Why is Hans Christian Andersen famous?
Hans Christian Andersen was a famous Danish writer, known for his fairy tales, as well as other works. Hans Christian Andersen was born in the slums of Odense. His father was a cobbler (shoemaker) and his mother worked as a washerwoman. His mother was also uneducated and superstitious.
What happened to Hans Christian Andersen's father?
In his family history, his dad, a cobbler, went insane and died when Hans was 11. His paternal grandmother was a pathological liar who had, in her youth, been jailed for repeatedly producing illegitimate children and her husband had a reputation as the town lunatic.
Was Hans Christian Andersen celibate?
Hans Christian Andersen may have been celibate his whole life. Although Andersen lived a long and full life, he struggled with personal relationships and never got his own fairy tale ending.
What are some of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales?
Among Andersen's best known fairy tales are "Emperor's New Clothes," "Little Ugly Duckling," "The Tinderbox," "Little Claus and Big Claus," "Princess and the Pea," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "The Nightingale," "The Story of a Mother and The Swineherd." In 1847, Andersen met Charles Dickens.
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What was Hans Christian Andersen job like?
Hans Christian Andersen Career: His father died when Andersen was 11 (in 1816). Andersen was forced to go to work, first as an apprentice to a weaver and tailor and then in a tobacco factory. At the age of 14, he moved to Copenhagen to try a career as a singer, dancer and actor.
Was Hans Christian Andersen poor?
Born on April 2, 1805, in Odense, Denmark, Andersen grew up in stark poverty, but his father, a shoemaker, cultivated his imagination.
What is Hans Christian Andersen most famous for?
Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a renowned Danish writer. Although he wrote numerous plays, stories, autobiographies and travelogues, he is most famous for writing over 156 fairy tales in his lifetime. His original tales include The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and many others.
What was Hans Christian Andersen childhood?
Andersen was born to a low class poor family on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His father was a shoemaker and his mother contributed to the family income by washing clothes of other people. Being an only child, Andersen was spoiled by his parents who allowed him to develop his imagination by making him his own toys.
Where is the Little Mermaid set?
kingdom of AtlanticaThe Little Mermaid action takes place under the sea, in the kingdom of Atlantica that is supposedly located in Denmark, where Hans Christian Andersen is from. This may be true for an original story and in fact there is even a statue of Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.
Who said where words fail music speaks?
Hans Christian Andersen10. Hans Christian Andersen. Hans Christian Andersen: "Where words fail, music speaks."
What was the second book of The Traveling Companion?
The second booklet was published on 16 December 1835 and contained " Thumbelina ", "The Naughty Boy" and "The Traveling Companion". "Thumbelina" was completely Andersen's creation although inspired by " Tom Thumb " and other stories of miniature people. "The Naughty Boy" was based on a poem by Anacreon about Cupid, and "The Traveling Companion" was a ghost story Andersen had experimented with in the year 1830.
Why did Hans Christian Andersen visit England?
After Andersen was told to leave, Dickens gradually stopped all correspondence between them , this to the great disappointment and confusion of Andersen, who had quite enjoyed the visit and could never understand why his letters went unanswered.
What was the third book of The Little Mermaid?
The third booklet contained " The Little Mermaid " and " The Emperor's New Clothes ", and it was published on 7 April 1837. "The Little Mermaid" was completely Andersen's creation though influenced by De la Motte Fouqué 's "Undine" (1811) and the lore about mermaids. This tale established Andersen's international reputation. The only other tale in the third booklet was "The Emperor's New Clothes", which was based on a medieval Spanish story with Arab and Jewish sources. On the eve of the third installment's publication, Andersen revised the conclusion of his story, (the Emperor simply walks in procession) to its now-familiar finale of a child calling out, "The Emperor is not wearing any clothes!"
How many Tale Spinners for Children are there?
Tale Spinners for Children released seven LP's of dramatizations of Andersen stories:
What did Hans Christian Andersen's father do?
Andersen's father, who had received an elementary school education, introduced his son to literature, reading to him the Arabian Nights. Andersen's mother, Anne Marie Andersdatter, was an illiterate washerwoman. Following her husband's death in 1816, she remarried in 1818. Andersen was sent to a local school for poor children where he received a basic education and had to support himself, working as an apprentice to a weaver and, later, to a tailor. At fourteen, he moved to Copenhagen to seek employment as an actor. Having an excellent soprano voice, he was accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre, but his voice soon changed. A colleague at the theatre told him that he considered Andersen a poet. Taking the suggestion seriously, Andersen began to focus on writing.
