The Model Millionaire

Oscar Wilde's The Model Millionaire which a part of his collection of short stories known as ‘the house of pomegranates’ is a great story from one of the greatest masters of the art known as the short story. This story is a composition of various themes which can be listed as: the material aspect of our life, standards in the society, love, and most importantly the morals of the people residing in the society.
Firstly, this short story emphasizes the materialistic aspects of life. It speaks about the importance of money and wealth in our lives. It tells us how an individual with good morals but no wealth has no social standing. It would not be wrong to say that Wilde implies the money is the primary need for survival, loves comes second, when an individual faces hunger its not love but money that will buy him food. The protagonist of this story Hughie is a misfit in a mercantile world. He is sweet and kind but lacks the qualities of a businessman or a worker. He is at a loss in the world of bulls and bears. In spite of his charming appearance, he has failed in every attempt to make money. He cannot understand the ways of the world and ends up miserably whenever he tries to be successful materially. His affair with Laura is at a stake as he has failed to raise a fund of ten thousand pounds as demanded by Laura's father who welcomes Hughie as a person but is not ready to accept him as his son-in-law. Here we can see how even though an ethical individual is appreciated he/she cannot be accepted because he does not have the resources to support Laura and himself. Hence the second sentence of the story becomes significant:"Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed." In the end, had Baron not provided Hughie the money, the latter's marriage with Laura would not have taken place. So, making both ends meet becomes more important than the melody of love. When the stomach burns with hunger, the whole world becomes prosaic and the beautiful