The Pearl of Love is a short story written by the British writer H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...

. It is the story about an act of love that slowly erodes into an obsession.

Plot summary

A young prince in northern India meets and falls in love with “a young maiden of indescribable beauty and delightfulness.” The couple marries and spend little more than a year together before the maiden dies from a venomous sting in the garden. The prince spends two days and nights in mourning as his servants worried. He emerged and ordered the servants to place his wife’s body in a coffin of silver and lead. The coffin was placed within a second made of precious, scented woods wrought in gold. The second coffin was laid in an alabaster sarcophagus inlaid with precious stones. The Prince then announces that he planned to construct a vast monument to commemorate his beloved; he named the monument the Pearl of Love. The people agree to support him in the endeavor.

Years follow as the Prince constructs the monument. He built a vast pavilion surrounded by a dome, pinnacles and copulas. He placed the sarcophagus in the center of the pavilion and reviewed his work. He was not pleased.

More years follow as the Prince learns more construction techniques. Entire structures are torn down and removed. Alterations are made then reversed in favor of original designs. The sight of the Pearl awes visitors from around the world. The Prince would often “stand there and look at the vista, deeply moved and yet not fully satisfied.” He decides that the sarcophagus would be better accentuated if he had the pavilion removed.

More time passes before the Prince decides that the Pearl is nearly complete. The Prince takes a small retinue to survey the final alterations and discovered that only one thing marred the Pearl’s perfection. Only one thing had remained unchanged since construction began.

The Prince pointed to his wife’s sarcophagus and commanded: “Take that thing away.”

Analysis

The Prince begins the story madly in love with his wife and is overrun with emotion following her death. He begins construction of the Pearl as a form of therapy as well as a memorial to his wife’s memory. As the years go by the Prince transfers his passion from the memory of his wife to the monument itself. He eventually forgets the original purpose of the Pearl altogether and completes the transfers by finally discarding his wife’s remains.