The mood of “The Fisherman and His Soul” is defined by anguished longing, though there is a moment of hope at the end of the story. Much of the story is defined by a tortured sort of longing—first the Fisherman longs to be with the Mermaid, then the Soul longs to be with the Fisherman, then the Fisherman once again longs for the Mermaid, followed by the two of them separately dying as a result of their heartbreak and grief.
After all of this, the story ends on a hopeful note. The following passage captures the surprising mood shift that takes place in the final pages, as the Priest sees the flowers that have grown on the Fisherman and Mermaid’s shared grave:
And when the third year was over […] the Priest went up to the chapel, that he might show to the people the wounds of the Lord, and speak to them about the wrath of God.
And when he had robed himself with his robes, and entered in and bowed himself before the altar, he saw that the altar was covered with strange flowers that never had been seen before. Strange were they to look at, and of curious beauty, and their beauty troubled him, and their odour was sweet in his nostrils, and he felt glad, and understood not why he was glad.
The shift in this passage is palpable—the Priest moves from planning to speak to his congregation about “the wounds of the Lord” and “the wrath of God” to feeling “glad” without understanding why. Clearly, seeing the “beauty” of these “strange flowers” and breathing in their “sweet” smell has had a profound effect on him. Right after this scene, the Priest tries to give the sermon he was planning to give, but he instead speaks of “the God whose name is Love,” leading his listeners—and the Priest himself—to weep. By ending the story with the Priest’s profound transformation, Wilde suggests that redemption and love are possible, even in a world full of suffering and pain.
