remember the good old days

[simon]

Is he another one of those fairy tale writers that have toned down the actual story so that it is more appropriate to children?

[ihaveaheadache]

Aren't his stories just as gruesome as the Grimms Brothers'? I remember one story where a vain girl (?) can't get her constantly-moving shoes off and then her legs have to be cut off so she can rest.

[Bongitybongbong]

eww...that's pretty nasty.

[amuse]

ah, that's probably the precursor to the Red Shoes ballet that i alluded to in haiku a few pages ago! (heard of it via a ballet coloring book i had in my youth.

hmm. after googling, have discovered that this particular tale did indeed inspire a 1948 (http://www.thecityreview.com/redshoes.html) film (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050101/REVIEWS08/501010301), all set within the famed Lermontov Ballet Company (http://www.film.u-net.com/Movies/Reviews/Red_Shoes.html).

will have to read this particular tale...

[subterranean]

Is he another one of those fairy tale writers that have toned down the actual story so that it is more appropriate to children?


I read some of his stuffs when I was a kid and to tell you the truth he was one of fav.

[T'sRebecca]

His stories are interesting not only for children but also for adults. LUCKY PEER is my favorate.

[rachel]

For the most part I love his stories. They have such moral strength and great understanding of the human spirit. One of my favorite stories is about a woman who was nurse to a beautiful child who happened to be a royal prince. her own son was ugly and she ignored him and threw his love away and didn't care for him at all. he grew up and went away to sea...and drowned.
meanwhile the prince also grew up and she was not needed any longer. she pined for him and one day went to see him-he could care less about all her sacrifice .she finally talks to her dead son somehow , can't quite recall and repents.
did you know that Dickens and his wife at the worst point of their marriage had Anderson come and stay. He nearly drove them mad with his whining and whims.
afterward Dickens put a sign outside his house that said that Hans Christian Anderson stayed there one week....and it seemed like a month!

[Flora]

Most authors of fairy-tales got the story or at least got the motive from somewhere. Most are full of symbols and that.

I don't think that andersen made his storyes more acceptable for the children - if I'm not mistaken, his sories were meant for the adults, and not children at first. Also, I think that he got some of his stories from real life, translated in fairy-tale symbols and hidden meanings.

The Red Shoes are kinda nasty... Someone once told me, that Karen (the girl who couldn't stop dancing) was made after the sory of andersen's sister. The red shoes were supposed to represent sin...
I don't know wether andersen had a sister at all, though...

I didn't read Andersen much when i was little, i don't know why. i remeber coming across The Little Match Girl, but I didn't like it that much, it seemed really sad to me... For some reason, I disliked The Emperor's New Clothes as well, I don't know why.

[Charles Darnay]

Hm... I really enjoyed The Emperor's New Clothes.

I haven't read too much Anderson, but I do know that his stoires wer not written explicitly for children.

[Flora]

I guess I was more into those classical fairy-tales, princesses, and that... I loved Cinderella, and similar.

[Rosie Cotton]

Is he another one of those fairy tale writers that have toned down the actual story so that it is more appropriate to children?

Are you kidding me? No way! He's the one who came up with a mermaid/woman walking on the beach, with the pain of walking on hot coals (or broken glass...depends on the translation).

Goodness, I had this little kid I babysat who's parents bought him some Hans Christian Andersen tales, because they had obviously never read it, and said that it was, "Some light-hearted stuff that would enrich his mind." The poor boy wouldn't let me turn out the light, he didn't want to get into his bed, he didn't want to go to the bathroom alone. He was CREEPED OUT!

[RJbibliophil]

Think of the snow queen, or the story about the ballerina and tin soldier. Though written at a child's level, I have found most of the stories to have deeper meaning.

[littleLindkvist]

I grew up with the basic knowledge of Hans Christian Andersen (it comes along with being danish).

I would say that you were very very wrong if you believe that his fairy tales were simple, and only ment for children.... Read the bell... the Nightingale.. and the little match girl...
You could read all these stories as a comment on that times society... strongly criticizing it.. Writing 'fairy tales' allowed him to do so, without being censored during a time of absolute monarchy

Actually the little match girl is one of the most printed story in china... do to the fact that is chritized capitalism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have a true interest in him and his works I would recommend his Diaries as a starting point... I can (almost) say for sure that whey will make you look at him diffrently..
In the Diaries he wrote down his dreams...
and you can't help but think that he must have suffered from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).

[Janine]

ah, that's probably the precursor to the Red Shoes ballet that i alluded to in haiku a few pages ago! (heard of it via a ballet coloring book i had in my youth.

hmm. after googling, have discovered that this particular tale did indeed inspire a 1948 (http://www.thecityreview.com/redshoes.html) film (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050101/REVIEWS08/501010301), all set within the famed Lermontov Ballet Company (http://www.film.u-net.com/Movies/Reviews/Red_Shoes.html).

will have to read this particular tale...

amuse, have you seen the film? It most certainly was inspired by the "Red Shoes" by Anderson. The film credits him with the basis for the story. It is a play within a play - or a ballet within a film, technically. I happen to think it is a great film. Portraying Lermontov, Anton Walbrook gives an brilliant performance. It is a great loss that he died young. He had so much talent. The role is losely based on a very prominent presario who launched Nijinsky and many other great artists to fame. I forget his name. I have read much about the film and the team of Powell and Pressburger, who wrote the screenplay, directed and produced it. When I saw the film the first time, I thought - this story was written by Anderson...how strange. It is definitely a tragedy. I can't imagine that it would be for children at all. It would scare them to death. The ballet that is featured has some really frightening moments in it - really demonic. I never read the fairy tale, but I should and compare to the interpretation in the ballet sequence in the film. I own the film. It is good to watch with the commentary turned on. Explains a lot.

[oscar wild]

I grew up with the basic knowledge of Hans Christian Andersen (it comes along with being danish).

I would say that you were very very wrong if you believe that his fairy tales were simple, and only ment for children.... Read the bell... the Nightingale.. and the little match girl...
You could read all these stories as a comment on that times society... strongly criticizing it.. Writing 'fairy tales' allowed him to do so, without being censored during a time of absolute monarchy

Actually the little match girl is one of the most printed story in china... do to the fact that is chritized capitalism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have a true interest in him and his works I would recommend his Diaries as a starting point... I can (almost) say for sure that whey will make you look at him diffrently..
In the Diaries he wrote down his dreams...
and you can't help but think that he must have suffered from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).

just read the bell, i think i read the story not as capitalistic, it is the prince that led the poor to a place where the sound of bell came; and it is one the left path rather than the right path

this is just my humble opiniotn, tell me what you think

[ex ponto]

Are you kidding me? No way! He's the one who came up with a mermaid/woman walking on the beach, with the pain of walking on hot coals (or broken glass...depends on the translation).

Goodness, I had this little kid I babysat who's parents bought him some Hans Christian Andersen tales, because they had obviously never read it, and said that it was, "Some light-hearted stuff that would enrich his mind." The poor boy wouldn't let me turn out the light, he didn't want to get into his bed, he didn't want to go to the bathroom alone. He was CREEPED OUT!

I don't understand you really. The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, The Little Match Girl and many and many others are sad, but very beautiful and noble(?) stories.

[Jen0608]

I really appreciate fairy tale story...My favorite is Cinderella, this is a very heart touching story ever...That's why I always told this story to my daughter 2yrs old...and she really like Cinderella story too...All her stuff has Cinderella characters, ever her favorite coloring pages are Cinderella...I think daughter inherited mother's attitude...