The city walls / prison parallel and the happy prince reference combine to show how cold or unfeeling he usually is. But now he pays money for someone's time or attention, and masochistically revels in their indifferent behaviour - 'I don't know what I'm gonna do' doesn't make it seem like he's taking it so badly; maybe it's being ignored that he's actually paying for. He gets both love and the distance he's accustomed to.
The city walls / prison parallel and the happy prince reference combine to show how cold or unfeeling he usually is. But now he pays money for someone's time or attention, and masochistically revels in their indifferent behaviour - 'I don't know what I'm gonna do' doesn't make it seem like he's taking it so badly; maybe it's being ignored that he's actually paying for. He gets both love and the distance he's accustomed to.