Storytelling is as old as humankind, but few story tellers have become more famous around the world or have had a more fascinating life than Hans Christian Andersen.
Known worldwide for his fairy tales, Andersen was also a prolific author of poems, plays, novels, travel articles, and travelogues, among other creative activities
Hans quit his little village of Odense at age 14 and never returned. Armed with the gift of word, a fertile imagination, and a life of adventures and experiences, he travelled the world and became one of the most prolific and successful writers of all times.
“The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “Thumbelina”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Princess and the Pea”, “The Queen of Snows”, “The Brave Tin Soldier”, “The Match Seller Girl”, “The Red Shoes”... Who hasn't heard these titles or read these tales as a child?
Read in more than 125 languages, Andersen’s stories are among the most translated literary works in the world.
And although his first stories were originally written with children in mind, Andersen never avoided complex subjects, something which won him audiences of all ages since his first publication.
Just like today, the society of Andersen’s time saw a large influx of technological advances driven by the Industrial Revolution. However, general audiences had a rich imagination, and both adults and children engaged in activities that required active fantasy.
People still relied on printed books, newspapers and magazines, home music playing, social gatherings, and variety shows as their sources for news and entertainment.
Thus, a good storyteller like Andersen was always welcome.
Born in 1805 in Odense, Denmark, the son of a shoemaker with poetic inclinations and a laundress, Hans grew up in a humble home, delighting in the nature he found in his home garden or in walks in the woods with his father.
He built Hans a small puppet theatre, for which little Hans sewed costumes of his own creation, something his mother interpreted as an inclination to be a tailor.
His father read Hans fables of La Fontaine, the tales of "A Thousand and One Nights", made drawings for him, and played with him.
Although his grandfather was sick, his grandmother took him to the hospice, where Hans ate better than at home and talked with old ladies who told him stories. He also occasionally attended the theatre and even the opera.
All these developed his natural sensitivity and imagination, fed his creativity and aroused his curiosity and spirit of adventure, which would never leave him and would be the seeds of all his works.
In 1813, Hans' father died. His mother remarried a craftsman, who did not interfere with the education or decisions of his stepson.
Hans attended basic school, while helping to keep his household by working as a spinner apprentice and later, under the pressure of his mother, as a tailor apprentice. At that time, he wrote his first plays and began to frequent some cultured families of the neighborhood.
But Hans' real ambition was to be an actor.
At the age of fourteen, and following his acting dream, Hans left for Copenhagen, where thanks to his beautiful soprano voice he managed to enter the Academy of the Royal Danish Theatre. During that period he wrote the comedy "The Thieves of Vissenberg", and the tragedy "Alfsol", which he offered to the Royal Theatre for performance. Although neither was accepted, Hans received enough good reviews to make him decide become a serious writer.
A year later, Hans' voice changed with puberty. His mother insisted that he returned to Odense to become a tailor, but Hans persisted in his dream, making his debut as an actor in a ballet and eventually seeing his name printed on a show bill.
However, more important than this was the relationship he developed with one of the theatre’s directors, Jonas Collins, who, noticing his potential and dedication, sent him to school in Slagelse.
In spite of his natural curiosity an intelligence, Hans had interrupted his formal education, since he did not fit in the rigid educational system of the time, describing his school years as the hardest years of his life. One of his first stories, “The Tallow Candle” (1820) already reflects this depressive mood.
However, Hans understood that in order to access better opportunities he needed to complete his education, and Collins’s offer included a King Frederick VI’s scholarship.
Thanks to this, in 1827 Hans finished high school, discovering authors that would change his world vision, such as William Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott.
Hans Christian Andersen portrait, by Carl Heinrich Bloch (n/d)
At this time, he began writing his first poems, which were published in the local newspaper and were added to “The ghost at Palnatoke grave”, his first short story published in 1822.
In 1828, Andersen self-published his first book, “A walk from Holmen canal to the eastern point of Amager Island in the years 1828 and 1829”, which was soon sold out and became his first literary success.
By 1829 Andersen was already writing regularly, receiving good reviews. His first book was followed by a play, "Love on St. Nicholas Church Tower," and a volume of poems.
In 1832, Andersen wrote and illustrated a book, "The Twelve Months of the Year," dedicated to King Frederick VI, giving it to him in person and mentioning his need for funds to undertake a European Grand Tour.
Andersen did not receive an immediate response to his request, and had to apply along other poets and writers to an official competition to obtain the funds. Thanks to this, in 1833 Andersen achieved his dream of travelling through Europe.