When did Hans Christian Andersen publish his fairy tales?
In the 1840s, Andersen's attention again returned to the theatre stage, but with little success. He had better luck with the publication of the Picture-Book without Pictures (1840). A second series of fairy tales was started in 1838 and a third series in 1845. Andersen was now celebrated throughout Europe although his native Denmark still showed some resistance to his pretensions.
How many volumes of fairy tales are there?
Andersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes and translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness, readily accessible to children, but presenting lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity for mature readers as well.
Why did Hans Christian Andersen put his characters in desperate and hopeless situations?
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.
What is the story of the ugly duckling about?
According to scholars, the tale of The Ugly Duckling reflects Andersen’s own feelings of alienation. 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. Much like the ugly duckling, Andersen only later in life became the “swan”—a cultured, world-renowned writer with friends in high places. Andersen even admitted of The Ugly Duckling, “This story is, of course, a reflection of my own life.”
How long did Hans Andersen sleep in the house?
Once Andersen finally left, Dickens wrote and displayed a note that read, “Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks —which seemed to the family AGES!”.
Why didn't Dickens eat pork?
Hans Christian Andersen was terrified of being buried alive. Andersen had a lot of phobias. He was afraid of dogs. He didn’t eat pork because he worried he would contract trichinae, a parasite that can be found in pigs.
Why did Hans Christian Andersen keep a rope in his luggage?
He kept a long rope in his luggage while traveling, in case he needed to escape a fire. He even feared he would accidentally be declared dead and buried alive, so before bed each night, he propped up a note that read, “I only appear to be dead.”. 6. Hans Christian Andersen may have been celibate his whole life.
How many languages have Hans Christian Andersen been translated into?
Though his works have been reproduced in more than 125 languages, not all of them have been faithful retellings. 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. 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.
Where did Hans Christian Andersen stay with Dickens?
They kept in touch, and a decade later Andersen came to stay with Dickens at the British author's home in Kent, England. The visit was meant to last two weeks at most, but Andersen ended up staying five weeks—to the dismay of the Dickens family.
What does Doro tell Hans about the ballet?
That evening, when the ballet company returns, Doro tells Hans that they have created a ballet based on his story "The Little Mermaid," which Hans believes is a sign of her love for him. The next evening, Peter tells Hans about the councilmen's verdict and warns Hans that Doro will humiliate him as well. Disappointed by his friend's attitude, Hans suggests that they part ways and leaves for the opening of the new ballet. When Hans tries to deliver Doro's slippers backstage, Niels locks the insistent writer in a closet to prevent him from disrupting the performers. While Hans listens to the music and dreams of his story, the performance opens on stage. In the ballet, mermaids float in the ocean, while a ship carrying a handsome prince sinks to the mermaids' garden at the bottom of the sea. The littlest mermaid helps the unconscious man to the surface, saving his life. Having fallen in love with the prince, she seeks the help of the sea witches, who transform the mermaid into a woman, so she might find the prince on land. She arrives at the palace during a masquerade ball and dances with the prince, but his attentions are for another. Heartbroken, the mermaid returns to the sea.
What does Niels complain about when he gives Doro slippers?
When Niels ridicules lead ballerina Doro's performance, she in turn complains that her shoes need adjusting. Doro gives the slippers to Hans, who is immediately smitten with the ballerina. After Hans leaves, Peter learns that Niels and Doro are a happily married couple, despite their theatrical quarrels.
What does Doro do with Hans' slippers?
Doro knowingly accepts the slippers Hans made for her and graciously allows him to leave. On the road to Odense, Hans meets Peter and renews their friendship. Upon reaching town, Hans is greeted as a celebrity and regales the citizens, including the schoolmaster, with his now famous moral tales.
What does Doro discover about Hans?
The morning after the ballet, Doro sends for Hans and discovers that he is in love with her and has misunderstood her relationship with Niels. Niels inadvertently interrupts their conversation and insults Hans by offering to pay him for "The Little Mermaid." To save face, Hans refuses Niels's offer and claims that his writing was a fluke. Doro knowingly accepts the slippers Hans made for her and graciously allows him to leave. On the road to Odense, Hans meets Peter and renews their friendship. Upon reaching town, Hans is greeted as a celebrity and regales the citizens, including the schoolmaster, with his now famous moral tales.
What does Peter tell Hans about Doro?
