Reverie (Hans Christian Andersen Paper)

Hans Christian Andersen writes,

“At this Christmas, I bring together what remains of my wealth: 156 fairy tales and stories. Let my last words be the violinist’s remark in THE PEN AND THE INKWELL: If what I have accomplished has any value, ‘The honor is God’s alone!’” (HCA, p. 1096).

Now, before reading any more of this paper take a moment to think about your life and the person you are now. What characteristics define you? How do you differ from other people walking down the street? Now ask yourself what makes you that person. Is it your clothes, your thoughts, your experiences, the image you give off to others? Perhaps it is numerous things combined. Are you sure about who you are, or have you never questioned it before?
The real question is - Who is the mastermind behind everything that exists? Sometimes it seems the world is based on this domino effect where each and every event that happens in one way or another shapes the next event. Perhaps this effect is what creates the person we become. In this essay, I will reflect on three of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales to illustrate the lessons we should all learn from our communities and from life in general.
Let us first examine Andersen’s fairytale, The Shadow. Andersen creates two characters in this tale to display the relations between good and evil through imagination, humanism and materialism. To begin with, you have a young man, a philosopher whose ideas are expressed through his books. He seeks to write about the true, the good and the beautiful in life and sets aside other people’s judgments to seek his own path. He is able to see others’ opinions and prevent them from halting his own ambitions. He has learned to question and seek the simple things in life in hopes of uncovering something much more complex. The scholar spotted a light, a healthy flower, and heard the sounds of music, which he found “exquisite”, and taught us that things we see or hear leave impressions on us and capture our attention, drawing us to explore them further. The end effect of this curiosity to explore is sometimes very positive; in other cases, it leads to problems. For example, our willingness to learn may teach us things that we may not expect. It is not always good that triumphs over evil, and further, if we never learn to balance the two, we may, in the end, destroy ourselves. The scholar learned both lessons a bit too late. He wanted so badly to learn more that he gave up everything he had and lost sight of who he truly was, an innocent man whose thoughts intrigued him to open his mind and seek more than that which he saw with his eyes. His shadow, on the other hand, rather than seeking this good in life, sought society’s materialism. After leaving the man for years, the Shadow returns only to accuse him of lacking the ability to understand the world. He thought of himself as very well educated and claimed to be able see the world as it truly is, an ability the man lacked. This teaches us it is important to identify the evils of life and the evils within ourselves. We must learn to accept our shortcomings and know how far to push ourselves, as we are only capable of so much.

When applied to life, this story can teach us many lessons. This innocent man had such a strong desire and interest for life that he gave up his shadow - everything he had - in hopes of educating himself and following his dream. The tale touches upon aspects of life, all of which shape the characters in it, just as we as humans are shaped. Each of us has a unique Shadow which is part of us, and which is an integral part of who we are. As a story presenting the relation between good and evil, Andersen seems understand things in a somewhat different way than most. Perhaps he is trying to tell society that both good and evil lie within us and together they must balance each other out. When the two are separate, often times you will see that evil does indeed have a powerful grip over what is good and just. Andersen presents this through the actions and decisions of the scholar and the Shadow and how, years later, he triumphs over the innocent man.

The Emperor’s New Clothes, another of Andersen’s tales, and perhaps one of his most read children’s fairy tales, is clearly about greed, though it has a deeper meaning many readers will not even pick up on. It is the lesson of innocence and honesty and where they lie within children as opposed to adults. In the fairy tale, the emperor is completely driven by materialism, as he shows little care for his kingdom; never attending theater plays, enjoying walks in the park, or even giving the slightest attention to his soldiers. When he hears of this new magic cloth that could be used to robe him, he immediately accepts the offer and shows a great interest throughout the story when anything regarding the making of his new clothes is dealt with. He is a prime example of how far some people’s greed extends.

