In many ways, the very surreal and strange central motif of ‘The Red Shoes’ – the shoes almost comically dancing against their wearer’s will – is what makes the story so powerful. We can hardly blame her for this, given her poor upbringing when she had virtually nothing to call her own at all.īut Andersen is careful to let Karen’s descent into obsession unfold gradually over several pages, until she clearly crosses a line from mere naughtiness (wearing the shoes to church) to wickedness and selfishness (abandoning her dying guardian so she can attend the grand ball in the town). Karen wants to wear the red shoes and be admired in them. So the key themes of ‘The Red Shoes’ are vanity, temptation – specifically, the lure of luxuries and fine things in life – and redemption, specifically religious redemption. When he finally left, Dickens sprawled on the mirror in the guest room, ‘Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks – which seemed to the family AGES!’) (Curiously, the two writers admired each other, with Dickens even inviting Andersen to stay with him and his family although when Andersen refused to take a hint and didn’t leave, the Dickenses tired of him. Like Pip, Karen must undergo a chastening road to redemption, although the sacrifices demanded of her will be much greater: she must lose her own feet and then, in the end, her own life in order to be rid of the curse of the red shoes and welcomed back into the house of God. In some ways, then, ‘The Red Shoes’ prefigures the themes of what is Dickens’s most fairy-tale-inspired novel, Great Expectations (1860-61), where Pip forgets his family and neglects poor Joe once he has had a taste of life as a gentleman in the city. The kind old lady who had taken her in is, finally, abandoned on her death bed because the lure of the grand ball and a chance to show off her prized red shoes is too great for Karen to resist. Thereafter, she repeatedly uses deceit in order to be able to wear the shoes, including in church, where she knows they will be frowned upon. Karen is given a taste of the finery which the princess enjoys when she sees the red shoes in the shop and tricks her guardian, the blind old lady, into buying them for her. Andersen’s father was so incensed that he cut the shoes up in front of the woman.Īnd poverty is indeed an important element of ‘The Red Shoes’. Andersen’s father fashioned a pair of red shoes from the silk, using red leather (such as features in the story), but the lady refused to buying them, saying that he had ruined a perfectly good piece of silk. His father was a shoemaker, who was once sent a piece of red silk with the instruction to make some dancing shoes for the daughter of a rich lady. What’s more, Andersen was inspired by something he had witnessed as a child. There was little love between the siblings. Andersen named the story’s protagonist after his own half-sister, Karen Marie Andersen. Part of the mystery of the story is cleared up by learning about the tale’s origins, which – as is often the case with Andersen’s original fairy tales – deeply personal and autobiographical. What do the red shoes represent? And what does their insistent dancing mean? Is Karen being punished for liking fine things in life, or for neglecting religious contemplation, or both? But its premise is such an unusual one that it requires further comment and deeper analysis for its meaning to become fully clear. He died on 4 August 1875 from liver cancer.‘The Red Shoes’ is one of Andersen’s best-known tales and has frequently been adapted for film and the stage. Soon after that, Andersen showed signs of liver cancer. In the spring of 1872, Andersen fell off of his bed and suffered major injuries. He planned to use this rope as a fire escape if needed. He hoped travelling would make him even happier. He also fell in love with ballet dancer Harald Scharff.Īndersen was a happy and carefree man. He fell in love with several men and women. He was invited into the homes of rich and powerful people. After this success, he wanted to write more fairy tales.Īndersen's stories were popular all over Europe. In 1835, he published four fairy tales that were liked by the readers. He started to write novels, plays, poems, short stories, and travel books. Andersen wanted to be an actor or dancer. The king helped Andersen finish his education. At 14, Andersen left his mother and his home. His father was a shoemaker, and his mother washed clothes for customers. Hans Christian Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish writer.Īndersen was born in Odense, Denmark.
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