Hans Christian Andersen How Andersen\'s Writings Mirrored

Hans Christian Andersen

How Andersen's Writings Mirrored his Life

One of the most beloved writers of fairly-tales is Hans Christian Andersen. He was a Danish author who searched his past and that of his native Denmark for ideas that could become children's stories. The fact is though that Andersen was writing for a large audience. Though his stories may have been told in the fairy-tale genre, he was relating morals that applied to all ages, genders and ethnicities. The legacy he created by telling the tales in the manner that he did was as a children's story writer, but he wanted to be more. This paper discusses the legacy that Andersen created with his stories and the legacy he sought vs. The one he achieved.

Hans Christian Andersen has always been remembered as someone who wrote children's stories, despite the fact that he wanted to earn much more important distinction as a serious writer. Andersen was a serous artist who wanted to be remembered as such. He wrote complicated stories that were infused with the beauty of life and its complexities. It is not possible to understand what Andersen thought by reading just a few of his stories. A person must look to several of his tales to get a true picture of what he thought about the prevailing issues of the time. Another problem that Andersen had which shows up in his later works is that of his inability to take criticism of his work. He had always had something of a thin skin where his work was concerned, but it became even more prominent late in his life. He was very harsh with critics.

However there were rewards that he realized because of his writing. Hans Christian Andersen became one of the most beloved figures in his native land. He is also known around the world for his work. Many of the accolades actually came during his life so that he knew what people thought of him and his work. But, the part that was difficult for him was that the fame he enjoyed just meant that he was open to a greater degree of criticism from people who did not appreciate what he had done.

In his works he dealt with some of the different dichotomies and dilemmas that plague artists. One of these, that was more prevalent at the time Andersen wrote was that of the divine vs. The demonic. Many of his stories had magical elements that could be construed to talk about the metaphysical world. In "The Flying Trunk," the protagonist introduces himself as a Turkish angel to the princess while at the same time the character was working hard to deceive everyone else (Andersen, 1838). Andersen could understand this dichotomy because though he wrote very moralistic stories he often thought of himself as an actor playing a part. He also dichotomy was that of creation vs. destruction. One story that explored this theme to some extent was "The Bronze Pig." Toward the end of the story, the boy is learning how to draw because he admires the pictures his artist friend has produced. At one point the little boy ties the head and tail of the little poodle he is trying to make stand still, and is thrown out of his home (Andersen, 1862). This shows that despite the need to be creative the boy was destructive in his actions (there are more examples of this in the story). A final dichotomy was creativity vs. security. There is always a danger if a person is working a job that requires creativity, that others will not buy their work. In "The Story Old Johanna Told," Andersen depicts a family that lives as tailors. At one point the father is not able to work with his hands any longer, so his little boy has to carry on the family business. The boy goes from being happy and carefree to being in the same state of depression his father occupies (Andersen, 1972). Andersen was constantly worried that his work would not be remembered properly. He had the security of good pay for his stories, but he realized that this was fleeting.

The view of himself can be seen in the movie in which he was portrayed by Danny Kaye. Andersen is mythologized, especially in his native country, but around the world also. In the movie, Kaye is a happy, well-adjusted and beloved character. He writes stories to cheer those who are down-hearted and he loves to sing, dance and tell stories for the children. There is actually much evidence that Andersen had little to do with children. They loved his stories, but he was not fond of them. The view he presented, and wanted to carry on after his death, was not necessarily the true version of the artist.

Like most creative people Andersen was tortured as can be seen in some of his darker stories, but he remains a beloved myth around the world. The fact that he dealt with serious subjects in his work belies what most people believe of him. The loveable goofball character of Danny Kaye is what people have come to believe, but that is far from the actual man who wrote the fairy stories.