The next morning, Peter tells Hans that Doro has the letter, but Hans is unconcerned, believing that Doro's possession of the letter is a good omen. The next day, the entire ballet company sets off on their annual tour, leaving Hans bereft, but he soon finds comfort entertaining a new group of children with his stories.
What puppet does Hans draw on his thumb?
By drawing on his thumb, Hans creates a puppet he calls "Thumbelina" and brings a smile to the girl's face. Soon Hans is bailed out of jail by the theater company and taken to the theater where he becomes entranced by the beauty and talent of a Royal Danish Ballet dress rehearsal. When Niels ridicules lead ballerina Doro's performance, she in turn complains that her shoes need adjusting.
How does Peter convince Hans to leave the shop?
After much prodding, Peter succeeds in convincing Hans to leave that afternoon by remind ing him that he will be the envy of the town for having been the first to visit the famous city. Soon after Hans begins his journey, Peter joins him on the trail, bringing all the shop's tools to start their business anew.
What was the only sexual outlet that Hans Christian Andersen had?
His only sexual outlet was masturbation, for which he felt enormous guilt. When Andersen visited brothels in the 1860s, he talked to naked prostitutes, emotionally unable to do more. His health began to decline in 1874. First he suffered from bronchitis, then later from liver cancer.
How many stories did Hans Christian Andersen write?
Altogether, he wrote 156 tales which have been translated into more than a hundred languages. He also wrote three autobiographies. Andersen was perhaps better known than any other living writer, an international celebrity found in the company of his peers, and his work has been widely read ever since.
What is Hans Christian Andersen famous for?
Andersen is chiefly remembered for "The Ugly Duckling," "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Red Shoes.". His only and consuming ambition was to become a writer held in esteem.
Why did Hans Christian Andersen work in a cloth factory?
To make money for the family , as a youth, Andersen worked in a cloth factory where he was often embarrassed by the workmen's bawdy humor. Gifted with a fine soprano voice, he loved to sing, that is, until the day at work when his co-workers pulled off his pants to see if he was a girl.
What happened to Hans' dad?
In his family history, his dad, a cobbler, went insane and died when Hans was 11. His paternal grandmother was a pathological liar who had, in her youth, been jailed for repeatedly producing illegitimate children and her husband had a reputation as the town lunatic. One of his aunts apparently ran a brothel.
When did Hans Christian Andersen spend Christmas alone?
He showered her with poems and gifts. In 1845, he traveled to Berlin to spend Christmas Eve with her. When his plans proved barren, he spend the Christmas alone in a hotel room, close to tears. Her only reference of endearment to him was "brother," and "friend," but Andersen was devastated when she married in 1852.
Who was the patron of the Royal Theater?
Industrious, the boy found a patron, an Italian opera singer. He was soon taking singing and dancing lessons at the Royal Theater, the director of which, Jonas Collin, later became his lifelong patron and substitute father.
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What did Elias Bredsdorff write about his family background?
Elias Bredsdorff wrote in a 1975 biography: “Much of what he told about his family background was pure fiction.”. Jorgensen has assembled circumstantial evidence that he says explains many of the anomalies of Andersen’s life. A book setting out his case is scheduled for publication in Denmark in October.
Why were the secret lovers unable to wed?
The secret lovers were unable to wed because the prince’s marriage had to be reserved for a political alliance. So the child was given into the care of a housekeeper, “a fallen woman” who already had one daughter out of wedlock, Jorgensen said in an interview. Years of Speculation.
Where did Jorgensen find letters from the period when Andersen attended school?
Jorgensen said he found letters from the period when Andersen attended school in which townspeople expressed wonder at Prince Christian’s frequent visits to Slagelse, then a quiet town of 5,000.
Did Hans Christian Andersen pay more than twice as much as other students to attend school?
Looking through musty records, Jorgensen found that Andersen paid more than twice as much as other students to attend the school, and he traced the tuition to the royal family. Yet Andersen’s name never appears on the rolls.
When was Hans Christian Andersen born?
He said Andersen’s only existing birth certificate was issued in 1823, when he was 17 years old. The biographers say Andersen was born April 2, 1805, two months after his parents were married.
Who was the Danish aristocrat who died in 1875?
Historian Jens Jorgensen said the writer, who died in 1875 at the age of 70, was probably the illegitimate child of Denmark’s crown prince and later king, Christian VIII, and a Danish aristocrat, Elise Ahlefeldt Laurvig.
Who is the son of the shoemaker and the washerwoman?
