The Infanta’s birthday

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The Birthday of the Infanta (Engl .: The Birthday of the Infanta ) is a literary fairy tales of Irish writer Oscar Wilde that in the collection A pomegranate House (A House of Pomegranates) appeared 1891st The story is about a short jester of the Spanish court who is broken by the conflict between his self-perception as an artist and the outside view as a ridiculous figure.

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An overgrown dwarf who, since he does not know his reflection in the mirror, believes he is a beautiful prince, becomes the birthday present for the 12th birthday of the Infanta of the Spanish court. She is only allowed to play with other children on this day. He is supposed to cheer her up, dance as he did in the forest before his capture, make her and the other audience laugh and when she demands a repetition after dinner, he ignites with passionate love for the heir to the throne, believing that she is bringing him in second time also out of love. The story ends tragically when the dwarf in the palace sees his reflection for the first time, which tells him the truth about his appearance. He realizes that the Infanta does not love him, but only mocks him. He screams and cries, wriggling on the floor with the laughter of the birthday party until he dies. In the romantic but also gloomy surroundings of the medieval court, Wilde describes the bitter breaking of a young heart, but also the magic of a fantastic festival and the bliss of the moment. The last words of the Infanta, who was told when asked that he died of a broken heart, are: "In the future, let those who come to me play have no hearts."

Emergence

Oscar Wilde's fairy tale The Birthday Of The Infanta was inspired by the painting Las Meninas by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez . This painting from 1656 shows the Spanish Infanta Magarita and her entourage, including a dwarf. He found inspiration for fairy tales from Victor Hugo and Théophile Gautier .

Further processing of the material

Web links

Works by Oscar Wilde


novel

The Picture of Dorian Gray ( The Picture of Dorian Gray , 1890)

Collections
  • Lord Arthur Saviles Crime and Other Stories  (1887)
Lord Arthur Savile crimes ( Lord Arthur Savile's Crime ) | The Canterville Ghost ( The Canterville Ghost ) | The Sphinx without a Secret ( The Sphinx without a Secret ) | The Model Millionaire ( The Model Millionaire )
The Happy Prince ( The Happy Prince ) | The Nightingale and the Rose ( The Nightingale and the Rose ) | The Selfish Giant ( The Selfish Giant ) | The devoted friend ( The Devoted Friend ) | The remarkable rocket ( The Remarkable Rocket )
The boy king ( The Young King ) | The Birthday of the Infanta ( The Birthday of the Infanta ) | The fisherman and his soul ( The Fisherman and his Soul ) | The Star Child ( The Star-Child )
Short stories

The portrait of Mr. WH ( The Portrait of Mr. W. H. , 1889) |

Poems

Ravenna (1878) | Poems (1881) | The Sphinx (1894) | Poems in Prose (1894) | The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898)

Stage works

Vera, or the Nihilists ( Vera, or the Nihilists , 1880) | Lady Windermeres Fan ( Lady Windermere's Fan , 1892) | The Duchess of Padua ( The Duchess of Padua , 1893) | A Woman of No Importance ( A Woman of No Importance , 1893) | An Ideal Husband ( An Ideal Husband , 1894) | Salomé (1891) | Bunbury or the importance of being serious / being serious is everything ( The Importance of Being Earnest , circa 1895) | The pious courtesan ( La Sainte Courtisane , fragment) | A Florentine Tragedy ( A Florentine Tragedy , fragment)

Essays

The beginnings of historical criticism ( The Rise of Historical Criticism , 1878/79) | The Truth of Masks ( The Truth of Masks , 1885) | The Decay of Lying ( The Decay of Lying , 1889) | Pen, Brush and Poison ( Pen, Pencil and Poison , 1889) | The Critic As Artist ( The Critic as Artist , 1890) | The soul of man under socialism ( The Soul of Man under Socialism , 1891) | De Profundis (1897)