Selflessness and Selfishness in Love of The Nightingale and The Rose (Reader Response Criticism)

“The Nightingale and The Rose” by Oscar Wilde at first seemed boring that I knew about the theme is like usual love short story when I read the very first page. On the other hand, I also get confused about the character that shown in the short story, is it a nightingale? I get myself more interested in reading the story when I knew that this is not just usual love story by just seen in the relationship of each characters between a nightingale and a young student. How could the author made this two of very different characters related to such a love story between a bird and a man? This more makes me realize that it is unusual love story; it is all about differences, different kind of characters, different kind of world, and different kind of heart.

            Every single thing here so dramatic, just imagine when you love someone but it goes waste, like what just happened in the story between the nightingale and a man, yet the man loves another girl. It is clearly understand that it will be such hopeless love for one character to love differently, the nightingale had gotten the consequences of loving a person, yet she is just a bird. The similarity of loving differently seen in the film Maleficent by Robert Strombert, in the film, there is also a hopeless love when Maleficent who is a little kind fairy fall for a human that makes friend with her, in fact that Maleficent left by him without any massage where he was, by the time the man came back to Maleficent in order to prove to his father that he can kill Maleficent, so the man will get the crown to be a king and marry a princess. The similarity to the nightingale that hurt by the man who loves another girl, she has no existence in the eye of the young student because she is just a bird..As I reflected to the story, I began to think that different isn’t always better because some people still can’t accept a difference in their mind, both of the stories shown that one should sacrificed herself, or one should be hurt because having a relationship that has so much different things between the couple, lead to selfishness and selflessness. As what I experienced before, this condition makes me understand that even just a little difference between my decision and my partner make everything go wrong, there must be one side between us to sacrifice ourselves and another stands in their selfishness for facing this kind what people called love.

            As reflected to thestory, a young student becomes smitten by a young girl who "would only dance with him if he brought her red roses". The cries of the youngstudent, who had no a red rose in his garden was heard by a nightingale, who thought he has finally met a "true lover." Hence, the Nightingale sacrifices himself by pressing his heart against the thorn of a white rose, which is symbolic of Wilde's paradigm that love must be sacrificial, maddening, and deadly if it must be, even if she sacrificed his life for the happiness of the man with somebody else. As the same paradigm about sacrificial love also shown in the work by O Henry entitle The Gift of the Magi that there is a couple, they want to give his/her partner a gift for the girl wants to buy his manJim, a chain for his pocket watch, and Jim want to give her a comb but they're all out of their price range. In short, that she sold her beautiful hair to buy his present the watch-chain, yet Jim sold his watch to buy her combs, it is all worthless.All of the sacrificed things when you love someone seems that it is normal, or even sacrifice yourself is a symbol of loving someone? My negative reaction to both of the text lead by this understanding about love need to sacrifice ourselves, Oscar Wilde tried to make the reader think about everything is under of love because love is beyond everything, by the quote “…yet Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?”but everything isn’t about love. When you sacrifice yourself to someone you love but you placed yourself as the second importance, is it right? Just simple example like the Nightingale sacrifice herself for the sake of the young student happiness with someone else, is she happy? Is it enough? Deep in her heart, it is crystal clear there must be a feeling of jealousy, hurt, and it is all hypocrisy if sacrifice your happiness is something needed in love without considering yourself, it is all about selflessness when you do this.

            We find out in the end that all is worthless. The lady rejects the rose and the young student realizes that it was all caprice on his part. "What I a silly thing Love is," said the Student. "It is not half as useful as Logic, for it does not prove anything, and it is always telling one of things that are not going to happen, and making one believe things that are not true. In fact, it is quite unpractical, and, as in this age to be practical is everything, I shall go back to Philosophy and study Metaphysics." The bird, however, is still dead. It isn’t fair, selflessness of the bird is not enough paid.

            The combined that follows as the selflessness in love created by Oscar Wilde in his story is actually related, selflessness caused by selfishness. Why people do have to sacrifice their self? It’s because one person is stand on his own selfish way not to care about anything, but him/herself, this text makes me think that is it what called love? If yourself doesn’t happy, how could you did to make people happy. The way of selfishness that harm one side for satisfying the need of other people is totally wrong understanding in love. As the reader, we realize that the text merely shown about “what is true love” trough its character, the nightingale, somehow we believe that love is pure and a true love is exist, people who is falling in love can’t think logically to believe what they did.Another true love and sacrifice for love is told by a story Pyramus and Thisbe. Theirs was a selfless love and they made sure that even in death, they were together. However, this paradigm makes me realize about the realization of love that sacrifice is the part of it, and selfishness is just okay in such condition? By the quote “If I bring her a red rose she will dance with me till dawn. If I bring her a red rose, I shall hold her in my arms, and she will lean her head upon my shoulder, and her hand will be clasped in mine. But there is no red rose in my garden, so I shall sit lonely, and she will pass me by. She will have no heed of me, and my heart will break.” The way of what if feeling of the young student is actually kind of selfish by the student if he doesn't bring the red rose, she will sit lonely and his heart will break. Even the girl is also selfish, “the Chamberlain's nephew has sent me some real jewels, and everybody knows that jewels cost far more than flowers” she didn't care about the student that fulfill his appointment to bring her a red rose because there is more than red flowers she got.

            Compared to selfishness of love is similar with Napoleon and Josephine love story, they’re burning passion between them didn't falter, and was genuine. They eventually split, as Napoleon deeply required something Josephine could not give him, an heir. Sadly they parted ways, both bearing the love and passion in their hearts, for all eternity. His passion means of selfishness. This two contrast attitude lead me more to think that true love is exist, selflessness and sacrifice are part of it, but we need to think twice, is your love worth to pay? Is it worth to wait? If it’s not then it’s not true love. It’s just part of foolish yourself. The Nightingale and the Rose once more remind me that love is blind; we accept the love we think we deserve. Actually love is just word that until your someone give it meaning, if it’s only harm yourself then your love is not worth to pay.