Hans Christian Andersen, born in Odense, Denmark in the year 1805, is known for writing many ingenious fairy tales. His stories, some of which include “The Little Mermaid”, “The Red Shoes” and “The Ice Queen”, are still classics in the genre. While Andersen’s work life came to fruition, his romantic endeavors failed to provide him with a significant other. Andersen’s troubles- stemming from the fact that he never married, with sexuality, especially female sexuality, influenced the morals and themes in many of the stories he wrote. By suppressing his female characters’ sexuality, Andersen not only tries to regulate a primal instinct, but proves to be an anti-feminist. Hans Christian Andersen’s life can definitely be considered a “rags-to-riches” …show more content…
story. Born in poverty to Anne Marie Anders, a washerwoman, and Hans Andersen, a shoe maker, Andersen was a “solitary boy who amused himself by playing with puppets and trying to write plays”, and at the tender age of 11, had to endure the death of his father along with his mother’s alcoholism Villa 2 (http://hcastorycenter.org). Andersen had always wanted a better life for himself, and at 14 he decided to travel to Copenhagen to try and make a name for himself. After a string of failed endeavors, a chance encounter with Jonas Collin, the director of the Royal Danish Theatre, provided him with an education and to ultimately being known as an illustrious and renowned author (http://kirjasto.sci.fi). Andersen never married, but it was not for the lack of trying. He “directed his unrequited affections at both men and women, including the famed singer Jenny Lind and Danish dancer Harald Scharff”, prompting many academic analyses of “homoerotic themes in his work” (http://biography.com). His story The Shadow, which has a rather bleak ending that implies that good does not always come out triumphant in the end, is thought to have been used to take revenge on Edvard Collin, someone “who had a great hold over him and yet refused to address him familiarly” (http://victorianweb.org), proving that it would not be the first time that Andersen’s personal feelings would make it into his stories. Andersen’s portrayal of women in his stories proves that he was a misogynist, defined by Doctor Mel Konner as “a hatred or dislike of women or girls… [that] can be manifested in numerous ways, including sexual discrimination, denigration of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification of women”. Misogyny and anti- feminism, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a person who is hostile to sexual equality or to the advocacy of women's rights”, usually go hand-in-hand. It is safe to say that Andersen’s contempt towards women stemmed from his alcoholic mother and the constant rejections he received from said Villa 3 women them. According to Benjamin Casper, author of Hans Christian Andersen and the Feminist Perspective, Andersen “did not know how to deal with his own sexual feelings and as a result justified them through repressing sexuality in his characters”. Hans Christian Andersen, though he published his stories in 1837, the year the Victorian era began, he was most likely influenced by the norms and customs of the Georgian era, which lasted from 1714 to 1837.
Women were still dependent on men and were encouraged to be demure and submissive. The Industrial Revolution promoted the rise of cities, and with it, a rise in material culture (bl.uk). According to The British Library Board at bl.uk, “Many shops catered specifically to refined tastes, and shopping in them came to define one’s social status”; this materialism was something that Andersen did not appreciate, which was clearly highlighted in his story The Red Shoes. Andersen’s dislike towards woman was probably fueled when he realized how frivolous women were being all around …show more content…
him. Andersen’s personal life and struggles with love spilled over into the stories he wrote, an example of such being The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid starts out as an innocent girl but, on her quest to become human and meet the man she loves, she meets the sea witch and, according to Casper, experiences a “symbolic sexual awakening” because of the “multitude of phallic symbols”, Andersen writes “All the trees and shrubs were polyps (…) their branches were long, slimy arms, with fingers like wiggling worms”. Unlike the sea witch, who seems to embrace her sexuality, the little mermaid is unaccepting of it and is petrified, bringing into play the Madonna/ whore complex. The virgin/ whore complex is describes by Linda Ann Mostert, Villa 4 author of Feminist Appropriations of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ and the Ways in which Stereotypes of Women are Subverted or Sustained in Selected Works, as “depicting women as being caring and kind, but also passive, submissive and weak; and depicting older women as being sexually unattractive and evil”.
