KULTURA / CULTURE
FROM ODENSE TO COPENHAGEN Walking with Andersen The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things, said this famous fairytale author, whose worlds have enriched the souls of children worldwide
She has been immortalised at the entrance to Copenhagen harbour, where she greets those arriving in this city that offers reminders of Andersen around every corner. From the H.C. Anders- en Fairy-Tale House beside the city tow- er, to the beautiful, colourful Nyhavn, where he spent a long time living at number 20 and wrote his first fairytales. The mermaid watches over the Danish capital, where, after many voyages dur- ing his lifetime, Andersen’s remains are also buried, in the lane of celebrated and worthy Danes. His works are specific because he doesn’t frighten fragile children’s souls with monsters and supernatural be- ings. The most beautiful are perhaps those in which there is almost no fanta- sy, such as The Princess and the Pea, The Little Match Girl or The Emperor’s New Clothes. Andersen also had a habit of bringing ordinary things to life, and with him even a lead soldier can suffer loneli- ness. Sadness is ubiquitous, irony seeps through the stories, but nobody remains indifferent to these fairytales, which aren’t exclusively for children. Today, almost 150 years after his de- parture from this world, there is bare- ly anyone who hasn’t heard of or read at least some of his works. Apart from the aforementioned works, there are al- so stories like The Tinderbox, The Swine- herd, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen etc. These fairytales, along- side which generations have grown up, have been translated into 40 languag- es, performed in theatres, adapted for the big screen, converted into cartoons... Andersen’s life actually ended up re- sembling one of his beautiful tales. He died in his 70 th year, on 4 th August 1875, wealthy and content with a life that he could only have imagined as a boy grow- ing up in the poor town of Odense.
H ans Christian Andersen, a man who left his mark on all the world’s childhoods, and is probably the most respected Dane of all time, was born in the Danish city of Odense in 1805. His father was a poor carpen- ter and cobbler, but he deserves plenty of credit for the path his son would later take. That’s because, despite him working purely to survive, he was fond of thinking of himself as an artist, which is why he designed and made toys that little Hans played with, far from other children. He was alone as he fantasised about the stories he heard from his father; he dreamt of a garden filled with won- drous beings, and today the kind of gar- den Andersen would certainly have liked to have seen exists and is located behind his birth house, which has been con- verted into a memorial to him. Stand- ing there still is the old oak tree, now 212 years old, that was planted the same year Hans was born. He would grow up alongside that tree until the age of 14, when he would set off, with no money in his pockets, to find his fortune in Co- penhagen. He was a tall man for the time. At a height of 185 centimetres, he was as
much as 25cm taller than the then av- erage. Skinny, ungainly and peculiar, he had charm that finally opened the doors of rich families to him, including those who would help him mould himself as a writer. He was very shy, but didn’t mind his long nose and short limbs. On the contrary, he liked looking in the mirror. Best testifying to how he saw himself is the fairytale The Ugly Duckling and the comment he once gave that “to be born in a duck’s nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan’s egg”. Still, due either to his shyness or his unusual looks, he never experienced happiness in love. He was in love sever- al times and loved girls, but his love re- mained unrequited. And that’s rough- ly his story. Perhaps it mirrors that very story from the Little Mermaid, about a girl who dreams of a prince she will nev- er have because she swapped her voice for legs, so she cannot tell him that she saved his life and is the girl from his dream. The prince will marry anoth- er, and our mermaid will again return to the blue briny until the end of the world and sing to enchanted sailors who hear the saddest sounds emanating from the depths.
54 | Danska » Denmark
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