The Little Prince: Character Analysis and Their Meanings

Posted on Jan 31, 2025 in Philosophy and ethics

Characters in The Little Prince

  • The Aviator

    An adult who is uncomfortable with his peers, preferring to travel the world in his plane, away from contact with the elderly.

  • The Little Prince

    The sole inhabitant of a small asteroid, who enjoys watching sunsets, caring for baobab trees, and cleaning two small volcanic craters. His routine is disrupted by the arrival of the flower, whom he comes to love.

  • The Flower

    A rose of great beauty and charming personality, but quite proud and selfish, wanting the Prince to be dedicated only to her.

  • The King

    A character eager for power, defining relationships as power dynamics, remaining at the top, resulting in total solitude.

  • The Vain Man

    A character hungry for recognition and acclaim, even if empty. He craves applause and praise, regardless of sincerity, ultimately left alone and still yearning for admiration.

  • The Drinker

    This character drinks to forget his shame of drinking, symbolizing the human being given to vice, perhaps out of fear of self-mastery.

  • The Businessman

    A character dedicated to calculations on the stars for profit, neglecting his health and emotional life.

  • The Lamplighter

    Dedicated to turning on the stars. While serving a useful function, his actions lack reflection, driven by duty alone, making them irrelevant even to himself.

  • The Geographer

    A scholar devoted to knowledge, regardless of practical application, perhaps representing the radical technocrat who treats science as a god, without considering that knowledge is a means to achieve human objectives.

  • The Fox

    A contradictory character, initially lighthearted and selfish, but aware of his capacity to love. He chooses to leave his wild nature to become the Prince’s friend, or to be “tamed.” He says, “Only with the heart can one see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

  • The Snake

    The most ambiguous character, capable of returning the Prince to his world, but at a terrible cost. His actions seem beyond good and evil, expressed enigmatically.

  • The Linesman

    A character whose job is to regulate the transportation of passengers on trains.

  • The Merchant

    A seller of pills to suppress thirst, claiming to save time wasted in the act of drinking.