Is it depressing when the characters you relate to in The Little Prince are the sad adults?

I just revisited Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. I listened to the lovely audiobook in French — narrated by Bernard Giraudeau (available on Audible and also on Youtube) — while reading along in the French paperback. If you haven’t read this beautiful story — in whatever language — I recommend it.

At one point in the book, the little prince visits a range of planets, each with a single inhabitant: a king, a drunk, a lamplighter, a geographer… Each demonstrates the folly of some aspect of adulthood. Perhaps sadly, I found myself relating to some aspect of each of the adults. The lamplighter and his obsession with fulfilling his duties without thinking of meaning. The geographer and his obsession with the permanent. The businessman and his counting, counting, counting. Thankfully, a fox shows up to remind us of what is good and true.

Time to get back to recognizing a picture of a boa consuming an elephant.

(I read it in French once before and reviewed it here.)