The Suffering And The Saving In Andersen's Fairytales

Hans Christian Andersen(1805-1875), is well-known to the world for his fairytales. Most of the related reviews are more focused on his autobiography and correspondence than on his works. Not until the 90's, did Andersen's position as a writer rather than a mere storyteller begin to get recognized. And systematical study of his works thus started.In my thesis,15 fairytales of Andersen are examined, with almost all of his important works included. The heroes and heroines in these fairytales are sufferers of their miserable reality. Their painful existence, spiritual and physical, needs salvation. This study intends to discover the above recurring theme in Andersen's fairytales. The approach is seemingly paradoxical, for I have analyzed not only the sufferers but also the saviors.Introduction covers a survey of Hans Andersen's critical scholarship, the scope and focus of the present study.Chapter One "Painful Existence" analyzes Andersen's suffering heroes and heroines. It consists of two parts:"the physical pain" and "the psychic pain". The causes of the physical pain are mainly human mortality and witchcraft. Psychic pain refers to the lacked sense of belonging, both personal and societal. That's why both sociology theory and psychoanalytic theory are used.Chapter Two "Self-identification" centers on the sufferers' self-identification, which is the major way of self-rescue. It falls into three parts:"self-actualization", "self-deceiving" and "self-denial". Each part analyzes a way of self-identification. Self-actualization is the means of those characters who constantly pursue their own identity and finally find one. Self-deceiving is the means of those character who identify themselves as someone better in order to feel good about themselves and to escape the reality. Self-denial is the way of those characters who don't like their actual identity and passionately pursue some other identity which doesn't suit them. N. Alias's sociology theory and Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theory will be employed to explain why different characters chose different ways. And Andersen's own striving will be introduced.Chapter Three "Women Sacrifice" analyzes the salvation brought by others, mainly by female characters. It consists of three parts:"the compelling heroines", "women as saviors" and "Andersen's expectation for women". The first part is an introduction to the general image of Andersen's female characters. This is necessary for the better understanding of women sacrifice. The second part "Women as Saviors" analyzes two kinds of saviors:the mother saviors who rescue their child, and the female characters who rescue male families or lovers. The last part attempts to explore the inner reason why women's sacrifice is such an important theme in Andersen's fairytales. Feminism and psychoanalytic theory will be applied to develop the interpretation, interwoven with Andersen's life story.The suffering and saving pattern is a new angle of exploring Andersen's fairytales, the mysterious and tragic world whose aura has never withered. It is my hope that more understanding can be achieved in the true spirit of Andersen's great works, and I hope my MA thesis can make a due contribution and shed some new illumination.