![]() ![]() He seems to say, feel both beauty and evil, know them both, accept them both, but my heart pains that the former will never have the upper hand. “Yes, every year the trees have new, fresh leaves, but that is not true of the human heart.” (From a Window in Vartov) HCA desperately wants and loves beauty, yearns for music and poetry and life and innocence, and so we get this at the center of so many of his tales, but at the same time it is mostly apparent that these ideals are but dreams that we must continually reach for, work for, cherish when they sparingly come, because what this world is really filled with is darkness. I don't think it's just my glasses that view Hans Christian Andersen as a soul that senses more darkness than light. ![]() What is most generally striking/perplexing to me is how these stories came to be known as children tales, came to be widely accepted and popular rather than scorned. If I can live another 4 decades, I doubt I'll forget about him from here on out. ![]() Strangely, despite four decades on Earth, I have almost no familiarity with this gentleman Hans. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. ![]() Not quite for young children, probably better for pre-teens or teenagers.įor those new to me or my reviews. Both are valuable, but they are a bit different. It's true-to-form stories that have a basis in moral lessons versus coming-of-age sentiments. I do think they are worth a read, as they provide some insight into the goings-on of a working mind nearly 200 years ago. I enjoyed some of them, but not all of them. A few movies have been made from them, and countless cartoons and TV shows. Also, they don't always end up a positive note. The two I was the most familiar with were "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Emperor's New Clothes." In both, you see some of the "horror" that you see from other classic fairy tales, but these are more about reality and real-life situations that could occur. Another popular one is the series written by Hans Christian Anderson. Many people are familiar with the fairy tales written by the Grimm brothers, but sometimes don't realize there were several different versions or collections by different authors. They open the door to the imagination for those who want to make themselves small enough and enter it.Ĥ out of 5 stars to The Complete Fairy Tales, written in 1835 by Hans Christian Andersen. He speaks to the hearts and the imagination with shepherdesses, tin soldiers, nightingales, and swallows.Įye Ole Farm Week or Little Ida's Flowers are my favorites. He does it as a poet, not as a moralist or a philosopher he does it with humor, irony, tenderness, or melancholy. Populated by street children, fabulous animals, and hideous or evil creatures, his tales are closer to Edgar Poe than to the world of Care Bears.Īndersen talks about our anxieties, desires, and difficult path to beauty and truth, pure souls who struggle against discouragement, fear, darkness, stupidity, and contempt. Those who know the Walt Disney version, a cartoon for popcorn eaters, have not had access to the universe of this Danish storyteller who flirts with the unconscious of his readers by dragging them into his dreams and nightmares. The proof is that sometimes it ends badly. The Will-O’-The-Wisp Is In The Town, Says The Moor-Woman The Shepherd’s Story Of The Bond Of Friendship Georg Brandes questioned Andersen about whether he would write his autobiography, the poet claimed that it had already been written - "The Ugly Duckling".Īll the best-loved fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen: Andersen, (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Hans Christian Andersen often referred to in Scandinavia as H. The Complete Fairy Tales: The complete collection, Hans Christian Andersen ![]()
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