The Swallow

The Swallow is an important character in the short story “The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde. 

Like, the Prince, he also develops throughout the story. At first, he appears to be an inconsistent character. Like the Happy Prince, he is also concerned with worldly pleasures. He falls in love with a Reed because he is “so attracted by her slender waist”, and flirts with her throughout the summer without any consideration of the future of their relationship. The other Swallows consider his attraction “ ‘ridiculous’ ”, and leave for Egypt without him. The Swallow gets tired of his love interest quite soon and begins to judge her. When the Reed refuses to join him on his journey as she is too “attached to her home”, this prompts the Swallow to leave quickly: “ ‘You have been trifling ...