The Little Match Girl Summary by Hans Christian Anderson
- A Poor Orphan Girl. This is a story of a poor little girl who is forced to a life of abject poverty and destitution. ...
- New Year’s Eve. The day is New Year’s Eve and every person is enjoying the warmth of their house parties to welcome a joyful year.
- Unusual Things Happen. But it disappears as the matchstick burns out. ...
- Her Death. ...
- Theme. ...
Full Answer
What is the Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen about?
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and darkness, a poor little girl with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use.
What is the setting of the Little Match Girl?
The story “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Anderson is set against the backdrop of a New Year’s Eve. It was a very cold winter evening with snow and frost.
What is the name of the movie with the Little Matchgirl?
For the 1928 French film, see The Little Match Girl (1928 film). For the 2006 Disney animated short film, see The Little Matchgirl (2006 film). "Match Girl" redirects here. For the short story by Anne Bishop, see Match Girl (short story).
What is the story of the little girl with matchsticks about?
He was inspired by the drawing of a Danish artist, Johan Thomas, where a girl was selling matches on the street. The title actually means “The little girl with matchsticks". It is based on the dreams and aspirations of a child who was dying out of cold and poverty as well as hunger. The story opens with a cold and dark last evening of the year.
What is The Little Match Girl story about?
It has a spare and harrowing plot. A young girl is sent out by her impoverished parents to sell matches on the last evening of the year. She is barefoot, for she has lost her slippers; one has simply gone missing, and the other is stolen by a boy who says he will use it as a cradle for his own future children.
What is the conclusion of the story Little Match Girl?
Struck by the vision of the only person who had ever loved her, the girl struggles to strike her remaining matches to keep the fire burning. In that final moment, she is carried away by her grandmother as the two set out for a place where there is no more cold, or hunger, or fear.
What point of view is the Little Match Girl?
The point of view in this short story is third person limited because the narrator uses words such as "she" and "the little match girl".
What is the contrast described in this passage?
There is a contrast between the darkness, cold. and hunger the little girl lives in juxtaposed with the warm opulence of the places she looks at th...
Which character do you like the most, and why?
This question calls for your opinion. There is no right or wrong answer. I, personally, love the little girl's grandmother.... the unconditional, l...
If you were the little match, what would you do? Answers in 150-200 words
Sorry, we can't write an essay for you on this short answer space.
Summary of The Little Match Girl
In this article, you will be reading The Little Match Girl Summary. It is a story of a little girl who, unable to sell her match sticks dies of cold and hunger on the street even as, people are celebrating the birth of the Christ child inside their warm.
The Little Match Girl Summary in English
This story, the Little Match Girl Summary is a story of a little girl. It was New Year’s evening, snow was falling and darkness was gathering. The evening was bitterly cold. In this darkness a poor little girl walked, bareheaded and barefoot, through the streets. She had been wearing slippers of her mother when she left home.
What is the title of the little match girl?
" The Little Match Girl " opens on a cold, gloomy New Year's Eve. The title character, a poor little girl, is walking in the snow without shoes or a hat. When she left her home earlier she had been wearing her mother's slippers, which fell off the girl's feet when she ran out of the path of two carriages while crossing a road. One slipper was lost in the snow while the other was stolen by a boy who said he'd use it one day to cradle one of his children. Her feet are red and blue with cold.
What does the little girl say to herself when she sees the stars falling from the sky?
One shoots across the sky, falling in the arc of a magnificent trail of fire. The little girl says to herself that someone must be dying. She learned from her dead grandmother that when stars fall from the sky, a human ascends to heaven.
What does the little girl smell when she sees warmly lit homes behind windows?
She sees warmly lit homes behind windows and smells roasting goose.
What is the Little Match Girl about?
‘The Little Match Girl’ is one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most famous fairy tales for children. It is also one of his shortest, running to just a few pages.
When was the Little Match Girl published?
‘The Little Match Girl’ was first published in 1845 with the Danish title Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne (‘The little girl with the matchsticks’).
What does the little match girl see when the candle goes out?
She can see and feel the warm candles decorating the tree; but then the match goes out and the girl sees that the candles are only the stars up in the night sky. A star falls, and the little match girl recalls the idea that a star falling means someone has died and gone up to heaven.
What shoes does a poor girl wear on New Year's Eve?
In summary, on New Year’s Eve a poor little girl leaves home, wearing the only shoes she owns in the whole world: her mother’s old slippers, which are too big for her little feet. As they’re too big, they fall off her feet, and a boy runs off with one of them while the other is lost in the street.
Is there a happy ending to Little Match Girl?
Moreover, there is no happy ending for Andersen’s little match girl. Yet both he and Dickens appear to have wished to highlight the plight of the poor and needy to their middle-class readers. Of course, Andersen often focuses on lonely and isolated characters (see Thumbelina for another notable example, and just one among many), ...
Is Little Match Girl a fairy tale?
In the last analysis, then, ‘The Little Match Girl’ is an atypical fairy story in many ways: it is largely plotless, it doesn’t offer its protagonist a chance of happiness in this world at the end of the story, there is no magical or supernatural intervention that saves her from her plight, and it only really features one character (two if we count the grandmother), with no on-stage ‘villain’ (only the violent father waiting back home). Yet in some ways it is one of the most representative fairy stories in Andersen’s oeuvre.
What is the setting of the Little Match Girl?
The story “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Anderson is set against the backdrop of a New Year’s Eve. It was a very cold winter evening with snow and frost. When everyone was busy in celebrating the festive day with candles, Christmas trees and delicious dishes, a poor little girl was wandering on the streets trying to sell her matches. She was barefoot and bareheaded. Though she had the shoes of her mother, she lost them on the way. Her scanty clothes were not enough to make her warm.