This great tour would complete his education and was the source of inspiration for many of his works.
Statue of The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
Photo: Avda Berlin/Wikimedia Commons
Andersen visited Germany, where he discovered the literature of Schiller, Goethe, and Heinrich Heine, as well as the tales of the Brothers Grimm.
He visited Paris, where he met Victor Hugo. Then he moved to Switzerland, where he visited Geneva and Jura. There he wrote the story "Agnete and the merman", which a few years later would be the origin of his tale "The little mermaid".
Afterwards, Andersen visited Italy, where he toured Milan, Genoa, Florence, Rome and Naples. There he received the news that his mother had died. However, he continued his journey towards Vienna before returning to Denmark.
The following year, Andersen published his autobiographic novel “The improviser”, which was received with immediate success, and translated into Swedish, German and English, bestowing him international fame.
This success won him the favour of official circles, being awarded an annual stipend which allowed him to dedicate himself fully to writing.
But instead of continuing this literary success with a similar book, Andersen decided to publish a compilation of fairy tales for children, “Tales, told for children”, among which were “The ugly duckling”, “The princess and the pea”, and “The flowers of little Ida”.
Published in three editions between 1835 and 1839, and edited in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and England, this was Andersen’s first foray into the realm of children’s literature, something which infuriated Danish critics, who estimated that the author of "The improviser" was taking a step back by publishing something so puerile.
Even Andersen’s friends suggested that he should not write more tales, arguing that he had no talent for them, and that there existed no interest for that kind of literature.
Nowadays we may gawp at such criticism, but at the time this was the prevalent view. Back then, children’s literature was seen as a minor subgenre, mainly subscribed to nursery rhymes -of little literary worth-, and most of the serious literary efforts were given to epic and historical novels such as “War and Peace”, “Les Miserables”, “Great Expectations”, etc.
Andersen, however, had a profound interest in childhood and held Children’s literature in high regard.
And time proved him right, for soon Andersen and the editors and critics realized that his tales charmed both children and adults.
As Andersen tells it in his autobiography, The Tale of My Life without Literature:
"The tales became readings for children and adults, which is a difficult task for anyone who wants to write tales. In Denmark they found the doors and hearts open. Everyone read them. So, I removed the subtitle of "told to children" and pulled out three volumes of "New Stories", all of them invented by me, and which were welcomed with great recognition in my homeland."
New collections of tales were published between 1843 and 1852, with an augmented edition in 1872, reaching a total of nearly 160 original short stories.
Andersen innovated in children’s literature by writing in the same way he told his stories to children (at present time), using light humor, idioms, and linguistic constructs as literary resources that made the stories more amenable and accessible to their primary audience.
In 1843, Andersen cemented his reputation in Denmark with a collection of musical stories for Christmas, and in the following years he continued to write plays, poems, travel articles and original tales, several of which were performed on stage in plays and ballets.
Andersen in 1869
Travel was a constant in Hans Christian Andersen’s life, being a guest of kings and princes, whom he delighted with his stories. His literary success and a lifetime stipend from the Danish government enabled him to pursue his two greatest hobbies: travel and writing.
In 1847 he travelled to London where he met Charles Dickens, with whom he became close friends.
In addition to visiting much of Europe, Andersen travelled through several countries in Asia Minor and Africa, leaving record of these in his Travelogues, illustrated by himself, as well as in many of his tales such as "The Golden Boar" or "A pact of friendship".
Aside from his literary talent, a less known facet of Hans Christian Andersen were his skills in illustration and papercutting.
The latter was a popular pastime in Victorian times, in which a square of folded paper is cut with precision so that, once opened, it may depict a whole image. Andersen was excelled at this art, and while many of these delicate works did not survive (as they were not meant to), and were never exhibited in public during his lifetime, some still remain and are kept in museums and private collections.
Even Andy Warhol credited Andersen’s cut paper artworks as the source of inspiration for his own art.
All these examples provide views of a man and creator whose imagination, creativity and poetic vision still illuminate the world today.
In 1875, at age 70 and after a lifetime of adventures, Andersen died of liver cancer.
All of Denmark and a great deal of the World died the passing of the writer, whose work not only had touched the hearts of generations of readers, but it had reached enough relevance as to be studied at university
Although his childhood home in Odense is still preserved as a museum, it doesn't provide more than a glimpse to the conditions of Hans' early life. Since he spent much of his life travelling, it's not there where we can find the 'true' Hans Christian Andersen, but in his works.
