As a result, Andersen’s reputation beyond Scandinavia was “not as a literary genius but as a quaint 19th-century writer of charming children’s stories,” the pair write. From the beginning, there have been many examples of “shoddy translations” that “obliterated” his original stories, according to the writers Diana Crone Frank and Jeffrey Frank in their modern translation of The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Though his works have been reproduced in more than 125 languages, not all of them have been faithful retellings. Poor translations may have altered Hans Christian Andersen's image abroad.Īccording to UNESCO, Andersen is the eighth most-translated writer in the world, trailing right behind Vladimir Lenin. The mermaid is greeted by spiritual beings who say they'll help her get into heaven if she does good deeds for 300 years. After the prince marries someone else, however, the mermaid contemplates murdering him, but instead accepts her fate and throws herself into the sea, where she dissolves into sea foam. The mermaid's goal-besides love-is to gain an immortal soul, which is only possible if the prince falls in love with her and marries her. In the original (which you can read online for free here), an unnamed mermaid who falls in love with a prince is offered the chance to take a human form, even though she'll live in perpetual agony and has to have her tongue cut out. Hans Christian Andersen's original version of The Little Mermaid was a lot more depressing than Disney’s take.Īndersen’s Little Mermaid story from 1837 was far darker than the kid-friendly Disney movie it would later inspire. "True, some of Andersen’s most famous stories- The Ugly Duckling, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, even The Little Mermaid-are dramatizations or sublimations of his own dilemmas, but they would not work on us as they do if they did not transcend the personal-in language, in observation and detail, and in intricate but unobtrusive structure-to stand on their own as perfectly wrought artifacts of universal appeal," Binding wrote for The Guardian. Paul Binding, a literary critic who penned a book about Andersen, said the long-lasting appeal of his stories go beyond their authenticity. There’s also evidence that Andersen placed his characters in desperate and hopeless situations to reflect his own personal traumas, which included being raised in poverty, losing his father, and having to briefly work in a factory at age 11 to support his mother. Andersen even admitted of The Ugly Duckling, “This story is, of course, a reflection of my own life.” Much like the ugly duckling, Andersen only later in life became the “swan”-a cultured, world-renowned writer with friends in high places. As a boy, he was teased for his appearance and high-pitched voice, which often made him feel isolated, and he later wrote a story about a boy named Hans who gets made fun of as a child. Some of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales are autobiographical.Īccording to scholars, the tale of The Ugly Duckling reflects Andersen’s own feelings of alienation. Here are seven surprising facts about Andersen’s life and legacy that you won't find in the children's section of a bookstore. However, few people know much about the man behind these famous fairy tales-a man who endured many hardships and, by some accounts, transformed his pain into art. Famed Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) is recognized around the world for his beloved books, including The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Little Match Girl, The Princess and the Pea, and many others.
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