However, along with greed, the lesson behind this story is that society needs to become aware of is this lesson of truth and lies. Each of the council members the emperor chooses to peek in on the weavers and see how his clothes look so far claimed them to be the most magnificent things they had ever seen; while in fact unable to see the fabric. Even in the end, when the emperor himself dressed in the “robes” he exclaimed how lovely and beautiful they were even though he was not able to see anything there himself. How could he claim not to see them though, for fear of being stupid or even unfit to be the Emperor? Of course, there was not one person out of the entire kingdom who spoke out either declaring could not see fabric.
Why is that? Why did everyone lie? Or perhaps the better question is-why wasn’t someone honest? For they all knew he was standing there naked. Is it not better to be honest than deceitful? The problem with society is that sometimes lies are a way of covering up the truth, and many times that truth is what we are afraid to face. The Emperor was unfit, but not because he could not see this robe he was given. The robe merely served as an insight into reality; some might refer to as a “wake up” call. No one was willing to admit that they had not seen a thing for they would be unfit for their positions, even the people of the town. However, once one innocent little child shouted out “But he doesn’t have anything on!” the whole crowd began to agree. Out of every adult there, the child was the first to admit the truth and then, because there was a little child who said he had nothing on, the crowd felt safe to shout it out themselves. Perhaps this is because we so often grow out of our innocence and put materialism and status before what it right - truth. We cannot live life buried in lies, hiding from the truth for if we do, we will be conquered by ignorance.

Life Lesson Number Three: There is always more to a story than what appears black and white and often understanding what it is can only come through reading between the lines. In The Pen and the Inkwell, Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “Even the violin and the bow appeared to perform independently of their master who guided them; it was as if soul and spirit had been breathed into the instrument, so the audience forgot the performer in the beautiful sounds he produced.” But still, the inkwell claims that it is the mastermind, the thinker, the brain behind every idea and the seed from which all poetry springs and calls the pen a servant. The pen argues the inkwell is merely just liquid existing only so the pen is able to express its ideas upon paper. Does this sound familiar? When the poet returns after a concert and takes out a piece of paper to write he describes how “the musician had enticed such marvelous sounds out of his instrument.” He explains that it was the whole instrument that played and not just the strings. The violin he said sang by itself and the bow moved by itself, regardless of who the musician behind it was. Yet, still the pen and the inkwell argued.

This story of The Pen and the Inkwell is written creatively and is similar to The Shadow because it investigates relationships among individuals and society, and character within individuals. It is interesting to see the characters and the art Hans Christian Andersen selects to base this tale on. By choosing a pen and inkwell rather than a paintbrush and palate, Andersen was able to personally relate to this work while still making it possible for readers of all different social, economic and professional backgrounds to relate to the work as well. After the poet had left, the pen and the inkwell once again began to quarrel with no end. This leads to the end conclusion of the story, where they still fail to recognize the relationship between the two of them and the work itself. Unlike the poet, they failed to identify a key concept: you yourself are not the flame of success; you are merely a single spark that lights it.
Could Andersen be right? Do we in society claim credit for that which we do not deserve? Is your shadow a reflection of who you really are? Do you take credit for every accomplishment you have made or do you remember everyone who helped you along the way? Society is full of pens and inkwells. The poet in this tale states, “How absurd it would seem if the bow and the violin should be proud and haughty about their accomplishments. Yet we, human beings, often are; the poets, the artists, the scientists and even the generals often boast in vain pride. Yet they are all but instruments upon which God plays. To Him alone belongs all honor. We have nothing to pride ourselves upon!” This lesson was very clear to Andersen. He recognized where talent comes from and worked hard to get to where he did. In both the Shadow and the Pen and the Inkwell, he then invites us to read between the lines of our lives, to look beyond first appearances, to appreciate all knowledge we are given, and to recognize those who have given us the ability to be who we are now. We must do this to help ourselves become more honest with ourselves at the same time. Then, when we can make distinctions where need be, we can live a truly good life.

Stop and ask yourself once again before putting this paper down and walking away - What has shaped your life and defines you, and how does that make you different from other people? Hans Christian Andersen gives credit where credit is due in his fairytale and states so at the end of his collection of stories. He tries to portray sorrow, intelligence, greed for materialism, and wit through all three of these fairytales. In the end though, he shows us that we must all work together to survive.

Society is like a domino effect. Without one thing, you cannot have another; your shadow will always be a part of you at times and shows the genuine difference between you and others; for no two shadows are alike. Your thoughts are not yours and yours alone, but are based on many different things: they come from religious figures, life-altering events, past experiences, and even conversations with friends. We must accept who we are and continue to strive to be the best we can be, while being careful not to loose ourselves as each of the characters in these three stories had. So, I leave you with one last question for you to think about before I end this essay. Are you living a fairy tale?