The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia · Chapter
The Princess Continues Her Remarks Upon Private Life explained
Princess Nekayah continues her discourse on private life, describing the discord that plagues families, the natural opposition between parents and children, and the difficulties of marriage and celibacy.
What happens
Princess Nekayah continues her discourse on private life, describing the discord that plagues families, the natural opposition between parents and children, and the difficulties of marriage and celibacy. She argues that domestic happiness is rare and that both marriage and single life have their own miseries, leaving Rasselas uncertain about how to live.
Themes in this chapter
The Vanity of Human Wishes
Nekayah's account of domestic discord and the pains of both marriage and celibacy illustrates the vanity of seeking lasting happiness in private life.
The Choice of Life
Rasselas's concluding question 'What then is to be done?' underscores the central dilemma of choosing a way of life amid pervasive unhappiness.
The Inevitability of Suffering
Nekayah's descriptions of family conflict, marital misery, and the emptiness of celibacy emphasize that suffering is an inescapable part of human existence.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“In families where there is or is not poverty there is commonly discord.”
Nekayah asserts that discord is common in families regardless of wealth.
Introduces the theme of universal domestic strife.
“Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.”
Nekayah concludes that while marriage brings suffering, the single life offers no happiness at all.
Summarizes her bleak view of both states.
“What then is to be done? The more we inquire the less we can resolve.”
Rasselas expresses despair that further investigation only deepens uncertainty about how to live.
Highlights the central philosophical impasse of the chapter.