Like Nathaniel Hawthorne and some new age positive psychologists, St Exupery and Wilde propose that it is not necessary to get onto the hedonic treadmill instead, ‘Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you’ (Hawthorne). The Little Prince and The Happy Prince confirm Lauren Berlant’s thesis in which she says that something you desire is an obstacle to your flourishing. In order to recast this definition, I draw upon Aristotle’s approach to eudemonia as long-term flourishing rather than fleeting pleasure, and will pay particular attention to his thoughts on friendship and altruistic friendship in the Nicomachean Ethics. Both texts, by including child and animal characters, challenge adults’ continuous pursuit for unachievable happiness and suggest paying attention to simple actions, moments and cherished relationships. Exupery’s The Little Prince, who contest the definition of happiness by drawing a sharp contrast between the respective ways grown-ups and children view the world. In this paper, I focus on two child- prince characters, Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince and Antoine de St.
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