Why did the girl light a match stick?
She was shivering in the cold. So she lighted a match stick to keep herself warm. But to her surprise she saw different visions (a great iron stove, a roasted goose, a Christmas tree, her lost grandmother) in the light every time she lighted a stick.
What year was the Little Match Girl?
For the 1928 French film, see The Little Match Girl (1928 film). For the 2006 Disney animated short film, see The Little Matchgirl (2006 film).
When was the Little Match Girl published?
December 1845. " The Little Match Girl " ( Danish: Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne, meaning "The little girl with the matchsticks ") is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dreams and hope, was first published in 1845.
What chapter does Shinobu dress up as a little red riding hood?
In Chapter 24 (Volume 3) of Love Hina, Su makes Shinobu dress up as a Little Red Riding Hood type and sell matches to raise some travelling money to Okinawa. When that plot initially fails and Shinobu starts to cry, a good number of passers-by are moved to tears and prepare to buy all her matches until the two girls are chased off by resident Yakuza.
What happens when the matches are gone?
When the matches are gone the girl dies, and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the girl frozen, and express pity. They do not know about the wonderful visions she had seen, or how happy she is with her grandmother in Heaven.
Who published the match girl?
Anne Bishop published the short story " Match Girl " in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears (1995). On page 319 of Clarissa Pinkola Estés ' book Women Who Run with the Wolves (1992), "The Little Match Girl", the author tells the story to her aunt, followed by a lucid analysis.
Is Little Match Girl a short story?
Hans Tseng adapted "The Little Match Girl" into a short story manga, featured in the first volume of Tokyopop 's Rising Stars of Manga (2003). In Anne Ursu 's novel Breadcrumbs (2011), the main character Hazel meets in the woods a character based on the Little Match Girl.
Who is Rose Red in Fables?
In issue #112 of Bill Willingham 's Fables (a comic book series about living embodiments of storybook characters), The Little Match Girl is introduced to Rose Red as one of the paladins of the embodiment of Hope, ostensibly on the night that the girl is doomed to die (Christmas Eve, in this telling). The child identifies herself as "the caretaker of hope deferred", braving the deadly cold and saving the meager pennies she earns towards the promise of a better life in the future, and stubbornly denying that her death is close at hand.
What is the main character in the story of Little Match Girl?
The little match girl is the main character of the story as the whole story revolves around her. Other characters are in the background. One may guess the age of the girl by the slippers she was wearing as they were of her mother and too big for her, thus she might not be more than nine or ten years. Her hands and feet were tiny. The story projects the girl's life which is miserable and has touched the heart of many readers. She belonged to an extremely poor family which is clear from the description of her house," — it was so cold at home, for they had nothing but the roof above them and the wind whistled through that, even though the largest cracks were stuffed with straw and rags". Moreover, she was not loved by her father otherwise he would not have sent her out in the blistering cold to sell the matches on the eve of the festival when she did not have enough warm clothes. She was so docile that she did not oppose her father and preferred to freeze to death rather than going back home to face the harshness of her father. He did not have any concern for her and used to treat her badly. She portrays the picture of an apathetic, sorrowful child whose age allows her to dream, imagine and fancy but her father restricted her doing so, and she was leading the life of maturity. She was deprived of all the love and affection which she should get from her father. She longed for the love which she used to get from her grandmother who was now dead.
Who wrote the little match girl?
Summary of The Little Match Girl. This is a short story written by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen which was first published in 1845. He was inspired by the drawing of a Danish artist, Johan Thomas, where a girl was selling matches on the street. The title actually means “The little girl with matchsticks".
What is the story of a poor girl selling matchsticks?
A poor girl is selling matchsticks in the dark and cold streets. She has lost her slippers and is shivering from cold. To protect herself from chilling cold, she takes shelter in a corner and sits down. She doesn't want to go back home as she has not sold a single matchbox and her father would beat her for that reason.
What does "fight to survive till the end" mean?
She fought to survive till the end. It signifies that one must not lose hope howsoever the adverse conditions are. It is a sad story of a little girl who doesn't lose hope until the last match. In bitterly cold weather, she tried her best to sell the matches.
What is the author's belief in the story of the innocent child?
The author had a firm belief in religion and God that He would bestow upon us all the things we wish for and therefore an innocent child entered a world where there was no more pain, agony and suffering. The story depicts the value of relations too.
What does the girl see when she lights a matchstick?
Even there is no use going home as it is not a comfortable place for this particular weather. To keep herself warm, she lights a matchstick. In the glow, she sees various pictures. Every time she lights a matchstick, she sees a dream and as soon as it blows out, the dream vanishes.
What is the theme of the movie "The Cold Winter"?
The theme projected is of hope which is symbolized by the matches and the cold winter is a symbol of hopelessness . There is parallelism between the girl's condition and the weather condition outside. She was miserable and going through many difficulties. She fought to survive till the end.
Why is the Little Match Girl so famous?
"The Little Match Girl" is a story by Hans Christian Andersen. The story is famous not only because of its poignant tragedy but also because of its beauty. Our imagination (and literature) can give us comfort, solace, and reprieve from so many of life's hardships. But literature can also act as a reminder of personal responsibility. In that sense, this short story recalls Charles Dickens ' Hard Times, which instigated change in the age of Industrialization (Victorian England). This story could also be compared to A Little Princess, the 1904 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Does this story make you re-evaluate your life, those things you cherish most?
What is the short story "Hard Times" about?
In that sense, this short story recalls Charles Dickens ' Hard Times, which instigated change in the age of Industrialization (Victorian England). This story could also be compared to A Little Princess, the 1904 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
