The Little Prince

In addition to being perhaps the most important theme in The Little Prince, the concept of how humans find and create meaning is also one that encompasses several of the story's other major ideas. It's at the heart of Saint-Exupéry's critique of the adult reverence for facts and figures, since these too often function as distractions from what is truly significant. For example, the geographer dismisses the flower's beauty and the prince's love for the flower because they are not useful to him in compiling his book. The theme also intersects with Saint-Exupéry's treatment of transience: since time is a limited resource for humans, one of the most meaningful things one can do, including within a relationship, is give some of it up. Similarly, imagination is vital to living a meaningful life since doing so often requires stepping outside the conventions and rules of society to discover or create something new.

The Little Prince's depicts meaning as unique to each individual. Although Saint-Exupéry does suggest that certain things are simply inherently meaningful (most notably, love), living a meaningful life is largely a matter of creating meaning in the surrounding world around—often via the relationships one establishes with others.