Hans Christian Anderson Tales (1835-1872)

 

 I was a very imaginative child, who was constantly imagining his own worlds and seeing magic in the smallest of things. Reading Hans Christian Anderson's short stories brings me back to this state of mind. I did not read these stories as a child (though of course I was familiar with some of them due to animated adaptions), so it is not a sense of nostalgia I feel while reading them. It is rather something much greater. These stories reawaken the part of my mind that can see magic an everything and imagine worlds that no grownup can see unless they make themselves again like a child.

 I first truly discovered Hans Christian Anderson in college, when I read The Little Mermaid. I don't know what I was expecting but it certainly was not what I felt. This short story was one of the most beautiful and emotional powerful things I have ever read. The story stayed with me long after I finished reading it. The complex themes (about life, death and the immortal soul) as well as the incredible world it created would stay in my mind for the rest of my life. So naturally when I saw a book at Target entitled Hans Christian Anderson Tales, I could not resist buying it. 

This book features 64 short stories by the great writer. This includes some of his best-known work such as The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes and The Little Match Girl as well as some of his lesser-known stories. Not all these stories are literary masterpieces like The Little Mermaid. However, even the least of these stories shows that they were written by a great talent. Through the written word Anderson brings to life fantastic worlds. However, the fantasy is at its most absorbing when Anderson finds magic in the smallest things. In his stories even objects have life, thoughts and feelings. I can’t speak for others, but this is the way I saw things as a child, and it was wonderful and it was wonderful to return to that state of active imagination.

His stories also benefit from a strong sense of humor. This is one of the most important elements of his work. Like most fairytales, these stories function as morality tales. Having a sense of humor keeps these messages (many of which are overtly Christian) easy to digest and away from feeling didactic. It doesn't hurt that the humor

Like many 19th century fairytales, these characters often subjected to great consequences for their actions (often deviating from God's plan for their lives). In the worst of these stories this can come off as too cruel or alienating to a modern reader, who is used to children's entertainment focusing on the idea of redemption. However, in the best of these stories, the consequences are often presented as either tragic (The Steadfast Tin Solider, The Little Mermaid) or humorous (The Sweethearts; or, The Top and the Ball (this story made me laugh out loud)). The tragic stories really pull on your heartstrings and show just how well, Anderson can make you care about these characters in such a small number of pages. 

This collection of short stories is essential for anyone interested in 19th century literature and especially for those interested in classic children's literature. 

-Michael J. Ruhland.