Hans Christian Andersen

by Jack D. Zipes

The 2005 bicentenary of Hans Christian Andersen's birth is an opportunity to re-evaluate the achievement of one of the great figures of the fairy tale and storytelling tradition, a beloved writer famous for The Snow Queen and The Little Mermaid , The Ugly Duckling and The Red Shoes and many other now classic tales. Jack Zipes broadens our understanding of Andersen by exploring the relation of the Danish writer's work to the development of literature and of the fairy tale in particular. Based on thirty-five years of researching and writing on Andersen, this new book is a welcome reconsideration of Andersen's place and of his reception in English-speaking countries and on film.

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Jack David Zipes is a retired Professor of German at the University of Minnesota. He has published and lectured extensively on the subject of fairy tales, their linguistic roots, and argued that they have a "socialization function". According to Zipes, fairy tales "serve a meaningful social function, not just for compensation but for revelation: the worlds projected by the best of our fairy tales reveal the gaps between truth and falsehood in our immediate society." His arguments are avowedly based on the neo-Marxist critical theory of the Frankfurt School.

Zipes enjoys using droll titles for his works like Don't Bet on the Prince and The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Ridinghood.

He completed a PhD in comparative literature at Columbia University. Zipes taught at various institutions before heading German language studies at the University of Minnesota. He has retranslation of the complete fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you know this song:

Two and Two is Four
Four and Four is Eight
Eight and Eight is Sixteen
Sixteen and Sixteen is Thiry-Two
Inch worm, Inch worm, measuring the marigolds

If you do then you've mostly likely seen Hans Christen Andersen starring Danny Kaye. Kaye and Andersen only had two things in common (a) the nose and (b) bisexuality.

Andersen wanted to be a dancer, but Kaye could dance.

Jack Zipes doesn't much like Kaye's film, outside of the music. (In truth, does anyone remember anything about it other than the music?). Zipes doesn't seem to like many American versions of Andersen's stories.

Zipes rescues Andersen from the sweet, gooey, yummy culture.

Thank the gods.

This book isn't really a biography, and if you want to read a biography of Andersen check out Hans Christian Andersen: A New Life or Hans Christian Andersen. Because it isn't a biography, Zipes doesn't speculate about Andersen's sexuality or virginity endlessly the way some biographers do (not the above). (Honestly, am I the only one who doubts that Andersen simply paid prostitutes so he could read them stories?) Instead, Zipes focuses more on the critical view of Andersen works, focusing on Andersen's use of society, gender, and God.

While anyone familiar with Anderson's life and works knows that most, if not all, of his stories were tended for adults, Zipes shows that Andersen was concerned about story to show a worldview, not as socially aware as Charles Dickens, but still in reaction to his time and personality. Zipes focuses on the most well known tales: "The Little Mermaid", "Ugly Duckling", "Traveling Companion", "The Tinderbox", but Andersen's other works get space as well.

This book is a good overview for anyone approaching or intersted in Andersen.

[Klara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pravljica mojega življenja - H. C. Andersen

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a biography but a treatise on why Zipes believes Andersen wrote as he did and how publishers & filmmakers have presented and/or adapted Andersen’s stories.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched and thought-provoking biography of someone we all think we know from his stories...