H.C. Andersen and themes in his fairy tales
Maybe you already heard about H.C. Andersen? You know some of his most famous fairy tales such as The little mermaid and The ugly duckling - and you have seen a few pictures of him, right?
But do you know all the typical themes and motives in his fairy tales? (http://www.pictures-of-veteran-cars.com/denmark_travel.html)
Themes in Andersen's tales
A very typical theme in his tales is something we could call ‘rising’. Have you ever noticed, that in the stories, we very often hear about a person who is very “small” in the beginning but becomes “large” in the end. If you read about H.C. Andersen, you will find the reason why this theme is central.
An ugly duck that realizes that it is a beautiful swane or a poor soldier that ends up marrying a princesse. This is all a reflection of his own life – from a poor unknown person that people would bully on to a great and world famous poet. (http://www.pictures-of-veteran-cars.com/denmark_travel.html)
Another theme is ‘the sublime’. In his fairy tales you won’t find anything sexual unless it is on the sublime level. This means that sexual matters are communicated in a symbolic way instead of directly.