DEVOTION AND EXPLOITATION: A PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY OF OSCAR WILDE’S THE DEVOTED FRIEND AND THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE

Abstract

This paper explores devotion and exploitation in Oscar Wilde’s The Devoted Friend and The Nightingale and the Rose using a psychoanalytic approach that goes beyond Freud’s ideas. The main research question asks how deep emotional needs and ideal ideas about love and goodness lead characters to sacrifice themselves or take advantage of others. The study uses a qualitative method, based on close reading of the texts. Characters, symbols, and events are examined to understand the emotional and psychological reasons behind their actions. This approach helps reveal the deeper human emotions and struggles behind the stories, rather than seeing them as simple moral lesson.

The findings show that devotion in both stories is often unhealthy and one-sided. In The Devoted Friend, Hugh the Miller hides his selfishness behind words of friendship, while Little Hans’s kindness comes from a strong need to be accepted, making him vulnerable to exploitation. In The Nightingale and the Rose, the Nightingale’s deep belief in love drives her to sacrifice herself, but her love is not appreciated. Overall, Wilde shows devotion as something beautiful yet risky, revealing how love and goodness can lead to pain when they are not met with understanding, balancing and caring