Hans Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes": vanity and moral redemption

Red Shoes

The story begins innocently enough with a young girl in a Scandinavian town who is poor, but she is also "pretty and dainty" (Andersen, 1845). The young girl attracts the attention of the village cobbler's wife who realizes that the girl does not have any pretty shoes to wear. The wife makes the girl some red shoes which she wears for the first time at her mother's funeral. A rich widow sees her and, upon finding that she has no other family, adopts her on the spot. The girl though the shoes were the cause of her good fortune, but the old woman hated them and had them burned. The story then turns to a new pair of shoes she must have for going out, and among many selections she selects a new pair of shiny, red leather shoes. The girl goes to church and has her first communion in them, but she does not think about the ceremony, just the red shoes. Every time the girl has a chance to think of someone else, she wonders what they think of her shoes. At one point, as she is entering the church an old man with a red beard shines them for her and tells her they would make good dancing shoes. As she leaves after church he makes the same comment and she tries a few steps and learns that she cannot stop. The butler has to rip the shoes from her feet. She was not allowed to wear the shoes again, but when she was to attend a dance she could not resist. She put on the red shoes, went to the dance, and could not stop. Now the girl danced up hill and down dale, and at one time she passed the old man with the red beard again in a wood. She also could not take the shoes off. She went by the church and saw an angel with a sword who condemned her to an eternity of dancing with the shoes to warn other children of vanity. Eventually she got the executioner to cut off her feet, and after she learned to think of other before herself she saw the angel again. This time he had an olive branch, and he took away her punishment.

Structural Analysis

Andersen wrote many tales and he utilized many different forms of structure. A fabliau is a story that is ribald and comic in the telling. Another type is a Shankmarchen which uses both magic and the ridiculousness of a fabliau, but it is more in the vein of a fabliau. This tale has none of the ribald or comic elements seen in these tales, so it is structured as what is termed a Propp-R variant. This structure is purely magic and is based on the protagonist going through a string of magical adventures which resolve themselves in a moral. This structure is based on the writings of Russian structuralist scholar Vladimir Propp (Mellor, 2006). He was famous for determining the structure of many of the Russian folks tales, and many of Hans Christian Andersen's works fit this type of structure.

Historical Context

This was the type of story that was being told to children in many of the European countries of this time period. Children and Youth in History says that "Andersen's use of Christian morality in his tale offers insight into European culture during the 19th century. Christianity was a powerful cultural influence." People feared the wrath of their Christian God so they made sure that the tales young people heard were filled with admonitions not to sin or they would reap terrible consequences.

Socio-Political

The tale quickly demonstrates to children what the social and political leanings of the day were. Most Danish people at the time were members of the Reformed Church (CRC, 2011). These churches were formed in the 1600's by missionary John Calvin who spread his harsh doctrine among many believers. One premise that Calvin promoted was that of the inherent depravity of all people. The church believed that children had to be instructed with what the harsh reality of their sin could cause, and many fairy tales from the time reflected this social influence.

Biographical

Andersen often used his own life as a part of the stories he wrote; this, apparently, is no exception. When he was a boy Andersen's father was a cobbler and he was often paid small amounts by rich patrons to make special shoes. One story that Andersen told later in his life was that a rich lady gave his father a piece of red silk with which to make her daughter a pair of dancing slippers. When she returned she said that the work was trash, so Andersen's father tore the shoes up in front of her. Andersen said that this incident was the background for the story.