In other words, only virgin can submissive and kind, while older women are seen as unappealing because they are usually no longer “pure”. Furthermore, the little mermaid then allows the witch to cut her tongue, which Casper describes as “the relinquishment of her right to be heard”- Andersen literally took away her voice because of her sexual awakening. Andersen then kept on punishing the little mermaid when he made her every step feel “as if she were treading on sharp knives and spikes”. The only time Andersen rewarded the little mermaid was when he granted her death and an eventual ticket to heaven. Jack Zipes, author of Critical Reflections about Hans Christian Andersen, the Failed Revolutionary, asserts that “[this] tale is sexist and promotes a notion of the eternal soul and compliance with spiritual laws that Andersen invents for
himself”. The Red Shoes is also a story where Andersen promotes anti-feminism. He again begins this tale with depicting the protagonist, Karen, as innocent. Karen receives a pair of red shoes which she becomes so obsessed with that she begins to neglect her responsibilities. Wolfgang Lederer, author of The Kiss of the Snow Queen, writes “red is and has always been the color symbolic of sexuality. And red is the color blood and, in the context of adolescence, specifically menstrual blood” (35). In other words, the color red is seen as sinful in Andersen’s eyes because Villa 5 it represents female sexuality and all it entails- puberty, sex and marriage. Karen becoming obsessed with the red shoes becomes symbolic of her embracing and becoming obsessed with her own sexuality. Andersen then punishes her by making her unable to stop dancing, and when she asks for mercy, an executioner chops of her feet. She then begins to learn psalms from the man, and only when she suppresses her sexuality by asking God for help, does she get rewarded by having her “soul [fly] with the sunshine to heaven, and no one there asked about the red shoes” (Andersen 68-69). This implies that, to Andersen, only those who were pure and innocent could go to heaven seeing as “no one asked about the red shoes” can be interpreted to mean that no one talked about any sort of sexual acts. The Snow Queen advocates the suppression of female sexuality as well. The Snow Queen is about Gerda who, in Andersen’s eyes, was an “exemplary female” (Casper). On her journey to find her friend and true love, she encounters a Finn woman who says, “I can't give her greater power than she already has. Don't you see how great it is? ...We must not tell her what power she has; it is in her heart, because she is such a sweet innocent child…” (Andersen 205). Andersen put great importance to children staying children- to never growing up and maturing. Likewise, in the last lines of the story, Andersen writes “And there they (Gerda and her love, Kai) both sat, grown up and yet children, children at heart…” (212), Gerda managed to repress her sexuality to such an extent that it was not a part of her anymore; she remained sweet and innocent until the end.
In today’s society, gender issues are often discussed as a hot topic. In literature, feminist views are used to criticise “societal norms” in books and stories. Two popular pieces by authors Kolbenschlag and Hurston paint two very different views on women. One common assumption in the use of a feminist critical perspective is that gender issues are central. Kolbenschlag who wrote the literary criticism “Cinderella, the Legend” would most likely disagree with this statement, she feels that women bare greater burdens in society and are more largely affected by social norms.
This essay explores the blurring of gender roles within Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Angela Carter’s The Lady of the House of Love, focusing on the presentation of a sexually assertive female and its threat to the patriarchal society, and the duality of the female characters as they are presented as enticing and thrilling, but also dangerous and somewhat repulsive.
Anderson, Hans Christian. “The Little Mermaid.” Folk and Fairy Tales. 3rd ed. Eds. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. Toronto: Broadview, 2002.
Modern-day feminists state that there are many repressed attitudes and fears which keep women in a kind of half-light, forcing them to subconsciously retreat from the full use of their minds and creativity (Dowling, 595). The archetypal Cinderella is often criticized by feminist critics for waiting for something external to transform her life (Abel, 192). Contrary to this assumption, passivity is not prevalent in the original Brothers’ Grimm tale. However, actions performed by women in the tale are often associated with darkness. It is this overpowering association with the color black and its implications that truly keep women in a “half-light” in the tale.
Although Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” published in 1837, contains many patronizing nineteenth-century attitudes towards women, a value system that at least acknowledges the legitimacy of femininity shapes the fairytale. Unfortunately, Walt Disney’s 1989 film version of “The Little Mermaid” eliminates the values that affirm femininity in the original story (Trites 145)
Everyone knows and loves the enchanting childhood fairytales of magic, princes, and princesses, but very seldom are privy to the detrimental impacts of “happily ever after” on the developing youth. Fairy tales are widely studied and criticized by parents and scholars alike for their underlying tone and message to children. Peggy Orenstein, feminist author, mother, and fairy tale critic, has made it her personal mission to bring these hidden messages to the surface. In the article, “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” Orenstein dissects the seemingly innocent tale of love and magic, and the princess many know and love, and points out its flaws and dangers. Fairy tales, Cinderella in particular, are not suitable for children because upon deeper evaluation,
read through the article I had to pick out ten important facts about the fairy tale genre and its origins. Collecting my facts was difficult because there were many writers that changed the audience for fairy tales. I didn’t want to just write down 10 authors and their works t...
