# the young Fisherman — Children’s Stories character guide

> the young Fisherman in Children’s Stories by Oscar Wilde.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Fisherman, the Fisherman

**First appearance:** 0007-the-fisherman-and-his-soul

## Snapshot

A fisherman who hauls a sleeping Mermaid from the sea and bargains for her song, only to find his catch has cost him his heart.

## Who they are

He works the tides alone, reading wind and water for a living, and the night his net comes up heavy with a sleeping Mermaid he trades her freedom for a promise of song that fills his nets. What begins as a shrewd arrangement turns into longing, and he soon learns the Sea-folk's music cannot be kept at arm's length. His restless pursuit of what he cannot hold sets the whole story in motion.

## In the story

### [The Nightingale and the Rose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/chapters/the-nightingale-and-the-rose)

Not present in this chapter.

### [The Fisherman and His Soul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/chapters/the-fisherman-and-his-soul)

The Fisherman remains devoted to the Mermaid, rejecting the Soul's temptations of Wisdom and worldly pleasures.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/characters/young_fisherman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/characters