The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia · Chapter
The Prince and His Sister Divide Between Them the Work of Observation explained
Rasselas, uncertain after his reflections, decides to continue his search for happiness.
What happens
Rasselas, uncertain after his reflections, decides to continue his search for happiness. He and his sister Nekayah agree to divide their observations: he will examine courts and power, while she explores humble private life.
Themes in this chapter
The Search for Happiness
Rasselas and Nekayah continue their systematic search for happiness, now dividing the labor of observation between courtly and private life.
The Choice of Life
The prince and princess deliberate on how to direct their future steps, choosing to explore different spheres of human experience.
Characters to notice
- Rasselas
Rasselas returns home full of reflections, doubts his future steps, and communicates his observations to Imlac and his sister.
- Imlac
Imlac responds to Rasselas with new doubts and remarks that give no comfort.
- Nekayah
Nekayah shares Rasselas's hope and proposes dividing the work of observation between them.
Key passages
“Of the way to happiness he found the learned and simple equally ignorant”
He discovered that both educated and uneducated people were equally clueless about how to achieve happiness.
Rasselas's disillusionment with the knowledge of others.
“We will divide the task between us; you shall try what is to be found in the splendour of Courts, and I will range the shades of humbler life.”
We will split the work: you explore the grandeur of courts, and I will investigate the quieter realms of ordinary life.
Nekayah proposes their plan to observe different aspects of society.