Keeping It Real
One of the most starkly drawn thematic differences between the fairy tale of Hans Christian Anderson and nearly every major contributor to the genre from the Grimms to Charles Perrault to Russian folktales and Native American legends is that as much as possible Anderson tries to keep his stories contained with the real world. Actual geographic locations are sometimes referred to, the characters speak in the vernacular of the times in which Andersen wrote and even in a story that has to manufacture its own fictional universe like The Little Mermaid the details that keep it real are used. This represents a dramatic shift from the convention of fairy tale construction in that it essentially is making a subconscious suggestion to children reading them that there is something about this magical story that could really happen simply by virtue of it not taking place a long time ago in a strange and alien landscape unlike their own.
Sympathy for the Outcast
Andersen, after all, is the man who gave the world The Ugly Duckling. While that is certainly his most iconic and resonant outcast character, the duck would be a swan is hardly alone. The story of the Little Mermaid is driven by her feelings of not fitting in and the title character of the “The Brave Tin Soldier” has to look at 24 fellow warriors who all look like each other, but not quite like him. Andersen is a big supporter of the outsider, but he also understands the desire of not wanting to be an outsider. Therefore his tales are bit more complex than usual with no waiting around for a magical parent-figure to come along and make you into exactly what you were never intended to be.
The Wisdom of Innocence
Kids come off remarkably well in the tales of Andersen; much better off than the kids in other fairy tales. In the world of Anderson’s stories, kids maintain moral authority. Adults are prone to acting foolish as they engage in deception and carry out hidden agendas. This theme is most brilliantly on display in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” where the kids trust their own eyes and are not subject to the manipulation of more abstract thinking, but it also forms the basis for the lesser-known “The Shepherdess and the Sweep.” Indeed, throughout the work of Andersen runs a profound distrust of the effects of materialism gained in adulthood.
Transformation and Transcendence
A rather large number of Andersen’s characters undergo a significant transformation and experience a transcendence of one kind or another as a result. The Ugly Duckling transcends being a physical outcast even though the change is not really a transformation in the usual sense. On the other hand, the transformative instrument of chance in The Red Shoes is not the girl who wears the title footwear, but the footwear itself. In the case of the Little Mermaid, the transformation she desires results in a transcendence she never expected.
