The Ugly Duckling

I missed it! April 2 was Hans Christian Andersen's 200th birthday. He is the father of modern folklore, as opposed to the Grimm Brothers being the collectors of ancient folklore.

Andersen had a very unhappy life. Born in poverty, his father was a shoemaker (how ironic) and his mother a washerwoman. His father died when he was 11, and Hans had to go to work. His sister became a prostitute and his mother died in a charity old folks' home. Before his father died, he did start Hans down the literary road and often took the young boy to the theatre. He even bought him a puppet theatre of his own, so his son could make his own puppets and compose his own plays. His father was literate and often read to his son plays and the Arabian Tales.

H. C. Andersen was extremely tall, had a very large nose, close-set eyes, and was quite effeminate--so he was the target for bullies of all ages. At age 14, H. C. moved to Copenhagen where he became associated with the Royal Theater because of his beautiful soprano voice. As his voice changed, he succeeded in gaining a mentor there who later paid his way to Copenhagen University. In 1928 he published a travel sketch and a poem called "The Dying Child". Later in 1829, he fell in love with a woman who was secretly engaged to another man. A letter from her was found around his neck in a leather pouch when he died.

Although he wrote many travel sketches, poems and novels, his fame rests on his book Fairy Tales and Stories, written between 1835 and 1872. The third volume of these stories contained "The Little Mermaid" and "The Emperor's New Clothes". He frequently identified with the poor and unfortunate which made his tales very appealing to the common reader. Many had very sad endings like "The Little Match Girl". His tale "The Nightingale" is considered a tribute to Jenny Lind a famous Swedish opera star known as the Swedish Nightingale. He fell in love with her in 1840, but the interest was not mutual. Andersen died in 1875.

My favorite story of his is "The Princess and the Pea".