home Auditorium 8 Andersen's fairy tales list and summary. G.H. Andersen biography briefly for children

Andersen's fairy tales list and summary. G.H. Andersen biography briefly for children

A small Christmas tree grows in the forest. She wants to grow up and is very embarrassed that a hare might jump over her, because it further emphasizes her small size. The stork tells her that he saw masts for ships being made from older trees, and this makes the tree jealous. In the fall, neighboring Christmas trees are cut down, and the sparrows tell her that they have seen them decorated and displayed in houses.

One day, the tree is also cut down to decorate the Christmas holiday. They buy it, bring it into the house, and on Christmas Eve it stands decorated with candles, painted apples, toys and baskets of sweets. The top of the tree is topped with a gold star. Children come in and pick all the candies and gifts from the tree, and then listen to the fairy tale about Humpty Dumpty (Klumpe-Dumppe).

The next day, the tree expects the celebration to continue, but the servants take it to the attic. She feels lonely and disappointed, but the mice come running to her to listen to her tell the tale of Humpty Dumpty. Rats also come and when they express their dissatisfaction with a simple tale, the mice go and never return. In the spring, the Christmas tree, which has withered and lost its former colors, is taken out into the yard. The boy takes the star from its top. Therefore, the tree is cut into firewood and burned.

(1805-1875) - Danish writer. His fairy tales, which combine romance and realism, fantasy and humor, and a satirical element with irony, brought him worldwide fame. Based on folklore (“Flint”), imbued with humanism, lyricism and humor (“The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Little Mermaid”, “The Snow Queen”), fairy tales condemn social inequality, selfishness, self-interest, and the complacency of the powerful ("The King's New Clothes"). Poems, plays, novels (“The Improviser”, 1835; “Only the Violinist”, 1837), autobiography “The Tale of My Life” (1846). Zodiac sign - Aries.Andersen's signatureHans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805, Odense, Danish-Norwegian Union. His father, Hans Andersen (1782-1816), was a poor shoemaker. Mom, Anna Marie Andersdatter (1775-1833), was a washerwoman from a poor family, and she had to beg as a child. After her death she was buried in a cemetery for the poor. In Denmark itself there is a legend about Andersen's royal origin, since in an early biography Hans Christian wrote that as a child he played with Prince Frits, who later became King Frederick VII. He had no street boys among his friends, and his friendship was only with the prince. Andersen's friendship with Prince Frits allegedly continued into adulthood, until the latter's death. After the death of Frits, with the exception of relatives, only Andersen was allowed to visit the coffin of the deceased.Since childhood, the boy wrote plays and often staged impromptu home performances that caused laughter and ridicule from children. He grew up as a delicately nervous, emotional and receptive child. In those days, physical punishment of children was common in schools, so the boy was very afraid to go to school, and then his mother sent him to a Jewish school, where physical punishment of children was prohibited. From that time on, Andersen’s forever-preserved connection with the Jewish people and knowledge of their traditions and culture began. He even wrote several fairy tales and stories on Jewish themes (the novel “Only a fiddler”).In 1819, in Copenhagen, his literary experiments attracted the attention of the theater management. Several of his poems were published in 1826 - 1827. As a student, he wrote the book “A Journey on Foot from the Holmen Canal to the Eastern Cape of the Island of Amager” (1829).In the works “Shadow Pictures” (1831) and “Agnetha and Vodyanoy” (1834), the seeds of the writer’s future fairy tales were outlined. In the novels “The Improviser” (1835, Russian translation 1844) and “Only the Violinist” (1837), the typical conflict between the poet-dreamer and the vulgarity and heartlessness of the “society” found expression, typical for romantics.In 1835 - 1837, Hans Christian Andersen published 3 collections of “Fairy Tales Told for Children,” which included “The Princess and the Pea,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The King’s New Clothes” and other works.

The fairy tale “The Snow Queen” is an extraordinary story about a boy Kai and a girl Gerda. They were separated by a piece of broken mirror. The main theme of Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" is the struggle between good and evil.

Background

So, let's start retelling the summary of "The Snow Queen". One day, an evil troll created a mirror, looking into which all good things decreased and disappeared, while evil, on the contrary, increased. But, unfortunately, the troll's students broke the mirror in an argument, and all its fragments scattered throughout the world. And if even one tiny piece fell into the human heart, then it froze and became a piece of ice. And if it got into the eye, then the person stopped seeing good, and in any action he felt only evil intent.

