<p>‘The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.’ Thus declares Miss Prism, a character in Oscar Wilde’s entertaining comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. Her categorical comment, like much else in the play, is not to be taken seriously. After all, there are several works of literature (masterpieces among them) that do not conclude so conveniently. In Shakespeare’s Othello, loving and loyal Desdemona is killed by her husband. At the climax of George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss, warm-hearted, generous Maggie perishes in an attempt to save her brother. Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles makes for painful reading, with an innocent girl meeting a tragic fate.</p>.<p>Miss Prism’s views may be simplistic, but they resonate with us. In a world where evil seems to flourish, we search for justice in the realm of fantasy. We find it in the movie Cinderella. Keeping her promise to her late mother, Cinderella is determined to ‘have courage and be kind’. She stays strong, despite harassment and humiliation, and eventually triumphs over her tormentors.</p>.<p>This is the traditional fairy-tale ending, but it is not confined to children’s fanciful stories. We come across dramatic snippets on social media, which aim to prove that virtue is richly recompensed. In one of them, a shabbily dressed customer is insulted by a salesperson, but well looked after by another. The shopper, who is actually wealthy, spends liberally, and the courteous attendant earns a substantial commission. In another short film, the CEO of a company quietly observes two of his employees (both eager for advancement) interacting with the poor and underprivileged. The person who shows consideration gets the promotion.</p>.<p>Not surprisingly, these videos attract numerous ‘likes’. We all want to see deserving people prosper. The problem is that, in everyday life, such rapid recognition of commendable conduct is almost as improbable an occurrence as a pumpkin becoming a coach at the wave of a wand. </p>.<p>Mother Teresa got it realistically right when she said, ‘The good you do today will often be forgotten tomorrow.’ Hard to follow is her appended advice, ‘Do good, anyway.’ Let us try to bear in mind that goodness is its own reward.</p>
<p>‘The good end happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.’ Thus declares Miss Prism, a character in Oscar Wilde’s entertaining comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest. Her categorical comment, like much else in the play, is not to be taken seriously. After all, there are several works of literature (masterpieces among them) that do not conclude so conveniently. In Shakespeare’s Othello, loving and loyal Desdemona is killed by her husband. At the climax of George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss, warm-hearted, generous Maggie perishes in an attempt to save her brother. Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles makes for painful reading, with an innocent girl meeting a tragic fate.</p>.<p>Miss Prism’s views may be simplistic, but they resonate with us. In a world where evil seems to flourish, we search for justice in the realm of fantasy. We find it in the movie Cinderella. Keeping her promise to her late mother, Cinderella is determined to ‘have courage and be kind’. She stays strong, despite harassment and humiliation, and eventually triumphs over her tormentors.</p>.<p>This is the traditional fairy-tale ending, but it is not confined to children’s fanciful stories. We come across dramatic snippets on social media, which aim to prove that virtue is richly recompensed. In one of them, a shabbily dressed customer is insulted by a salesperson, but well looked after by another. The shopper, who is actually wealthy, spends liberally, and the courteous attendant earns a substantial commission. In another short film, the CEO of a company quietly observes two of his employees (both eager for advancement) interacting with the poor and underprivileged. The person who shows consideration gets the promotion.</p>.<p>Not surprisingly, these videos attract numerous ‘likes’. We all want to see deserving people prosper. The problem is that, in everyday life, such rapid recognition of commendable conduct is almost as improbable an occurrence as a pumpkin becoming a coach at the wave of a wand. </p>.<p>Mother Teresa got it realistically right when she said, ‘The good you do today will often be forgotten tomorrow.’ Hard to follow is her appended advice, ‘Do good, anyway.’ Let us try to bear in mind that goodness is its own reward.</p>