In addition to write several versions of his own autobiography, Andersen used his own life as inspiration for his work, and we can find numerous biographical references in his fairy tales, both obvious and not so evident.
For instance, in “The Toad” Andersen seems to describe his own life, as he leaves the constraining depths of the well (Odense) to travel around the world. In “The Flying Suitcase”, he describes how the freedom of travel and possessing brilliant storytelling bring success and fortune to a humble young man, very much as it happened to him.
The subject of unrequited love, which Andersen suffered repeatedly, appears on several of his tales and poems, such as “The brave tin soldier”, “The sweethearts”, “The Little Mermaid”, “The naughty boy”, “The nightingale”, and more.
The bullying he suffered as a child, and the mocks for his awkward looks also inspired some of his tales, such as “The Toad” and “The Ugly Duckling”.
Andersen often tried to provide happy endings to his stories. But despite his natural optimism, his cultural roots were deep and sometimes showed up even in his brightest tales, which often end on a gloom note, such as “The daisy”.
Following the conventions of the time, in which all content meant for children had to carry some formative message for its audience, Andersen’s tales have a didactic nature and are often moralizing, though never pontificating.
Subjects like kindness and tenderness are repeated often. In other tales, such as "The cripple", Andersen reveals his deep religious views, whereas in others, such as "Great-Grandfather", he examines the contrast of the old ways and the new, and how these two may have a harmonious meet.
Some tales, such as “The Angel”, “The old tombstone”, and “The child on the grave”, may scare young modern audiences, but they reflect the difficult living conditions of children in the XIX century and may help sensitise young audiences on the subject of death, awakening their awareness and empathy towards those less fortunate.
The Hans Christian Andersen corner in Central Park
Film has served itself from Andersen’s genius more than once.
In 1948, Andersen’s tale “The Red Shoes” was adapted for cinema in a musical version starred by the actress and ballerina Moira Shearer.
In 1952, Danny Kaye starred as Hans Christian Andersen in a charming musical film.
Although mainly aimed at children and not intended as a biography (in a notable step, they made him a shoemaker, his father's trade and one that Hans himself loathed), the film captures the poetic nature and benign imagination of Andersen’s stories, and provides a voice to the author behind some of the world's most famous fairy tales.
Video: Danny Kaye - Hans Christian Andersen (2:20)
A good deal of Andersen's popularity up to this day is thanks to the Walt Disney company.
From the very beginning, Disney adapted many of his stories -familiar to the audience and royalty-free- into animated shorts and features, and some became hugely successful, such as “The Little Mermaid” (1989), and “Frozen” (2013).
Although loosely adapted from the original source, these have served to keep Andersen's work up to date and relevant to new generations.
Nowadays, Andersen and his work are remembered across the world with different homages, such as the Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard and the statue of The Little Mermaid, both in Copenhagen, the Hans Christian Andersen literature award, stamp series, museums, such as the Wonderful World of Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen, monuments and spaces, such as the Hans Christian Andersen corner in Central Park, where every Summer open readings of his works are organised for the enjoyment of the general public.
In 2005, to celebrate the bicentenary of Andersen's birth, the American choreographer John Neumeier joined composer Lera Auerbach to create the ballet "The Little Mermaid", based on the beloved namesake story.
Andersen’s stories arise not only our imagination but also our sensitivity, by showing us that the whole universe around us is alive.
A concept that goes beyond the fantastic and enters into the realm of the metaphysical.
Everything in the world of Andersen’s tales has life and consciousness. From a humble daisy to a teapot, a candle, a little tin soldier, a ball, a twister, a duckling, a toad, a donkey, a thistle, a nightingale, a snowflake, the wind...
Hans only paid attention and wrote down what these told him.
Andersen’s tales are universal, for they speak of the human spirit, of our dreams and desires, of our sorrows, joys and troubles. His stories awaken our sensitivity and imagination and teach us examples of courage and resilience.
And while most of the tales we know today have been retold and adapted from their original versions, they still retain the humanity and sensibility that make them approachable, universal and everlasting.
To Learn More
* Eager to read Andersen’s tales? Find them all here!:
* To Learn more about Andersen’s life and works, visit the Hans Christian Andersen Centret, a research center and part of the faculty of humanities of the Syddansk University, Denmark:
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica Encyclopedia, Hans Christian Andersen Centret, Clasicos de Siempre: El Ruisenor y Otros Cuentos Tradicionales; prologo y traduccion de Alicia Salvi.
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