The Devoted Friend

by

Oscar Wilde

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Little Hans Character Analysis

Hans is the protagonist in the Linnet’s tale. He is an innocent, good-natured peasant who believes himself to be the Miller’s best friend. He is a peasant belonging to the working class—he lives in a tiny cottage and spends all his time working in his garden, growing beautiful flowers that he can sell at the market. Hans is generous and naïve: he works tirelessly for the Miller and fails to realize that his so-called best friend is exploiting him. Wilde also shows Hans is also very eager to learn: “So little Hans worked away for the Miller, and the Miller said all kinds of beautiful things about friendship, which Hans took down in a notebook, and used to read over at night, for he was a very good scholar.” This innocence and eagerness renders Hans as a childlike figure. Hans does not change over the course of the fairytale and dies as innocent as he was at the beginning of the story. Through Hans’s story, Wilde demonstrates the dangers of being too innocent in a less-than-innocent world. Hans receives neither reward for his good nature nor justice for the exploitation he experienced under the Miller, making his death all the more tragic.

Little Hans Quotes in The Devoted Friend

The The Devoted Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Little Hans or refer to Little Hans. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Innocence and Friendship Theme Icon
).
The Devoted Friend Quotes

“Little Hans had a great many friends, but the most devoted friend of all was big Hugh the Miller. Indeed, so devoted was the rich Miller to little Hans, that he would never go by his garden without leaning over the wall and plucking a large nosegay, or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season.”

Related Characters: The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans, Hugh the Miller
Related Symbols: Hans’s Garden
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:

“Sometimes, indeed, the neighbours thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave little Hans anything in return, though he had a hundred sacks of flour stored away in his mill, and six milch cows, and a large flock of woolly sheep; but Hans never troubled his head about these things, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things the Miller used to say about the unselfishness of true friendship.”

Related Characters: The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans
Page Number: 21
Explanation and Analysis:

“‘Hans,’ said the Miller, ‘I will give you my wheelbarrow. It is not in very good repair, indeed, one side is gone, and there is something wrong with the wheel-spokes, but in spite of that I will give it to you. I know it is very generous of me, and a great many people would think me extremely foolish for parting with it, but I am not like the rest of the world. I think that generosity is the essence of friendship, and, besides, I have got a new wheelbarrow for myself. Yes, you may set your mind at ease, I will give you my wheelbarrow.’”

Related Characters: Hugh the Miller (speaker), The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans
Related Symbols: The Broken Wheelbarrow
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

“‘My dear friend, my best friend,’ cried little Hans, ‘you are welcome to all the flowers in my garden. I would much sooner have your good opinion than my silver buttons, any day.’”

Related Characters: Little Hans (speaker), The Linnet (speaker), Hugh the Miller
Related Symbols: Hans’s Garden
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:

“So little Hans worked away for the Miller, and the Miller said all kinds of beautiful things about friendship, which Hans took down in a notebook, and used to read over at night, for he was a very good scholar.”

Related Characters: The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans, Hugh the Miller
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

“‘As I was his best friend,’ said the Miller, ‘it is only fair that I should have the best place,’ so he walked at the head of the procession in a long black cloak, and every now and then he wiped his eyes with a big pocket-handkerchief.”

Related Characters: Hugh the Miller (speaker), The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Devoted Friend PDF

Little Hans Quotes in The Devoted Friend

The The Devoted Friend quotes below are all either spoken by Little Hans or refer to Little Hans. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Innocence and Friendship Theme Icon
).
The Devoted Friend Quotes

“Little Hans had a great many friends, but the most devoted friend of all was big Hugh the Miller. Indeed, so devoted was the rich Miller to little Hans, that he would never go by his garden without leaning over the wall and plucking a large nosegay, or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with plums and cherries if it was the fruit season.”

Related Characters: The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans, Hugh the Miller
Related Symbols: Hans’s Garden
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:

“Sometimes, indeed, the neighbours thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave little Hans anything in return, though he had a hundred sacks of flour stored away in his mill, and six milch cows, and a large flock of woolly sheep; but Hans never troubled his head about these things, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things the Miller used to say about the unselfishness of true friendship.”

Related Characters: The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans
Page Number: 21
Explanation and Analysis:

“‘Hans,’ said the Miller, ‘I will give you my wheelbarrow. It is not in very good repair, indeed, one side is gone, and there is something wrong with the wheel-spokes, but in spite of that I will give it to you. I know it is very generous of me, and a great many people would think me extremely foolish for parting with it, but I am not like the rest of the world. I think that generosity is the essence of friendship, and, besides, I have got a new wheelbarrow for myself. Yes, you may set your mind at ease, I will give you my wheelbarrow.’”

Related Characters: Hugh the Miller (speaker), The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans
Related Symbols: The Broken Wheelbarrow
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

“‘My dear friend, my best friend,’ cried little Hans, ‘you are welcome to all the flowers in my garden. I would much sooner have your good opinion than my silver buttons, any day.’”

Related Characters: Little Hans (speaker), The Linnet (speaker), Hugh the Miller
Related Symbols: Hans’s Garden
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:

“So little Hans worked away for the Miller, and the Miller said all kinds of beautiful things about friendship, which Hans took down in a notebook, and used to read over at night, for he was a very good scholar.”

Related Characters: The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans, Hugh the Miller
Page Number: 28
Explanation and Analysis:

“‘As I was his best friend,’ said the Miller, ‘it is only fair that I should have the best place,’ so he walked at the head of the procession in a long black cloak, and every now and then he wiped his eyes with a big pocket-handkerchief.”

Related Characters: Hugh the Miller (speaker), The Linnet (speaker), Little Hans
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis: