Here is a sample of different interpretations:
Fourth Story: The Prince and the Princess
[···] the boy who had passed the test set by the princess of that land, and so had married her and was now the prince. [···] into the palace and up to the bedroom where the prince and princess slept, [···] But the prince was someone else. However, the prince and princess were sympathetic and sent [···] on [···] way in a golden carriage, with plenty of beautiful warm clothing and dainty provisions.
Fifth Story: The Little Robber Girl
In a dark wood robbers attacked the carriage and killed the postilions, the coachman, and the footmen.
(No reference in the Seventh Story in this version)
Nu kan den så fortælle, at der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet").
Nu kan den så fortælle, at der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet").
Nu kan den så fortælle, at der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet").
- Julius Ernest Heuscher, 2003: ..."At the court of the newly married prince and princess, she (Gerd) still remains trapped in a nebulous world of make-believe. Hearing the story of how the prince had gained the hand of his princess because he was the only one who loved her unselfishly, provides Gerd's undertaking with new courage, energy, and direction."
- Roni Natov, 2014: Here, the princess "has read all the newspapers in the world and has forgotten what was written in them", suggesting that the world has not yet penetrated, both for good and for bad. She is still somewhat innocent and also somewhat ignorant. Her husband, the prince, came to her a commoner with boots that squeak, but became prince because he was not intimidated by her stature.
- This section (the Fourth Story) dramatizes Andersen's attacks on royalty and servitude. Here, among royalty, Gerda (the heroine) learns to differentiate between fantasies and reality. Interestingly, dreams whirl about as strange shadows that "have come to fetch their royal masters". From royalty and privilege Gerd is thrown into the underworld... Like bait, she is dressed from head to toe in the silk and velvet gifts of the princess and the prince, as she enters the dark forest... Immediately, the coachman, the servants, and the soldiers who had accompanied her from the royal castle are killed by highway robbers.
- Johannes Möllehave:
der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet"). han havde en ransel på ryggen,han havde en ransel på ryggen,
han havde en ransel på ryggen, hans støvler knirkede,han var så klog, at prinsessen faldt for ham.Prinsen og prinsessen hører hendes historie og vil gerne give hende en guldkaret, så hun kan drage ud i verden for at finde ham. Nu haster det mere end nogensinde. Hun får varme støvler og en muffe, hun kan stikke hænderne ind i. Der er kusk, tjenere og forridere. Prins og prinsesse vinker.Nu kan den så fortælle, at der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet").Nu kan den så fortælle, at der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet").Nu kan den så fortælle, at der har været mange friere til prinsessen, men ingen har vundet hende, før der en dag kom en lille person uden hest eller vogn, marcherende lige op til slottet. Han havde dejligt langt hår og skinnende øjne (Hans Brix mener, at H.C. Andersen her får sine barnlige læsere til at tænke på soldaten i "Fyrtøjet"). - Il Teatrino de Mangiafoco, 2014: In the Fourth Story, in the story of the prince and the princess, [···] a young man who has married the princess of that country. [···] into the palace (reggia) of the princess. However, the prince is not Kai. But the prince and the princess, stirred by the story [···], decide to help her and they give her a carriage [···].
- Paul Binding, 2014: The Fourth Story - 'Prins og Prinsesse', 'Prince and Princess', breaks, or at any rate temporarily dissipates the tension [···] In the Fourth Story, the newly married prince and princess in their castle have psychic appeal [···] The royal castle belongs to the temperate zone, in which Denmark lies. [···] The friendly prince and princess will provide [···] (appropriately enough) with fur boots for her entry into harsh northern terrain [···] Gerda visits the castle in the Fourth Story only because she is convinced [···] that the prince who won the princess through his clever liveliness must be none other then Kai. Wasn't he wearing for the fateful test-interview those new boots [···] so well remembered creaking? [···] the young man in his bed, one built to resemble a scarlet lily and of a pair with his princess's (whose bed looks like a white lily). She (Gerda) responds warmly to the couple (even to the point of accepting the groom's offer that she gets into his luxurious bed once he himself has vacated it!) [···] "How good people and animals are!" Someone with natural virtue sees virtues in others, and receives goodness from them in turn. The prince and princess give [···] not only boots, mittens, and new clothes for the long journey north [···] but also a carriage to ride in; leave-takings are warm and a little sad, because [···] affection towards her helpers. [···] It (the ambush by robbers) could have happened very soon after the departure from the castle, or after several days (for the carriage is lined with delicious eatables). (...) When the robbers fall on [···] carriage, they seize the horses and kill the postillions and coachman; (...) Just how much time (of either kind) has all this occupied? We cannot know precisely; Andersen does not wish exact knowledge to be ours now; it would vitiate the profound beauty of the story's close, which is more akin to Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale or The Tempest than to those of most nineteenth-century prose works. The fairytale, as opposed to the novelistic, medium was indispensable to his creative purposes here. [···] But since we bade goodbye to them -- not so long ago, it seems -- [···]; the Robber Girl now rides a magnificent steed that was once harnessed to the carriage given [···] by the prince and princess. The royal couple themselves have gone travelling in foreign countries.
- Ada Bonora - 2012 :
L’histoire du prince et de la princesse évoque un autre point de vue sur le problème des
apparences : la princesse souhaite épouser non pas un prince élégant ou beau mais un
prince aussi intelligent qu’elle. Elle a trop peur de s’ennuyer avec un homme qui ne serait
pourvu que de belles manières et de prestance. - Vivian Robinson, 1977: The world of the Fourth Story "represents riches or materialism, power, and artificiality. Here, Gerda (the heroine) sees the effects of court authority, the security of a place within the hierarchy of power."
- Wolfgang Lederer, 1986: The princess is a stage of female adolescent development: "the riddle princess who yearns for but fears womanhood and who therefore sets impossible tasks and obstacles for the men who woo her".
- (Lederer, full essay, 1986): "A virgin who will not surrender her virginity except to an exceptional man, one who can prove himself a real man by virtue of passing some special, difficult, and usually dangerous test. Over and over again this is the predicament of the virgin who wants to emerge from the flower stage (i.e. childhood) and to become a woman: she needs a man strong enough, courageous enough to overcome her own ferocious resistance and to help her conquer her fear of her own sexuality. In fact the demands of the riddle princess are well justified in both biological and psychological terms: a man fit to become a husband/father should be strong and clever, he should have proven himself (against other men, against nature, against his own fears and terrors) before a maiden may securely entrust herself and her eventual children to him. And if she is to trust him to be strong, he must at least be stronger than she, and must have proven it. [...] Her suitor must merely be able to talk to her without being overawed. She does not kill the man who fails; she merely exposes him to the ridicule of failure - but that alone would be enough to discourage many a man. It does not discourage the young lad in his creaky boots. [...] Both the boy and his shoes are tough and strong and unafraid to creak (to arouse ridicule) [...] She was thus sitting on a priceless jewel [...] We have no difficulty here in interpreting the "pearl" here both in parte and pro toto: it is her own jewel the princess is sitting on, and again: she herself is the jewel, the priceless pearl the young man wishes to win. [...] When they enter the bedroom, the chaste nature of the "arrangement" is confirmed. [...] The separate beds, shaped like lilies, and the fact that the bed of the princess is still white indicate that she is still a virgin. Is she then one of the "virgins" in the old, matriarchal sense - that is, a woman who remains sovereign over all men, who "gives herself" never more than sexually, who never commits herself and never belongs to anyone, and whose husband remains, at best, a consort? Or, more likely, is she herself still virgo intacta and the marriage unconsummated? [...] The riddle princess who yearns for but fears womanhood and who therefore sets impossible tasks and obstacles for the men who woo her. This constitutes a delay and a hesitation; a moratorium in which many a maiden has remained well beyond the fading of her charms, and beyond all hope."
- Francesca Matteoni, 2007 : "The Fourth Story displays ideas of knowledge and fulfillment."
- Wendy Donawa, 2003: "An opulent and learned court, the princess of which is so accomplished that she has read all newspapers in the world and forgotten them again. The courtiers, although elaborately ritualistic, are kindly too, in their own way [...] But there is something effete and bloodless about this court too, its inhabitants so elaborately learned, but shielded from the untidy vigour of daily life. So impotent are they that at night the sleeping courtiers cannot even dream without assistance from the animal dream world. The court’s refinement is not really Leah’s logopoeia, a dance of the intellect; it doesn’t have the energy and sinew to be a poetics, a making, at all. It is not a house of being; it cannot be provoked. And how might this courtly image speak to our curricular concerns? Any educational movement, to have vigor and longevity, must have intellectual and theoretical underpinnings, but what of ever-more-refined, subtle and self-referring conceptual ramifications that eventually seal themselves off from the active domains in which they should be embedded? “To be heard in the halls of high theory,” says Patti Lather (1996: 526), “one must speak the language of those who live there.” But to work with teachers in the difficult world of practice is to become aware of a current of impatience with academia’s insistence on strong theoretical curricular grounding. Let the wordspinners stay trapped in the palace of discourse with its elaborate protocols of tenure and promotion, say those in the field; let them stay trapped with the princess who has read all the newspapers in the world and forgotten them again. The provisional nature of “civilization” and the insufficiency of pure theory is shown by the next episode in the tale. [...] If the court is an elegant dream, the robbers’ castle is the cannibalistic shadow stuff of nightmares. Against the orderly refinement and decorum of the court, Andersen sets actual, animating sources of power: violence, savagery, appetite and drive unfettered by law or scruple."
- Megan Croutch, Strong Female Characters, 2013: "[···] another fascinating female character: a princess who is so clever that “she has read all the newspapers in the whole world, and has forgotten them again.” This princess decides to get married, but explicitly states that her prince will be someone intelligent and articulate, a man “who knew how to give an answer when he was spoken to--not one who looked only as if he were a great personage, for that is so tiresome.” She ends up choosing a suitor who had no intention of marrying her, but merely entered the castle in order to hear the princess’ wisdom. She chooses a husband who admires her brain, someone who, unlike the actual suitors, did not seek to win her but merely to hear her and enjoy her intellect.
The transition from the princess’ castle to the robbers’ woods marks the apparent shift from civilization to barbarism, from Disney-style aspirations to Grimm, violent reality." - Lisa Lieberman, 2008: "The prince and princess who took pity on her were completely out of touch with reality. They thought they were doing Gerda a favor by outfitting her with a golden coach complete with a coachman and footmen and outriders, all wearing golden crowns. The minute she left the palace grounds in this lavish get-up, robbers attacked the entourage, stabbed the servants, and looted the gold."
- Unknown Danish essayist, 2005: "(The young man) seems to be more rational than emotional. [...] There is not much real nature at the palace either. The bedchamber is riddled with flowers, but they are all artificial. [...] Like in "The Nightingale", we're speaking of a copy, an imitation, of real nature. Truly in precious metals, but does not even catch up with the original. [...] But the lifestyle lived at the palace is, despite lovely appearances, not suitable for a Romantic like Gerda. [...] (In the end) we are made aware that the royals are "travelling abroad"; they have repressed the natural elements so effectively, that they have either disappeared or are simply no longer needed. [...] Andersen does not support any of the sides (courtiers/highwaypeople). The explanation is that neither the residents of the royal castle nor those of the highwaymen's stronghold have had a spiritual dimension to lean on. The princess and her consort, who worshipped Reason and for whom love was something rather provisional ("She started to chant that old song, which starts: Why shouldn't I wed?") are nearly completely secularized. The closest thing they have to spirituality is that they have a room of pink satin, with artificial flowers decking the walls, and that the golden carriage they offer shines like the sun. The link to innocent faith, that could have [...] given life at the palace a little meaning, is nowhere to be found."
- ...a princess who has announced she will marry any young man who can come and talk to her as though he were at home. Most young men became so nervous at trying that they failed, but one lad finally appeared and said to the palace guards, "It must be boring standing on the stairs; I'm going inside." ...to the palace,... only to discover the prince... Very nice he is, as is the princess, and they listen to the tale and offer to outfit the trip north. "How good they are, human beings" , to remember that everyone met on the journey has been as helpful as he or she could be. ... and the snow queen can't be killed, and it takes ... plus... a prince, a princess,... just to release the lad with the glass in his eyes and heart.
- Anonymous blogger explains that supporting characters use power in different ways: "a clever princess who contrives to marry a man who is her intellectual equal".
- Oxford Fairytale Companion: "an assertive princess".
- Caitlore, 2013: "[···] a lonely Princess. Men come from all over to win her hearts, but have no such luck. [There was one suitor] who went to the princess not to woo her, but to hear wisdom. The Princess and "Kai" [Actually, NOT Kai] were taken with each other, and so he stayed."
- Laura Athena, in January 2013, has consecrated a shrine to the female cast of "The Snow Queen", devoting one of the altars to my favourite supporting character, whom she defines as: "a princess of surpassing cleverness and beauty":
The princess is a supplementary character who only appears in one of the chapters of the Snow Queen story - but she is nonetheless an admirable and inspirational female character, whose story hints at a much longer and grander untold narrative."In this kingdom in which we are now sitting, lives a Princess, who is so immoderately clever; but then she has read all the newspapers that are in the world, read and forgotten them again, so clever is she. Lately she was sitting on her throne, when she began to sing, and the theme of her song was "Why should I not marry?" "Well there is something in that, she said, and so she determined to get married; but she must have a husband who knew how to answer when spoken to, not one who could only stand there and look grand, for that is too stupid."
What a fantastic introduction to a character! And what a refreshing change from the fairytale standard of princesses being first and foremost beautiful! The Princess decides on her own that she wants to get married, and she then goes on to specify what kind of a husband she is looking for - one who is intelligent, unabashed by royalty, unafraid of her power and one who "feels at home' with her.
Andersen then goes on to describe the meeting of the princess and her husband-to-be:"He was merry and well behaved, but had not come at all to pay court to the Princess, but only to hear how clever she was. He had every reason to be satisfied with her, and she no less so with him."
Again, what a refreshing subversion of the princess trope! The princess' chosen husband is bright-eyed and merry; a poorly dressed "little person" - a wanderer with creaking boots and a knapsack on his back. No dragonslayer he - but one who can match the princess' intellect, rather than impress her with feats of arms.
As well as being clever, the Princess is later shown to be generous and sympathetic, willing to help Gerda into her new golden carriage herself without formality.Though her part is small in the overall story, and she and the Prince go away to "live in foreign places", one feels sure that such a great character must be the heroine of her own legend. - Feminist Fangirl, winter 2013: [...] "a helpful princess who heads a side plot in which she will only marry a prince as intelligent as her (!!!)"
- Anglophone Wikipedia: "The Princess (Prinsessen), who desires a prince-consort as intelligent as she, and who finds Gerda in her palace. She helps Gerda in her search for Kai by giving her warm, rich clothing, servants, and a golden coach. The Prince (prinsen), formerly a poor young man, who comes to the palace and passes the test set by the princess to become prince."
- The Snow Queen, Italian comic book review by Pietro Lombardo: "The two ruling young people personify humility and inner modesty. The two young rulers also symbolize humble and lovely parents, who make, out of their children (Gerda), people with an identity and self-reliance of their own. ".
- Elspeth, on the fusion fic with Susan Richards Storm as the Clever Princess and Reed Richards as her consort: "[Thanks! I wish I could say I took Sue's characterization straight from canon in this (because a Sue who could canonically write love letters in Latin would rock), but I actually took most of it from the original fairytale, where the Princess is the smartest person in three kingdoms (so smart that she's "read all the newspapers in the world") and wants a prince who is her equal. But since Sue is married to Reed, she must have married him for his brains rather than, say, charm or tact or looks because Reed's not bad looking, but Sue is definitely out of his league: hence making the Princess her.]"
- François Flahault, 1972: un couple « riche » (
constitué d'un prince et d'une princesse aussi spirituels et charmants l'un que l' autre) [···] - The Prince and Princess are apparently the nicest monarchs in human history. They give her the things she asks for, in a supremely grand and impractical way; the carriage is made of pure gold and lined on the inside with sugar plums and gingerbread, and the coachman and footmen are outfitted with gold crowns. So, basically flashy ostentatious gold everywhere. Sounds like the whole getup would be awfully tempting for highwaymen and robbers...
- A study guideTHE SNOW QUEEN STORY SUMMARY4. The Prince and PrincessIn the kingdom there lived a very clever Princess. The Princess decided she should get married, but she wanted to find someone who wouldn’t just stand around and be boring, or be intimidated by the grand castle. She wanted someone who was clever and cheerful. Many people came for her hand but they all became frightened and tongue-tied when they entered the castle.Then a young man came with long hair, intelligent eyes and poor clothes. He strode in to the palace and wasn’t at all shy. He was bright and interested in learning the Princess’ wisdom. They liked each other right away and he became the Prince....into the palace that night...Shadows along the wall swished past and it was the dreams of the Prince and Princess. They came to the bedroom and the Prince and Princess were each in a bed that looked like a lily....the leaves to peek at the Prince, and seeing his red neck......the dreams swept through the room, he woke and turned his head...The Princess woke and asked what was the matter....how kind human beings were! In the morning the Prince and Princess gave lovely clothes to wear and asked to stay with them. They gave a muff and boots and a coach of gold with coachmen and horsemen. Then they waved goodbye......asked her about the Prince and Princess. “They’re traveling in foreign lands,” said the robber girl.
- Lella Ravasi, 2006
QUARTA STORIA
Il principe e la principessa
...il principe che aveva sposato la bella principessa del castello, scelto tra mille per la sua intelligenza.
...nel castello, ...nella camera da
letto dei nobili. “Sentiva un sibilo passarle accanto. C’erano come delle ombre lungo la
parete: cavalli dalle criniere svolazzanti e dalle zampe snelle, giovani cacciatori e dame e
signori a cavallo”.
Ma il principe e la principessa furono molto commossi dalla storia...
“– Addio! Addio! – gridarono il principe e la principessa,---
E l’incontro con il principe e la principessa (elementi di maschile e
femminile positivi) non distrae, ma riconnette, restaura le forze, dona i mezzi per
continuare. Forse rappresenta la ricomposizione con una coppia genitoriale interna (di
fatto assente perché i genitori nella fiaba non ci sono) e anche l’amicizia con parti di sé
forti, il riconoscimento di un modo di essere prezioso. All’interno di questa storia ci sono
poi immagini che raccontano il popolo delle ombre che viaggia nei sogni: sibili, cavalli e
chimere che volano nella stanza, come ombre proiettate sul muro da una lanterna magica,
fantasie che diventano vere, illuminazioni poetiche di quanto di visionario riempie non solo
le nostre notti, ma il tempo degli incontri analitici, qualcosa che ricorda i versi di
Shakespeare:
"Siamo della sostanza
di cui sono fatti i sogni: e la nostra
breve vita
è racchiusa da un sonno."
dai principi – che però erano in viaggio – - Iben Sandra Svensson, 2008: The royal court and the prince and princess are to her representative of the dehumanized, materialistic lifestyle of nineteenth-century high society (DK. "spidsborgerlig" would translate as "grand bourgeois" or "high society"):
I eventyrets fjerde og femte historie... Til gengæld er historiernes tematiske
plan ret interessant, idet de er en klassisk romantistisk diskussion af den
spidsborgerlige civilisation over for naturen.
3.4 - Fjerde historie: Den spidsborgerlige civilisation
...til prinsessens slot, fordi den nykårede prins lyder som Kay. I slottets mange sale og gange oplever Gerda hoffets splittede forhold til deres egen natur. I dyb kontrast til den vældige blomsterhave er al bevoksning på slottet erstattet af simili:
”Nu kom de ind i den første sal, den var af rosenrødt atlask med kunstige blomster […] og nu
var de i sovekammeret. Loftet herinde lignede en stor palme med blade af glas, kostbart glas, og midt på gulvet hang i en tyk stilk af guld to senge, der hver så ud som liljer […]” (s. 230-‐231,
mine understregninger). I gangene svæver herskabets drømme og længsler forbi – skilt fra
menneskerne, som et billede på, at de ikke er en organisk del af dem selv og derfor ikke bliver
udlevet. Gerdas drøm om at finde sin sjæleven er på ingen måde skilt fra hende, og da hun opdager, at
den sovende prins ikke er Kay, lader hun sine følelser få frit løb. Desværre befinder hun sig i prinsen
og prinsessens sovekammer, hvilket skaber en del postyr. Da kongeparret hører hendes historie,
bliver de dog ikke vrede, men for at kragerne ikke igen skal forstyrre deres nattesøvn med
følsomme gæster, tilbyder de dem fast ansættelse ved hoffet. Prisen er blot deres frihed:
”>>Vil I flyve frit?<< spurgte prinsessen, >>eller vil I have fast ansættelse som hofkrager med
alt, hvad der falder af i køkkenet?<< (s.231).
Kragerne takker ja, og der går da heller ikke lang tid, før de er så mekaniserede af den spidsborgerlige
levevis, at naturen i dem langsomt forsvinder:
”[…]den anden krage stod i porten og slog med vingerne, den fulgte ikke med, thi den led af hovedpine,
siden den havde fået fast ansættelse og for meget af spise” (s. 231).
Nu hvor kragernes natur er tæmmet, retter prinsen og prinsessen deres blikke mod Gerda.
Umiddelbar og lidenskabelig som hun er, står hun i opposition til deres livsførelse, og derfor
skal hun tæmmes. De klæder hende nydeligt på, og da hun ytrer ønske om at forlade slottet,
foregår det i en karet af guld ”[…] foret med sukkerkringler, og i sædet var frugter og
pebernødder” (s. 231), så også hun kan forspise sig. Livet på slottet udtrykker et billede af en
materialistisk, spidsborgerlig livsførelse, der sætter mad og kostbarheder højere end kærlighed,
lidenskab og ægte natur. Dette billede står i voldsom kontrast til den natur, som Gerda møder i
femte historie.
3.5 - Femte historie: Naturen
Da Gerda forlader slottet, når hun ikke længere end til en mørk skov, før hun bliver overfaldet og bortført
af en røverbande. I det faldefærdige røverslot er der ingen senge af liljer
eller palmeblade af glas,
eller palmeblade af glas,
men i modsætning til den tæmmede og ufri natur på prinsessens slot,
er den i det mindste fri hos
er den i det mindste fri hos
røverne.
Hverken [···] prinsen og prinsessen (den spidsborgerlige levevis) har kunne andet end at opholde
og forsinke hende.
Translators: Maria Tatar and Julie K. Allen
Annotations and commentary to illustration: Maria Tatar
FOURTH STORY: THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS
The kingdom in which we are now living is ruled by a princess so uncommonly clever that she has read all the newspapers in the world and then forgotten every word printed on them --that's how clever she is. The other day, as she was sitting on her throne --and that's not nearly as amusing as people think --she started humming an old tune that went like this: "Why, oh why, should I not marry?"
"There's an idea," she said to herself, and she made up her mind to marry as soon as she could find a husband who would know how to respond when spoken to. She was not interested in someone who would just stand around looking dignified, because that would be really dull. And so she summoned her ladies-in-waiting, and, when they heard what she had in mind, they were delighted. "Oh, we like that idea!" they said. "We had the same idea just the other day!"
The next day's newspapers came out with a border of hearts and the princess's initials right by them. Any attractive young man, it said in the paper, was welcome to visit the castle and speak with the princess. The princess was planning to marry the man who seemed most at home in the castle and who spoke the most eloquently.
Young men flocked to the castle, and there was a lot of pushing and shoving, but neither on the first day nor on the second was anyone chosen. No one had trouble speaking well out on the street. The moment the men entered the gates of the castle and caught sight of the royal guards wearing silver and the servants wearing gold and then reached the brightly lit halls at the top of the stairs, they were struck dumb. Facing the princess who was seated on her throne, they couldn't think of a thing to say and just repeated the last word she had uttered, which she did not particularly care to hear again. It was as if everyone in the room had swallowed snuff and dozed off. As soon as they were back outside, they had no trouble talking. People were lined up all the way from the town gates to the castle.
On the third day, a little fellow, with neither horse nor carriage, marched boldly up to the castle. His eyes sparkled, and he had lovely long hair, but his clothes were in tatters.
He was carrying a little bundle on his back.
When he marched through the palace gates and saw the royal guards dressed in silver and when he climbed the stairs and saw the servants dressed in gold, he wasn't the least bit daunted. He just nodded to them and said: "It must be terribly dull to stand on the steps all day long. I think I'd rather go inside."
The halls were brightly lit. Ministers of state and various excellencies were walking about barefoot, carrying golden trays. It was enough to make anyone nervous! The little fellow's boots began to creak loudly, but he wasn't at all afraid!
Oh, they creaked all right! But he was bold and walked right up to the princess, who was sitting on a pearl that was as big as a spinning wheel. All of the ladies-in-waiting with their servant girls, and the servant girls of their servant girls, and all of the chamberlains, with their servants and their servants' pages, were standing at attention in the hall. The closer they were to the door, the prouder they looked. The page to the servants' servants, who never wears anything but slippers, looked so swollen with pride that one hardly dared look at him.
That must have been terrible! And yet the fellow still won the princess?
They say he spoke well. He was dashing and charming. He wasn't there to court the princess but to listen to her wise words. He liked what he heard, and she took a shine to him too!
...into the garden, down the tree-lined promenade where the leaves were falling, one by one. After the lights went out in the castle, one by one... the back door, which was standing ajar.
...on the staircase. A little lamp on a cabinet was burning brightly.
"It feels like someone is on the stairs right behind!"
...and something rushed past like shadows on a wall: horses with flowing manes and slender legs, gamekeepers, lords and ladies on horseback.
Those are nothing but dreams! They come and take the thoughts of their royal highnesses out hunting, which is good because then one can get a better look at them in their bed.
...the first room, which had walls covered with rose-coloured satin and painted flowers. The dream shadows rushed by again, but so quickly that one did not have a chance to see the lords and ladies. Each room was more magnificent than the next --almost overwhelming-- and then ... reached the bedroom. The ceiling in there looked like a huge palm tree with leaves of glass, priceless glass. In the middle of the room two beds that looked just like lilies were hanging from a massive stalk of gold. One was white, and the princess was sleeping in it. The other one was red, and if one bent back one of the red leaves, one saw the nape of a brown neck.
...the dreams galloped back into the room. He awoke, turned his head and---
The prince... Still, he was young and handsome. The princess peeked out from the white lily bed and asked what had happened.
"You poor dear!" the prince and the princess said.
The prince climbed out of his bed and let (Gerd) sleep in it. It was all he could do (for her).
"How nice people and animals can be."
...dressed from head to toe in silk and velvet ...to stay at the castle and live a life of luxury...
(Gerd) was given a pair of boots and also a fur muff.
...a coach covered in pure gold drew up to the door. The coat of arms belonging to the prince and princess glittered on it like a star. The driver, the footmen, and the postilions --yes, there were even postilions-- were wearing crowns made of gold. The prince and princess themselves helped climb into the carriage and wished good luck. The carriage was lined on the inside with sugar pastries, and on the seats were plates piled high with fruit and gingerbread.
"Farewell! Farewell!" the prince and the princess called out.
....................................................................................................................
They rode through a dark forest, and the carriage was like a torch. It shone so brightly that it hurt the robbers' eyes until they could stand it no longer.
"It's gold! It's gold!"they shouted, and they sped forward, seized the horses, and killed the driver, the postilions, and the footmen.
.................................................................................................................
...and asked about the prince and princess.
"They're traveling in foreign lands," the robber girl said.
The clever princess sits on the throne with crumpled newspapers at her feet --all the newspapers in the world that she has read and forgotten. She wears clothing that sparkles and glitters.
41. that's how clever she is.
Andersen was a master of what is known as crosswriting, producing texts that are directed at two audiences: children and adults. The satirical barb at newspapers is embedded in a tale for children and adds spice for the adult readers.
42. border of hearts.
The border of hearts provides an interesting contrast to death notices, which traditionally have black borders. The sentimental touch is in the style of a romantic.
43. the man who seemed most at home in the castle and who spoke most eloquently.
The princess is making somewhat unusual demands (no other fairy-tale princess seeks these qualities in a man), and Andersen may have invented these traits because they matched so perfectly his own strengths. He was, of course, an expert in making himself at home in the manors and castles of aristocrats and royals, and he prided himself on his eloquence and on the fact that he had provided Denmark with a "poet."
The riddle princess is found in myths and fairy tales the world over. These virgins execute suitors unable to answer their questions or to carry out assigned tasks. Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, is a milder version of the type, dismissing rather than decapitating the unqualified suitors. In his essay "The Theme of the Three Caskets," Freud meditates on the motif and shows how a story about making choices for the sake of love masks an obsession with death. This might also be seen as a tale in which romance and passion are deeply enmeshed with anxieties about mortality. Andersen's princess, in the subplot to "The Snow Queen," is more whimsical and eccentric than belligerent and bloodthirsty.
44.
Andersen creates comic effects by moving seamlessly from descriptions of courtly fashion (guards dressed in silver and servants in gold) and the protocols and players of royal life (ministers of state, various excellencies, and a princess sitting on a throne) to the buffoon-like behaviour of the suitors, who parrot the princess's words.
45. The little fellow's boots began to creak loudly.
At his confirmation, Andersen prided himself on a new pair of boots: "My delight was extreme; my only fear was that some people would not see them, and therefore I drew them up over my trousers and marched through the church. The boots creaked, and that pleased me no end, for the congregation would know that they were brand new. I felt a terrible sense of guilt."
46. A pearl that was as big as a spinning wheel.
A precious stone with many layers, the pearl seems an odd object to serve as a throne. Its round shape and colour could be seen as evoking the moon, and its use as a throne offers a humorous touch. The allusion to a spinning wheel connects the story to the instrument whose use often provided the occasion for oral storytelling, and adds a humble touch to the royal throne. Here again, Andersen yokes a precious object with the homespun.
48. something rushed past like shadows on a wall.
Slavic folklore often features mysterious spectral horsemen representing various times of day. The hunting parties that haunt this particular castle are described as creatures from dreams, imaginative beings that can be brought to life in fiction, but that rarely inhabit fairy-tale worlds, where few characters have a dream life. Andersen had a deep fascination with the interplay of light and dark and the chiaroscuro effects produced.
49. two beds that looked just like lilies.
The chaste relationship between prince and princess becomes evident from the arrangement of the beds. The riddle princess remains locked in a state of virginal purity, unable to move to a condition of mature adult sexuality. This couple in "The Snow Queen" is presented as passionately drawn to each other, but without a trace of erotic desire. In real life, Andersen seemed unable to consummate a romantic relationship, and he makes sure that the couples in his fairy tales remain drawn to each other in powerful but chaste ways. Note the striking use of colour in this passage and how the attributes used to kindle our imagination and to help us visualize the scene have more to do with light and colour than anything else.
50. a fur muff.
She receives a carriage --one that is linked with sunshine through its gold-- [···] The carriage, with its bounty of sugar pastries, fruit, and cookies, represents pure wish-fulfillment for a child. The fetishizing of feet and hands, along with boots and muffs, is intriguing, given the chaste (and pious) register in which the tale moves.
.....................................................................................
"They're traveling in foreign lands":
The prince and princess, on the road to foreign countries, can be seen as a doubling of the leading characters (Gerda and Kai), with the prince and princess evoking adventure and voyages into the wide world.
Khac Ti Ang Thuyet, June 2014
Thesis on Andersen female characters (Excerpt)
...has supposedly married a clever and beautiful princess...
She (Gerta) is helped by the prince and princess, who give her a carriage and horse and a little pair of boots so that she might drive out again into the wide world...
the princess gives Gerda a pair of boots and a muff, a carriage and a horse, together with a coachman, footman and outrider, facilitating her journey;
...a clever princess who gave her (Gerta) a golden carriage and a horse.
These stories provide
all we need in the way of awesome images of very strong female characters, whether
good or evil: in the Fourth Story, the clever princess. They are very free in their
world. They are determined and strong-willed. They are able to make choices and
decide their own destinies. They can do what they like to make their own dreams
come true.
The princess is a supplementary character who only appears in one chapter of the
Snow Queen story, yet she is an admirable and inspirational female character. She is
clever and intellectual.
In this kingdom where we are now, there lives a Princess who is
very clever. She has read all the newspapers in the world and forgotten them
again, so clever is she. One day she was sitting on her throne, which is not such
an amusing thing to do either, they say. And she began humming a tune, which
happened to be: “Why should I not be married?”[...]. And she made up her mind
to marry, if she could find a husband who had an answer ready when a question
was put to him, not one who could only stand there and look grand, for that is too
stupid.
(Andersen, 1997, 226)
This is a refreshingly different way to introduce a character, and we find nothing so
witty, ironic, sophisticated in Grimms’ fairy tales' (18)
emphasis on a fairy-tale princess’ beauty rather than, as here, her intelligence and wit
– though in fact we do not know what this princess looks like. She decides on her own
that she wants to get married, and she then goes on to consider what kind of husband
she is looking for – one who is intelligent, “unabashed of royalty,” and who “feels at
home with her” (Andersen, 1997, 126). The man actually chosen by the princess is not
a prince but a wanderer, one with creaking boots and a knapsack on his back.
However, he is “a picture of good looks and gallantry, and then he had not come with
any idea of wooing the Princess, but simply to hear her wisdom, he admired her just
as much as she admired him” (Andersen, 1997, 129). He does not slay any dragon, but
he can match the princess’s intellect with his own rather than impressing her with
victories. Just as our looks may fade; our wealth and status might also be diminished:
only our intellect and wisdom can last. The princess is not only clever; she is generous
and sympathetic as well. She is willing to help Gerda with her new golden carriage.
At the end of the tale, the princess and her husband go away “to live in foreign
countries”. They are free, totally not bound by the traditional social roles.
(18) This would be true even if we only heard the author, or the Raven, or the princess speaking there, but in fact we hear all three in this complex passage that combines three narrative-discursive levels.
Just like the princess, the robber girl is a very inspirational and admirable
female character. Her reward is her “complete freedom”.
ROSANA DA SILVA SANTOS, 2014
A história de uma princesa que queria casar-se e para conseguir tal feito os candidatos a noivo deveriam falar bem e agradar-lhe. A princesa gostou de um rapaz.
... agora com bons trajes, botas e uma carruagem que lhe foram presenteados pelo príncipe e pela princesa.
Na quarta história, sobre um príncipe e uma princesa, o ambiente é outro e o tempo passou. Já é inverno. No conto “A rainha da neve”, o espaço físico se altera à medida que a ação se desenvolve. O espaço, além de marcar, geograficamente, o local onde ocorre a ação, vincula-se ao espaço psicológico das protagonistas.
A história de uma princesa que queria casar-se com alguém que, além de boa aparência, soubesse responder quando ela lhe falasse, pois considerava-se muito inteligente.
O noivo escolhido para desposá-la.
No terceiro dia de apresentação dos pretendentes, surgiu um rapaz com a seguinte descrição: “[...] um sujeito miúdo, sem cavalo, nem carro, marchando, audacioso e confiante, até o palácio. Os olhos dele brilhavam. Tinha lindos cabelos compridos, mas vinha pobremente trajado” (HANSSEN, 1981, p. 281). Além disso, trazia às costas uma grande mochila e suas botinas rangiam.
Outro aspecto mencionado relacionava-se à inteligência do candidato.
No caminho para os aposentos reais, passam os sonhos dos nobres. O sonho é outro elemento importante na narrativa.
Nos aposentos, Gerda encontra o príncipe e a princesa, cada qual em suas camas,
e conta-lhes sua história. O príncipe dá sua cama para a menina descansar. Ela tem seu segundo monólogo interior: “Como são bons os homens e animais!” (HANSSEN, 1981, p. 284).
No dia seguinte, o príncipe e a princesa presenteiam-na com vestido, sapatos e uma bela carruagem com cocheiros e criados.
dando início à quinta história. Esta história, quinta, é sobre a filhinha dos salteadores e inicia-se descrevendo uma estrada escura onde a carruagem brilha como ouro e chama a atenção de salteadores que
matam o cocheiro, os criados...
De trenó, eles partem para a floresta e encontram a filha dos salteadores, que lhes conta que o príncipe e a princesa viajaram para o estrangeiro.
As personagens secundárias não saem de seu núcleo temático.
Morgens Paahus (2005)
Excerpt from H.C. Andersens livsfilosofi (The Life Philosophy of H.C. Andersen)
translated directly from the Danish by the mistress of this blog
A reality phase, where one learns independence and self-confidence and also learns to escape from the different decadence possibilities of this phase: one of which is calculating reason.
[...] - this is the second stage - to be independent and true to oneself. These skills are the ones described in the account of the little lively chap with "fine thick flowing hair, but whose clothes are shabby," who wins the princess, even though he, unlike all the others, has not come to woo the princess, but "only to hear her wise conversation," which he, thus, "liked very well." In this story, it is stressed that this skill to be oneself is something that is far from selfishness and calculations. All other suitors, except the little lively chap, are after all selfish and calculating, besides that they lose their speech (id est, lose their selves) when confused by all of the elegance that surrounds the princess.
Märchensammler, April 2012: (Vierte Geschichte) Es ist schon genial, wie Hr. Andersen hier ein Märchen im Märchen mit Träumen auf rasenden Pferden erzählt und dabei sämtliche Märchenklischees aufmischt. Wenn nicht der König die Aufgabe an den Bewerber stellt, sondern die scheinbar emanzipierte und noch hochgebildete Prinzessin selbst und der Held dann auch nicht schön – na gut, schon schön – und mutig sein soll, sondern vor allem klug und schlagfertig. Und nicht langweilig.
Ashe, 20th of May 2015 (on fear of female power and social restrictions):
Translators: Maria Tatar and Julie K. Allen
Annotations and commentary to illustration: Maria Tatar
FOURTH STORY: THE PRINCE AND THE PRINCESS
The kingdom in which we are now living is ruled by a princess so uncommonly clever that she has read all the newspapers in the world and then forgotten every word printed on them --that's how clever she is. The other day, as she was sitting on her throne --and that's not nearly as amusing as people think --she started humming an old tune that went like this: "Why, oh why, should I not marry?"
"There's an idea," she said to herself, and she made up her mind to marry as soon as she could find a husband who would know how to respond when spoken to. She was not interested in someone who would just stand around looking dignified, because that would be really dull. And so she summoned her ladies-in-waiting, and, when they heard what she had in mind, they were delighted. "Oh, we like that idea!" they said. "We had the same idea just the other day!"
The next day's newspapers came out with a border of hearts and the princess's initials right by them. Any attractive young man, it said in the paper, was welcome to visit the castle and speak with the princess. The princess was planning to marry the man who seemed most at home in the castle and who spoke the most eloquently.
Young men flocked to the castle, and there was a lot of pushing and shoving, but neither on the first day nor on the second was anyone chosen. No one had trouble speaking well out on the street. The moment the men entered the gates of the castle and caught sight of the royal guards wearing silver and the servants wearing gold and then reached the brightly lit halls at the top of the stairs, they were struck dumb. Facing the princess who was seated on her throne, they couldn't think of a thing to say and just repeated the last word she had uttered, which she did not particularly care to hear again. It was as if everyone in the room had swallowed snuff and dozed off. As soon as they were back outside, they had no trouble talking. People were lined up all the way from the town gates to the castle.
On the third day, a little fellow, with neither horse nor carriage, marched boldly up to the castle. His eyes sparkled, and he had lovely long hair, but his clothes were in tatters.
He was carrying a little bundle on his back.
When he marched through the palace gates and saw the royal guards dressed in silver and when he climbed the stairs and saw the servants dressed in gold, he wasn't the least bit daunted. He just nodded to them and said: "It must be terribly dull to stand on the steps all day long. I think I'd rather go inside."
The halls were brightly lit. Ministers of state and various excellencies were walking about barefoot, carrying golden trays. It was enough to make anyone nervous! The little fellow's boots began to creak loudly, but he wasn't at all afraid!
Oh, they creaked all right! But he was bold and walked right up to the princess, who was sitting on a pearl that was as big as a spinning wheel. All of the ladies-in-waiting with their servant girls, and the servant girls of their servant girls, and all of the chamberlains, with their servants and their servants' pages, were standing at attention in the hall. The closer they were to the door, the prouder they looked. The page to the servants' servants, who never wears anything but slippers, looked so swollen with pride that one hardly dared look at him.
That must have been terrible! And yet the fellow still won the princess?
They say he spoke well. He was dashing and charming. He wasn't there to court the princess but to listen to her wise words. He liked what he heard, and she took a shine to him too!
...into the garden, down the tree-lined promenade where the leaves were falling, one by one. After the lights went out in the castle, one by one... the back door, which was standing ajar.
...on the staircase. A little lamp on a cabinet was burning brightly.
"It feels like someone is on the stairs right behind!"
...and something rushed past like shadows on a wall: horses with flowing manes and slender legs, gamekeepers, lords and ladies on horseback.
Those are nothing but dreams! They come and take the thoughts of their royal highnesses out hunting, which is good because then one can get a better look at them in their bed.
...the first room, which had walls covered with rose-coloured satin and painted flowers. The dream shadows rushed by again, but so quickly that one did not have a chance to see the lords and ladies. Each room was more magnificent than the next --almost overwhelming-- and then ... reached the bedroom. The ceiling in there looked like a huge palm tree with leaves of glass, priceless glass. In the middle of the room two beds that looked just like lilies were hanging from a massive stalk of gold. One was white, and the princess was sleeping in it. The other one was red, and if one bent back one of the red leaves, one saw the nape of a brown neck.
...the dreams galloped back into the room. He awoke, turned his head and---
The prince... Still, he was young and handsome. The princess peeked out from the white lily bed and asked what had happened.
"You poor dear!" the prince and the princess said.
The prince climbed out of his bed and let (Gerd) sleep in it. It was all he could do (for her).
"How nice people and animals can be."
...dressed from head to toe in silk and velvet ...to stay at the castle and live a life of luxury...
(Gerd) was given a pair of boots and also a fur muff.
...a coach covered in pure gold drew up to the door. The coat of arms belonging to the prince and princess glittered on it like a star. The driver, the footmen, and the postilions --yes, there were even postilions-- were wearing crowns made of gold. The prince and princess themselves helped climb into the carriage and wished good luck. The carriage was lined on the inside with sugar pastries, and on the seats were plates piled high with fruit and gingerbread.
"Farewell! Farewell!" the prince and the princess called out.
....................................................................................................................
They rode through a dark forest, and the carriage was like a torch. It shone so brightly that it hurt the robbers' eyes until they could stand it no longer.
"It's gold! It's gold!"they shouted, and they sped forward, seized the horses, and killed the driver, the postilions, and the footmen.
.................................................................................................................
...and asked about the prince and princess.
"They're traveling in foreign lands," the robber girl said.
EDMUND DULAC
The clever princess sits on the throne with crumpled newspapers at her feet --all the newspapers in the world that she has read and forgotten. She wears clothing that sparkles and glitters.
41. that's how clever she is.
Andersen was a master of what is known as crosswriting, producing texts that are directed at two audiences: children and adults. The satirical barb at newspapers is embedded in a tale for children and adds spice for the adult readers.
42. border of hearts.
The border of hearts provides an interesting contrast to death notices, which traditionally have black borders. The sentimental touch is in the style of a romantic.
43. the man who seemed most at home in the castle and who spoke most eloquently.
The princess is making somewhat unusual demands (no other fairy-tale princess seeks these qualities in a man), and Andersen may have invented these traits because they matched so perfectly his own strengths. He was, of course, an expert in making himself at home in the manors and castles of aristocrats and royals, and he prided himself on his eloquence and on the fact that he had provided Denmark with a "poet."
The riddle princess is found in myths and fairy tales the world over. These virgins execute suitors unable to answer their questions or to carry out assigned tasks. Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, is a milder version of the type, dismissing rather than decapitating the unqualified suitors. In his essay "The Theme of the Three Caskets," Freud meditates on the motif and shows how a story about making choices for the sake of love masks an obsession with death. This might also be seen as a tale in which romance and passion are deeply enmeshed with anxieties about mortality. Andersen's princess, in the subplot to "The Snow Queen," is more whimsical and eccentric than belligerent and bloodthirsty.
44.
Andersen creates comic effects by moving seamlessly from descriptions of courtly fashion (guards dressed in silver and servants in gold) and the protocols and players of royal life (ministers of state, various excellencies, and a princess sitting on a throne) to the buffoon-like behaviour of the suitors, who parrot the princess's words.
45. The little fellow's boots began to creak loudly.
At his confirmation, Andersen prided himself on a new pair of boots: "My delight was extreme; my only fear was that some people would not see them, and therefore I drew them up over my trousers and marched through the church. The boots creaked, and that pleased me no end, for the congregation would know that they were brand new. I felt a terrible sense of guilt."
46. A pearl that was as big as a spinning wheel.
A precious stone with many layers, the pearl seems an odd object to serve as a throne. Its round shape and colour could be seen as evoking the moon, and its use as a throne offers a humorous touch. The allusion to a spinning wheel connects the story to the instrument whose use often provided the occasion for oral storytelling, and adds a humble touch to the royal throne. Here again, Andersen yokes a precious object with the homespun.
48. something rushed past like shadows on a wall.
Slavic folklore often features mysterious spectral horsemen representing various times of day. The hunting parties that haunt this particular castle are described as creatures from dreams, imaginative beings that can be brought to life in fiction, but that rarely inhabit fairy-tale worlds, where few characters have a dream life. Andersen had a deep fascination with the interplay of light and dark and the chiaroscuro effects produced.
49. two beds that looked just like lilies.
The chaste relationship between prince and princess becomes evident from the arrangement of the beds. The riddle princess remains locked in a state of virginal purity, unable to move to a condition of mature adult sexuality. This couple in "The Snow Queen" is presented as passionately drawn to each other, but without a trace of erotic desire. In real life, Andersen seemed unable to consummate a romantic relationship, and he makes sure that the couples in his fairy tales remain drawn to each other in powerful but chaste ways. Note the striking use of colour in this passage and how the attributes used to kindle our imagination and to help us visualize the scene have more to do with light and colour than anything else.
50. a fur muff.
She receives a carriage --one that is linked with sunshine through its gold-- [···] The carriage, with its bounty of sugar pastries, fruit, and cookies, represents pure wish-fulfillment for a child. The fetishizing of feet and hands, along with boots and muffs, is intriguing, given the chaste (and pious) register in which the tale moves.
.....................................................................................
"They're traveling in foreign lands":
The prince and princess, on the road to foreign countries, can be seen as a doubling of the leading characters (Gerda and Kai), with the prince and princess evoking adventure and voyages into the wide world.
Khac Ti Ang Thuyet, June 2014
Thesis on Andersen female characters (Excerpt)
...has supposedly married a clever and beautiful princess...
She (Gerta) is helped by the prince and princess, who give her a carriage and horse and a little pair of boots so that she might drive out again into the wide world...
the princess gives Gerda a pair of boots and a muff, a carriage and a horse, together with a coachman, footman and outrider, facilitating her journey;
...a clever princess who gave her (Gerta) a golden carriage and a horse.
These stories provide
all we need in the way of awesome images of very strong female characters, whether
good or evil: in the Fourth Story, the clever princess. They are very free in their
world. They are determined and strong-willed. They are able to make choices and
decide their own destinies. They can do what they like to make their own dreams
come true.
The princess is a supplementary character who only appears in one chapter of the
Snow Queen story, yet she is an admirable and inspirational female character. She is
clever and intellectual.
In this kingdom where we are now, there lives a Princess who is
very clever. She has read all the newspapers in the world and forgotten them
again, so clever is she. One day she was sitting on her throne, which is not such
an amusing thing to do either, they say. And she began humming a tune, which
happened to be: “Why should I not be married?”[...]. And she made up her mind
to marry, if she could find a husband who had an answer ready when a question
was put to him, not one who could only stand there and look grand, for that is too
stupid.
(Andersen, 1997, 226)
This is a refreshingly different way to introduce a character, and we find nothing so
witty, ironic, sophisticated in Grimms’ fairy tales' (18)
emphasis on a fairy-tale princess’ beauty rather than, as here, her intelligence and wit
– though in fact we do not know what this princess looks like. She decides on her own
that she wants to get married, and she then goes on to consider what kind of husband
she is looking for – one who is intelligent, “unabashed of royalty,” and who “feels at
home with her” (Andersen, 1997, 126). The man actually chosen by the princess is not
a prince but a wanderer, one with creaking boots and a knapsack on his back.
However, he is “a picture of good looks and gallantry, and then he had not come with
any idea of wooing the Princess, but simply to hear her wisdom, he admired her just
as much as she admired him” (Andersen, 1997, 129). He does not slay any dragon, but
he can match the princess’s intellect with his own rather than impressing her with
victories. Just as our looks may fade; our wealth and status might also be diminished:
only our intellect and wisdom can last. The princess is not only clever; she is generous
and sympathetic as well. She is willing to help Gerda with her new golden carriage.
At the end of the tale, the princess and her husband go away “to live in foreign
countries”. They are free, totally not bound by the traditional social roles.
(18) This would be true even if we only heard the author, or the Raven, or the princess speaking there, but in fact we hear all three in this complex passage that combines three narrative-discursive levels.
Just like the princess, the robber girl is a very inspirational and admirable
female character. Her reward is her “complete freedom”.
ROSANA DA SILVA SANTOS, 2014
A história de uma princesa que queria casar-se e para conseguir tal feito os candidatos a noivo deveriam falar bem e agradar-lhe. A princesa gostou de um rapaz.
... agora com bons trajes, botas e uma carruagem que lhe foram presenteados pelo príncipe e pela princesa.
Na quarta história, sobre um príncipe e uma princesa, o ambiente é outro e o tempo passou. Já é inverno. No conto “A rainha da neve”, o espaço físico se altera à medida que a ação se desenvolve. O espaço, além de marcar, geograficamente, o local onde ocorre a ação, vincula-se ao espaço psicológico das protagonistas.
A história de uma princesa que queria casar-se com alguém que, além de boa aparência, soubesse responder quando ela lhe falasse, pois considerava-se muito inteligente.
O noivo escolhido para desposá-la.
No terceiro dia de apresentação dos pretendentes, surgiu um rapaz com a seguinte descrição: “[...] um sujeito miúdo, sem cavalo, nem carro, marchando, audacioso e confiante, até o palácio. Os olhos dele brilhavam. Tinha lindos cabelos compridos, mas vinha pobremente trajado” (HANSSEN, 1981, p. 281). Além disso, trazia às costas uma grande mochila e suas botinas rangiam.
Outro aspecto mencionado relacionava-se à inteligência do candidato.
No caminho para os aposentos reais, passam os sonhos dos nobres. O sonho é outro elemento importante na narrativa.
Nos aposentos, Gerda encontra o príncipe e a princesa, cada qual em suas camas,
e conta-lhes sua história. O príncipe dá sua cama para a menina descansar. Ela tem seu segundo monólogo interior: “Como são bons os homens e animais!” (HANSSEN, 1981, p. 284).
No dia seguinte, o príncipe e a princesa presenteiam-na com vestido, sapatos e uma bela carruagem com cocheiros e criados.
dando início à quinta história. Esta história, quinta, é sobre a filhinha dos salteadores e inicia-se descrevendo uma estrada escura onde a carruagem brilha como ouro e chama a atenção de salteadores que
matam o cocheiro, os criados...
De trenó, eles partem para a floresta e encontram a filha dos salteadores, que lhes conta que o príncipe e a princesa viajaram para o estrangeiro.
As personagens secundárias não saem de seu núcleo temático.
Morgens Paahus (2005)
Excerpt from H.C. Andersens livsfilosofi (The Life Philosophy of H.C. Andersen)
translated directly from the Danish by the mistress of this blog
A reality phase, where one learns independence and self-confidence and also learns to escape from the different decadence possibilities of this phase: one of which is calculating reason.
[...] - this is the second stage - to be independent and true to oneself. These skills are the ones described in the account of the little lively chap with "fine thick flowing hair, but whose clothes are shabby," who wins the princess, even though he, unlike all the others, has not come to woo the princess, but "only to hear her wise conversation," which he, thus, "liked very well." In this story, it is stressed that this skill to be oneself is something that is far from selfishness and calculations. All other suitors, except the little lively chap, are after all selfish and calculating, besides that they lose their speech (id est, lose their selves) when confused by all of the elegance that surrounds the princess.
Märchensammler, April 2012: (Vierte Geschichte) Es ist schon genial, wie Hr. Andersen hier ein Märchen im Märchen mit Träumen auf rasenden Pferden erzählt und dabei sämtliche Märchenklischees aufmischt. Wenn nicht der König die Aufgabe an den Bewerber stellt, sondern die scheinbar emanzipierte und noch hochgebildete Prinzessin selbst und der Held dann auch nicht schön – na gut, schon schön – und mutig sein soll, sondern vor allem klug und schlagfertig. Und nicht langweilig.
Und nahtlos geht es weiter mit…
(Fünfte Geschichte) Okay, diese Geschichte ist mehr skuriler Alptraum, der – wie die es ja gelegentlich tun – auf dem vermeidlichen Horrorhöhepunkt kippt. Und dazu nach der ‚emanzipierten‘ Prinzessin nun die forsche Räubertochter ist ja auch nicht übel…
(Fünfte Geschichte) Okay, diese Geschichte ist mehr skuriler Alptraum, der – wie die es ja gelegentlich tun – auf dem vermeidlichen Horrorhöhepunkt kippt. Und dazu nach der ‚emanzipierten‘ Prinzessin nun die forsche Räubertochter ist ja auch nicht übel…
Ashe, 20th of May 2015 (on fear of female power and social restrictions):
The Snow Queen-Fourth Story-The Prince and the Princess
The
nearby Princess decided that it was time for her to be wed. She wanted
to marry a man who could actually talk to her and not lose his words
when he came into her presence. There had been many men, but only one
had not lost his words. All the other men forgot everything they were
going to say and would only repeat the last two words the princess said.
into the castle to have a look at the prince who would not be confounded with words.
They
would have to go upstairs to the room where the prince and princess
slept. As they crept up the stairs shadows of men and horses sped past
them upon the walls. These were dreams flying to their dreamers. They appeared as shadows upon the wall.
the room where the prince and princess slept, but the prince
He awoke and so too did the princess. In the morning, they straightened things out.
The prince and princess were very kind.
the prince and princess. They had gone traveling.
Themes
The
princess wanted a man who would not be intimidated by her. This story
was published in the 1800s. It’s not as if this story was from the 1500s
or the 1600s. Women had more of a right in the world in the 1800s than
they did way back when, but powerful women have always been admired.
While powerful women have always been admired, they have not been
admired as frequently as powerful men, and they were still looked down
upon to a degree. Speaking of the same women, they can also intimidate
men. Men can be a little scared of a woman who is smarter, more
powerful, older, richer, or any other number of “ers” and “mores.”
Men
have this idea in their heads, not all men, but usually men have an
idea in their heads of how their lives are supposed to work. They have
been told they’re the ones who are expected to be the provider,
breadwinner, the protector, and many other labels. When they encounter a
woman who challenges their idea of what they’re supposed to be, things
can get a little odd. Maybe a man is struck dumb at the sight of a woman
who is more powerful and has more money than he does. How many men have
had the chance to meet their celebrity crushes, only to act completely
stupid when they get the chance? Women do that too, by the way.
All
these men that had come to see the princess were intimidated. They took
one look at her and lost their places in the world. If the princess
already had her own money and her own kingdom and her own army, what
good were they? The prince who did come along, obviously wasn’t bothered
by any of these things. He either was comfortable with the fact that
maybe the princess had more or he was comfortable with being able to
offer the Princess other things and considered his other offerings just
as valuable to her. Because he had this attitude, he wasn’t intimidated
by this princess.
This
prince teaches us a valuable lesson. Maybe you don’t have all these
awesome things about you. Maybe you’re not rich. Maybe you don’t have an
army. Maybe you’re not skinny, or tall, or white, or you don’t have a
nice booty, whatever the case may be that you feel you lack in, you have
to consider that you may not actually be lacking. You have to have the
attitude that what you do have to offer, and even your perceived faults,
are things that are going to be valuable to people. You have to believe
that you’re good enough, even if you can’t afford caviar.
Overall
The thought of shadow dreams running all around the house when we’re asleep is kind of weird.
Weigh In
Do you think the prince and princess ended up being happy together?
Francesca Matteoni & Viviana Scarinci, 8th of December 2014
Principi, principesse e ragazze virili
l’atteggiamento diversamente felice con cui Andersen ritrae la vera principessa che abita la prossima porzione di storia
Francesca Matteoni & Viviana Scarinci, 8th of December 2014
Principi, principesse e ragazze virili
l’atteggiamento diversamente felice con cui Andersen ritrae la vera principessa che abita la prossima porzione di storia
il ragazzo che ha sposato la più intelligente delle principesse disponibili sul mercato delle fiabe.
Possibile che avesse trovato quel favoloso connubio di intelligenza e nobiltà in una donna, e che ciò lo avesse reso principe?
nei pressi della stanza più segreta del castello che custodisce il talamo dei neosposi, deve attraversare uno strano e popolato corridoio, prima di entrare nella camera da letto. Sono i sogni degli sposi a popolare quel corridoio limitrofo al sonno: cavalli purosangue, cacce, dame, cavalieri...
E infatti principe e principessa erano solamente principe e principessa: due giovani gentili e generosi che quando seppero, invece di cacciare a pedate quella strana ragazza che si era introdotta nottetempo nei loro sogni, la rivestirono di tutto punto e le regalarono una carrozza per andare dove volesse, e ai suoi due fratelli di volo, corvo e cornacchia, ritennero giusto restituire pari libertà.
Si viene a sapere che principe e principessa, dopo l’incontro, hanno preso la via del mondo, probabilmente stufi di una favola che li voleva così banalmente buoni e belli.
Deborah Eisenberg
Fragment from "In a Trance of Self"
...at a nearby palace...
Evidently the princess who lives in this particular palace is very clever, and, having become fed up with the longueurs of prestige and power, has decided to get married so she'll have someone interesting around to talk to. She's advertised for a husband, but it's turned out that only one boy---out of all those who applied for the job---a poor out-of-towner, is able to maintain his presence of mind once faced with the grandeur inside the palace and carry on a decent conversation rather than merely repeating what the princess has just said.
...up a back stairway, where dreams rush by ahead on horseback on their way to take the prince and princess out hunting. ...the bedroom... the sleeping prince's back... But when the boy turns towards, waking...
Deeply moved by the story, the prince and the princess equip with fur boots, a muff, a gold chariot stocked with treats, horses, and various supernumeraries with gold crowns...
As the retinue drives through the dark woods, a band of robbers, maddened by the glare of gold, seize the chariot and slaughter the horses and all the attendants.
In answer to inquiries, she (the robber girl) announces that the prince and the princess are off in foreign lands...
And we would then see the section of the story that concerns the realm of the princess ---her palace and her courtiers--- to be an elaboration of Andersen's feelings and ideas about worldly society.
Fragment from "In a Trance of Self"
...at a nearby palace...
Evidently the princess who lives in this particular palace is very clever, and, having become fed up with the longueurs of prestige and power, has decided to get married so she'll have someone interesting around to talk to. She's advertised for a husband, but it's turned out that only one boy---out of all those who applied for the job---a poor out-of-towner, is able to maintain his presence of mind once faced with the grandeur inside the palace and carry on a decent conversation rather than merely repeating what the princess has just said.
...up a back stairway, where dreams rush by ahead on horseback on their way to take the prince and princess out hunting. ...the bedroom... the sleeping prince's back... But when the boy turns towards, waking...
Deeply moved by the story, the prince and the princess equip with fur boots, a muff, a gold chariot stocked with treats, horses, and various supernumeraries with gold crowns...
As the retinue drives through the dark woods, a band of robbers, maddened by the glare of gold, seize the chariot and slaughter the horses and all the attendants.
In answer to inquiries, she (the robber girl) announces that the prince and the princess are off in foreign lands...
And we would then see the section of the story that concerns the realm of the princess ---her palace and her courtiers--- to be an elaboration of Andersen's feelings and ideas about worldly society.
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