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The geographer is the final figure the little prince encounters before arriving on Earth. At first, the prince believes the geographer will be the first sensible adult he meets on his journey. However, he is soon disillusioned, as the geographer’s priorities reveal him to be just as detached from the real world as the other adults the prince has met. Though the geographer gathers information about "the location of all the seas, rivers, towns, mountains, and deserts," he knows nothing of his own planet. He is careful to dismiss the idea that he is an explorer. He feels too distinguished to "go loafing about" and instead remains pinned to his desk.
The geographer catalogs the world from a distance, never truly engaging with it. He remains detached from the beauty of nature, valuing abstract knowledge over lived experience. His focus on compiling information rather than experiencing life firsthand reveals his deep disconnection from the essence of the world he claims to understand. Unable to appreciate the beauty and complexity of what is right in front of him, he opts to study these things only in theory, from behind a desk. When the little prince asks if the geographer writes about flowers, he condescendingly replies, "We write of eternal things." Wildly out of touch with the childlike curiosity and wonder that the little prince embodies, the geographer has lost the ability to appreciate the small things that add meaning and happiness to human existence. Saint-Exupéry therefore uses the geographer to critique the adult world's tendency to value material knowledge over true substance.
The geographer is also significant because he introduces the little prince to the word "ephemeral." As a result, the little prince grasps for the very first time that his beloved rose will not last forever, causing him to feel his first pang of regret over leaving her behind. However, he quickly recovers his courage and continues on with his journey toward Earth, where he eventually meets our narrator.
