book from a biographical perspective can also help us understand the author's
personal experiences and how they influenced his writing. Saint-Exupéry had a difficult childhood and lived
through many challenging times, including the loss of his brother and the trauma of war. By understanding
these experiences, we can better appreciate the ways in which they shaped his worldview and influenced
the themes and characters of The Little Prince.

Overall, looking at The Little Prince from biographical and historical lenses can help us see it as more than
just a children’s story. It can help us connect with the author’s experiences and the larger historical context
in which the book was written, and appreciate the ways in which it speaks to universal human emotions.
“All grown ups were once
children but only few of
them remember it.”

- Antoine De
Saint-Exupéry