Hans Christian Andersen: The Architect of the Literary Fairy Tale and the Voice of Innocence

Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was a Danish author, born in Odense to a poor family. He wrote novels, plays, and travel books, but he is remembered above all for the fairy tales he published from 1835 onward, among them The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Unlike many collectors of folk tales, Andersen invented most of his stories himself, and he wrote them in a light, spoken style that speaks to children and adults at once. Readers who love E.T.A. Hoffmann, Washington Irving, or Jane Austen will recognise the same mixture of humour, sadness, and sharp observation.

This collection contains 11 sentences from an English collection in the public-domain text on Project Gutenberg. They come from four tales, are arranged by story, and are quoted exactly as printed.

11 Quotes from Hans Christian Andersen

The Emperor's New Clothes

“But the Emperor has nothing at all on!”

A little child cries this out as the Emperor walks in procession in his supposed new clothes. Everyone else has been pretending to admire the invisible cloth. The sentence is the most famous line in the tale, and it has become a general expression for speaking a simple truth that everybody else is afraid to say.

“Listen to the voice of innocence!”

The child's father repeats the boy's words to the people nearby. He has understood that the child has said what all of them have been thinking. The sentence is short and warm, and it shows how a plain truth passes from one person to the next until the whole crowd takes it up.

“I will never confess that I could not see the stuff.”

The old minister thinks this to himself when he is sent to inspect the weavers' work and sees nothing at all. He is afraid of seeming foolish or unfit for his office. The sentence is a good study of pride and fear, and it explains how the whole court comes to share the same lie.

The Real Princess

“None but a real Princess could have had such a delicate sense of feeling.”

The narrator says this after a young woman who claims to be a princess has been unable to sleep on a pile of mattresses with a pea beneath them. The prince has been looking for a real princess, and here is the proof. The sentence is gently ironic, because the test is absurd.

“Wasn't this a lady of real delicacy?”

The narrator asks this question at the end of the same tale. The tone is playful, and it invites the reader to smile at the idea of a princess so sensitive that a pea can keep her awake. The sentence closes the story in the brisk, friendly style that is Andersen's trademark.

The Swineherd

“It is not made at all, it is natural!”

The Princess says this about a gift of a real rose and a real nightingale, which she scorns because they are not artificial. She prefers clever toys to living things. The sentence is a neat piece of satire on a person who cannot value what is genuine, and it makes the Princess seem foolish.

“Yes, but keep my secret, for I am an Emperor's daughter.”

The Princess says this when she has agreed to kiss the swineherd in exchange for a toy. She does not want her ladies to tell anyone. The sentence is comic, because it shows her pride and her greed in a single breath, and it prepares the punishment that will follow.

“Alas! Unhappy creature that I am!”

The Princess cries this when she has been turned out of the palace by the Prince, who has been disguised as the swineherd. She has lost everything because she preferred trifles to true feeling. The sentence is short and melodramatic, and it is the turning point of the story.

“Thou art rightly served.”

The Prince speaks these words to the Princess when he reveals himself and rejects her. He tells her that she would not take an honest suitor and so she must now live with the consequences. The sentence is blunt and a little harsh, and it is one of the sternest verdicts in any of the tales.

The Fir Tree

“Oh, were I but old enough to fly across the sea!”

The young fir tree says this when he sees birds flying over the forest. He is impatient to grow up and see the world, and he does not appreciate the present. The sentence captures a universal feeling of youth, and it prepares the sad lesson of the story, which is that happiness is lost when we do not notice it.

“Rejoice in thy vigorous growth, and in the fresh life that moveth within thee!”

The Sunbeams say this to the fir tree, urging him to enjoy his youth. They see what he cannot, which is that the present is itself a gift. The sentence is warm and musical, and it is the clearest statement in the tale of the moral that the tree learns too late.

Conclusion

Andersen's tales are simple on the surface and subtle beneath it. In these eleven sentences we hear a child telling the truth, a minister afraid to admit his blindness, a princess who prefers toys to roses, and a fir tree that wants to be somewhere else. Each of them is a small lesson in human nature.

Andersen died in 1875, and his stories have been translated into more than a hundred languages. They are still read aloud to children, and they are still discussed by adults because their meanings are never quite fixed. The quotations here come from only four of his tales, and there are many more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Hans Christian Andersen?

Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was a Danish writer, best known for his fairy tales, including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Did Andersen write the tales himself?

Yes. Although some were based on folk stories he had heard as a child, most of his best-known tales were his own inventions, written in a conversational style.

What is the lesson of The Emperor’s New Clothes?

The tale shows how pride and fear can make people accept a lie, and how an honest child can break the spell by saying what everyone can see.

Which text is quoted here?

The quotations come from Andersen’s Fairy Tales, in an English translation in the public-domain edition on Project Gutenberg, from The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Real Princess, The Swineherd, and The Fir Tree. They are given as printed.

Recommended Similar Collections on Quotyzen

• E.T.A. Hoffmann: Master of the Uncanny and the Fantastic
• Washington Irving: The First Man of American Letters
• Jane Austen: The Unrivaled Observer of the Human Heart

Which Andersen tale taught you the most as a child? Share your view in the comments below!