Angela Carter was a writer in the 1970s during the third wave of feminism that influenced and encouraged personal and social views in her writing. This is demonstrated through her own interpretation of fairy tales in The Bloody Chamber. She combines realism and fantasy to create ‘magic realism’ whilst also challenging conventions of stereotypical gender roles.
Folktales are a way to represent situations analyzing different prospects about gender, through the stories that contribute with the reality of the culture in which they develop while these provide ideas about the behavior and roles of a specific sex building a culture of womanhood, manhood and childhood. This is what the stories of Little Red Riding Hood of Charles Perrault (1697) and Little Red-Cap of the Grimm Brothers (1812) show. This essay will describe some ideas about gender in different ways. First, the use of symbolic characters allows getting general ideas about the environment in the society rather than individuals. Second, it is possible to identify ideas about gender from the plot from the applied vocabulary providing a better understanding of the actions. Finally, the narrative perspective of the tales analyzes deeply the status of the characters referring to the thoughts among the society.
In both Hans Christian Andersons “The Little Mermaid,” and Disney’s version of the story, the main character— a young and beautiful mermaid— waits anxiously for her fifteenth birthday to venture from her father’s underwater castle to the world above the water. As the story carries on the mermaids priorities change; her modest and selfless nature is revealed towards the end in Andersen’s version. However, Disney’s version encompasses a rather shallow ending and plot throughout. The theme found in comparing the two versions reveal that Andersen’s substance trumps Disney’s entertainment factor in fairy tales.
In a society unbridled with double standards and set views about women, one may wonder the origins of such beliefs. It might come as a surprise that these ideals and standards are embedded and have been for centuries in the beloved fairy tales we enjoyed reading as kids. In her analytical essay, “To Spin a Yarn: The Female Voice in Folklore and Fairy Tales”, Karen Rowe argues that fairy tales present “cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues.” Rowe presents an excellent point, which can be supported by versions of the cult classics, “Cinderella” and “Snow White”. Charles Perrault’s “ The Little Glass Slipper” and the Brothers Grimm’s “ Snow White” exemplify the beliefs that females are supposed to be docile, dependent on the male persona and willing to sacrifice themselves. In many cases, when strong female characters are presented they are always contradicting in these characteristics, thus labeled as villainous. Such is the case of the Cinderella’s stepsisters in Perrault’s “Cinderella” and the stepmother in the Brothers Grimm’s “Snow White.” These female characters face judgment and disapproval when they commit the same acts as male characters. With such messages rooted in our beloved fairy tales it is no wonder that society is rampant with these ideals about women and disapprove of women when they try to break free of this mold.
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
Throughout literature, authors employ a variety of strategies to highlight the central message being conveyed to the audience. Analyzing pieces of literature through the gender critics lens accentuates what the author believes to be masculine or feminine and that society and culture determines the gender responsibility of an individual. In the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, the gender strategies appear through the typical fragile women of the mother and the grandmother, the heartless and clever male wolf, and the naïve and vulnerable girl as little red riding hood.
..." A Doll's House," by Henrik Ibsen portrays the genders role of nineteenth century women and men in society. Torvald's perception of his wife of how she is a helpless creature shows the overall role which women fill. Women are responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home and through the upbringing of their children. They had to beg and ask for permission to do certain activities and essential things.
Billions and billions of people in the world have had their childhood shaped by the words of a single man from a small European country. He is Hans Christian Andersen, born in Odense, Denmark in the year 1805. From “The Ugly Duckling” to “The Little Mermaid,” his stories filled our lives in the form of the faded pages on books, mother’s gentle voice next to the fireside, colorful Disney animations completed with cheerful songs, and stunning snow-blanketed movie scenes. This essay seeks to discuss this great author in the context of one of his most influential works – “The Princess and the Pea” – by first examining the context of his life, then presenting a brief summary, followed