The son of the shoemaker and the washerwoman is born in poverty, so ugly that he has no friends. But he is watched by a guardian angel and grows up to become wealthy and famous. It turns out that he is really the child of a king. A fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen?
Overview
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes and translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded i…
Early life
Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark on 2 April 1805. He had a stepsister named Karen. His father, also named Hans, considered himself related to nobility (his paternal grandmother had told his father that their family had belonged to a higher social class, but investigations have disproved these stories). Although it has been challenged, a persistent speculation suggests th…
Career
A very early fairy tale by Andersen, "The Tallow Candle" (Danish: Tællelyset), was discovered in a Danish archive in October 2012. The story, written in the 1820s, is about a candle that did not feel appreciated. It was written while Andersen was still in school and dedicated to one of his benefactors. The story remained in that family's possession until it turned up among other family papers in a local archive.
Personal life
In ‘Andersen as a Novelist’, Søren Kierkegaard remarks that Andersen is characterized as, “...a possibility of a personality, wrapped up in such a web of arbitrary moods and moving through an elegiac duo-decimal scale [i.e., a chromatic scale. Proceeding by semitones, and therefore including sharps as well as flats, such a scale is associated more with lament or elegy than is an o…
Death
In early 1872, at age 67, Andersen fell out of his bed and was severely hurt; he never fully recovered from the resultant injuries. Soon afterward, he started to show signs of liver cancer.
He died on 4 August 1875, in a house called Rolighed (literally: calmness), near Copenhagen, the home of his close friends, the banker Moritz G. Melchior and h…
Legacy and cultural influence
• The Hans Christian Andersen Museum or H.C. Andersens Odense, is a set of museums/buildings dedicated to the famous author Hans Christian Andersen in Odense, Denmark, some of which, at various times in history, have functioned as the main Odense-based museum on the author.
• The Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Solvang, California, a city founded by Danes, is devoted to presentin…
Works
Andersen's fairy tales include:
• "The Angel" (1843)
• "The Bell" (1845)
• "Blockhead Hans" (1855)
• "The Elf Mound" (1845)
See also
• Kjøbenhavnsposten, a Danish newspaper in which Andersen published one of his first poems
• Pleated Christmas hearts, invented by Andersen
• Vilhelm Pedersen, the first illustrator of Andersen's fairy tales
Overview
Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film directed by Charles Vidor and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. The screenplay by Moss Hart and an uncredited Ben Hecht is based on a story by Myles Connolly.
Although it is nominally about Hans Christian Andersen, the 19th-century Danish author of many world-famous fairy tales, the film is romantic fiction, and does …
Plot
In the 1830s, in the small Danish town of Odense, cobbler Hans Christian Andersen spends his day spinning fairy tales for the village children. One day, the stern schoolmaster implores the Burgomaster and councilmen to curtail the cobbler's habit of distracting the students with his storytelling. Hans finally returns to his shop, where his teenage assistant, the orphan Peter, begs him to stop causing trouble.
Cast
• Danny Kaye - Hans Christian Andersen
• Farley Granger - Niels
• Zizi Jeanmaire - Doro
• Beverly Washburn - little girl outside the jailhouse
Production
Producer Samuel Goldwyn conceived the idea for the film in 1936 and employed numerous writers to work on early drafts of the screenplay over the years. In 1941 he was reportedly in discussions with Walt Disney Studios to produce the film, but the deal fell through.
The film was eventually produced in the spring of 1952. Danish authorities were not consulted on the film and there were complaints from Denmark that the film was a fairy tale rather than the tr…
Soundtrack
• "The King's New Clothes"
• "The Inch Worm"
• "I'm Hans Christian Andersen"
• "Wonderful Copenhagen"
Release
The film premiered in New York City on November 25, 1952, opening at the Paris Theatre and at the Criterion Theatre, and went on general release in both the United States and United Kingdom on December 19, 1952.
In its first 6 days of release at two theaters, it grossed $80,000. It was one of the top ten grossing films of the year in the United States and Canada with rentals of $6 million.
First telecast
The film was first telecast by ABC-TV in 1966. In an odd reversal of the situation for the early CBS telecasts of The Wizard of Oz, this time a host was needed because the film was too long for a two-hour time slot, rather than too short. It runs exactly two hours without commercials, and ABC did not wish to cut it, so they presented it as a family special with Victor Borge as host, and padded the telecast out to two-and-a-half hours. Borge was selected because, like the real Hans Christia…
In popular culture
"Inchworm" was featured in season 3, episode 16 of The Muppet Show, wherein Kaye guest starred.