O.T.

by Hans Christian Andersen

There is a happiness which no poet has yet properly sung, which no lady-reader, let her be ever so amiable, has experienced or ever will experience in this world. This is a condition of happiness which alone belongs to the male sex, and even then alone to the elect. It is a moment of life which seizes upon our feelings, our minds, our whole being. Tears have been shed by the innocent, sleepless nights been passed, during which the pious mother, the loving sister, have put up prayers to God for this critical moment in the life of the son or the brother.

Happy moment, which no woman, let her be ever so good, so beautiful, or intellectual, can experience -- that of becoming a student, or, to describe it by a more usual term, the passing of the first examination

This spring-day of life, on which the ice-covering of the school is broken, when the tree of Hope puts forth its buds and the sun of Freedom shines, falls with us, as is well known, in the month of October, just when Nature loses her foliage, when the evenings begin to grow darker, and when heavy winter-clouds draw together, as though they would say to youth, -- "Your spring, the birth of the examination, is only a dream even now does your life become earnest " But our happy youths think not of these things, neither will we be joyous with the gay, and pay a visit to their circle. In such a one our story takes its commencement.

Genres: Classics, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1830

About the author

Hans Christian Andersen (often referred to in Scandinavia as H.C. Andersen) was a Danish author and poet. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children; his stories — called eventyr, or "fairy-tales" — express themes that transcend age and nationality.

Andersen's fairy tales, which have been 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. Some of his most famous fairy tales include "The Little Mermaid", "The Ugly Duckling", "The Nightingale", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and many more. His stories have inspired plays, ballets, and both live-action and animated films.

Reviews

[Mariangel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t manage to feel sympathy for the main character, Otto, nor for his best friend Wilhelm. Otto is gloomy and melancholic, too much affected by his past to even try to enjoy his life. The main character in The Improvisatore: A Novel of Italy, on the other hand, had a luminous, pure and childlike quality mixed with his melancholy. The first chapters when Otto first gets acquainted with Wilhelm’s family in Copenhagen are similar to Andersen’s arrival into the city as he relates it in his autobiography, feeling shy and out of place.

[Maksym · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall - a good book but with a smudged ending which makes it ambiguous, what is truly happening. Normally-sized book of about 93k words.

The beginning is great and hints to a student novel, and so it remains, but the student burgher aspect is rather lost. Instead, Andersen spoils us with the characters' travels across Denmark which appears not gloomy or simply barren and cold, but full of life. The author is impeccable in painting an appealing picture.

The characters are mostly fine with some of the features prominent across the whole book (see how Otto always looks at the sky). Heinrich and Otto's relationship is strange though, and it's entirely unclear for what singular reason should Otto believe any of his words. It defies common sense. What happens with Heinrich at the end and the constant jumping between the time of action baffles and the book loses its charm because of that, although it mainly happens near the end of the story.

I wouldn't recommend it per se, but you might read it if you wish to see lively youth travelling across Denmark and acquire some pleasure in how they do it.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andersen paints a picture of the morals of Danes during the romantic period, when we follow Otto Thostrup who shares initials with his birth place Odense Tugthus (Odense prison). The morals are so old fashioned that they are almost incomprehensible today, but as a social study, the book is very interesting, especially if you (like me) are born in Odense city in Denmark.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales and having learned of his unrequited love for some of his male friends I decided to read one of his few novels with the hope that he would have explored these feelings more fully in them. However, and unsurprisingly given that the book was written in 1836, this novel turned out to be a classic coming of age story, if a little on the gloomy side. Telling the story of the title character as he completes his university exams, Andersen makes use of the familiar tropes of 19th century literature to highlight such aspects as how the nobility of a person can shine through their social strata, and how we suffer for the conditions of our birth. Although the novel does exhibit some subtle notes of homoeroticism, none of it is further explored and it is even used to alert us to the “true” love behind it. Though I have never been a fan of this type of literature, I was not surprised to learn that the book was well received in its time and am sure that even now some would find it charming.