The Selfish Giant
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Themes
All Themes Christian Charity Divine Providence Redemption The Power of Children
Quotes
Characters
All Characters The Giant The Children The Little Boy Spring, Summer, and Autumn The Forces of Winter
Symbols
All Symbols The Giant’s Garden The Tree
Literary Devices
All Literary Devices Allegory Allusions Anthropomorphism Foil Genre Imagery Mood Motifs Setting Soliloquy Style Tone
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The Selfish Giant

by

Oscar Wilde
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The Forces of Winter Character Analysis

The personified forces of Winter are the Snow, the Frost, the North Wind, and the Hail. They take residence in the Giant’s garden because Spring, Summer, and Autumn have left it (along with the children), thus allowing an indefinitely long Winter to take their place. Though the Snow, Frost, Hail, and North Wind harbor no malice against the Giant, they delight in causing wintry mayhem around his home, damaging his property and making him miserable. This is the Giant’s just punishment for being selfish and keeping his garden only to himself, showing that sin naturally brings consequences against the sinner.

The Forces of Winter Quotes in The Selfish Giant

The The Selfish Giant quotes below are all either spoken by The Forces of Winter or refer to The Forces of Winter. 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:
Christian Charity Theme Icon
).
The Selfish Giant Quotes

Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant was it still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it felt so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep.

Related Characters: The Giant, The Children, The Forces of Winter
Related Symbols: The Giant’s Garden
Divine Providence Theme Icon
The Power of Children Theme Icon
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

“I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,” said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; “I hope there will be a change in the weather.”

Related Characters: The Giant (speaker), Spring, Summer, and Autumn, The Forces of Winter
Related Symbols: The Giant’s Garden
Divine Providence Theme Icon
Redemption Theme Icon
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Forces of Winter Quotes in The Selfish Giant

The The Selfish Giant quotes below are all either spoken by The Forces of Winter or refer to The Forces of Winter. 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:
Christian Charity Theme Icon
).
The Selfish Giant Quotes

Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant was it still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it felt so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep.

Related Characters: The Giant, The Children, The Forces of Winter
Related Symbols: The Giant’s Garden
Divine Providence Theme Icon
The Power of Children Theme Icon
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:

“I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,” said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; “I hope there will be a change in the weather.”

Related Characters: The Giant (speaker), Spring, Summer, and Autumn, The Forces of Winter
Related Symbols: The Giant’s Garden
Divine Providence Theme Icon
Redemption Theme Icon
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:
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