The Ugly Duckling Analysis

The Ugly Andersen

“Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale” – Hans Christian Andersen. In the fairytale, “The Ugly Duckling”, the author, Hans Christian Andersen illustrates the character of the ugly duckling as one who struggles with unaccepting characters in his life, even his own family because of his appearance. Just as the duckling, Andersen, an outsider himself, lived a life of unacceptance by his peers. Through his writing, Andersen portrays his own personal life experiences as an outcast.

Hans Christian Andersen acquires a history of inserting himself into his own works. He inputs many of his own life experiences and struggles in several of his fairytales. As a “strong autobiographical element runs through his sadder tales; throughout his life he perceived himself as an outsider and despite the international recognition he received, he never felt completely accepted” (Sampaolo). His fairytale of “The Ugly Duckling” shows true sadness of the main character The life of Hans Christian Andersen and “his travels and love life were not only important to him personally, but were also mirrored considerably in his oeuvre (the works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as whole)”, (The Life). The author once wrote, “My life will provide the best illumination of all my works”, (The Life). He provides much insight by sharing his experiences through his writing and to recognize the hidden autobiographical element, one must dig and look deeper inside his fairytales.

Andersen depicts the duckling as a hideous and awful looking animal. The second the duckling hatches, Andersen describes the duckling as “large and ugly”. All the animals around the duckling stare at him in disgust and don’t even try to accept him because “he is...

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... the great swans swam round the new-comer, and stroked his neck with their beaks, as a welcome”, (Andersen). Hans Christian Andersen uses the happy ending in his story to symbolize his own experience in “trying to make his way out of his awkwardness and odd appearance”, (Chrisholm).

As Andersen writes from experience, an autobiographical sense plays throughout “The Ugly Duckling”. Readers have the ability to gain knowledge and understanding of Andersen’s life just by reading his fairytale; they “can be read simply as magical adventures, but for the discerning reader they contain much more, bristling with characters drawn from Andersen’s own life and from many worlds he traveled through in his remarkable life’s journey”, ( Windling). As an allusion, Andersen creates the fairytale to symbolize his own life as an outcast through the character of the ugly duckling.