Kai and Gerda

The summary of “The Snow Queen” should be continued with the information that in one small town there lived friends: a boy and a girl, Kai and Gerda. They were each other's brother and sister, but only until the moment when shrapnel got into the boy's eye and heart. After the accident, the boy became embittered, began to be rude and lost his brotherly feelings for Gerda. In addition, he stopped seeing good. He began to think that no one loved him and everyone wished him harm.

And then one not very good day, Kai went sledding. He clung to a sleigh passing near him. But they belonged to the Snow Queen. She kissed the boy, thereby making his heart even colder. The queen took him to her ice palace.

Gerda's journey

Gerda was very sad for the boy for the rest of the winter and waited for his return, and, without waiting, she went in search of her brother as soon as spring came.

The first woman Gerda met on her way was a witch. She cast a spell on the girl that deprived her of her memory. But, seeing the roses, Gerda remembered everything and ran away from her.

After that, on her way she met a raven, who told her that a prince very similar to Kai had wooed the princess of his kingdom. But it turned out to be not him. The princess and the prince turned out to be very kind people, they gave her clothes and a carriage made of gold.

The girl’s path lay through a terrible and dark forest, where she was attacked by a gang of robbers. Among them was a little girl. She turned out to be kind and gave Gerda a deer. On it, the heroine went further and soon, having met pigeons, she found out where her sworn brother was.

On the way she met two more kind women - a Laplander and a Finnish woman. Each helped the girl in her search for Kai.

Domain of the Snow Queen

And so, having reached the possessions of the Snow Queen, she gathered the remnants of her strength and went through a severe snowstorm and the royal army. Gerda prayed all the way, and angels came to her aid. They helped her get to the ice castle.

Kai was there, but the queen was not there. The boy was like a statue, all frozen and cold. He didn't even pay attention to Gerda and continued playing the puzzle. Then the girl, unable to cope with her emotions, began to cry bitterly. Tears thawed Kai's heart. He also began to cry, and the fragment fell out along with the tear.

The main characters of the fairy tale "The Snow Queen". Gerda

There are many heroes in the fairy tale, but they are all minor. There are only three main ones: Gerda, Kai, and the queen. But still, the only truly main character of the fairy tale “The Snow Queen” is only one - little Gerda.

Yes, she is very small, but she is also selfless and brave. In the fairy tale, all her strength is concentrated in her kind heart, which attracts sympathetic people to the girl, without whom she would not have reached the ice castle. It is kindness that helps Gerda defeat the queen and unfreeze her sworn brother.

Gerda is ready to do anything for her loved ones and is confident in the decisions she makes. She does not doubt for a second and helps everyone who needs it, without counting on help. In the fairy tale, the girl shows only the best character traits, and she is the embodiment of justice and goodness.

Kai's image

Kai is a very controversial hero. On the one hand, he is kind and sensitive, but on the other, he is frivolous and stubborn. Even before the fragments hit the eye and heart. After the incident, Kai is completely under the influence of the Snow Queen and carries out her orders without saying a word against it. But after Gerda frees him, everything is fine again.

Yes, on the one hand, Kai is a positive character, but his inaction and passivity prevent the reader from falling in love with him.

The image of the Snow Queen

The Snow Queen is the embodiment of winter and cold. Her home is an endless expanse of ice. Just like ice, she is very beautiful in appearance and also smart. But her heart doesn't know feelings. That is why she is the prototype of evil in Andersen's fairy tale.

History of creation

It's time to tell the story of the creation of Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen". It was first published in 1844. The tale is the longest in the author’s bibliography, and Andersen claimed that it is connected with the story of his life.

Andersen said that “The Snow Queen,” a summary of which is contained in the article, appeared in his head when he was little and played with his friend and neighbor, the white-headed Lisbeth. To him, she was practically a sister. The girl was always next to Hans, supported him in all his games and listened to his first fairy tales. Many researchers claim that she became the prototype of Gerda.

But not only Gerda had a prototype. Singer Jenny Lind has become the living embodiment of the queen. The author was in love with her, but the girl did not share his feelings, and Andersen made her cold heart the embodiment of the beauty and soullessness of the Snow Queen.

In addition, Andersen was fascinated by Scandinavian myths, and there death was called the ice maiden. Before his death, his father said that the maiden had come for him. Perhaps the Snow Queen has the same prototype as the Scandinavian winter and death. She also has no feelings, and the kiss of death can freeze her forever.

The image of a girl made of ice attracted the storyteller, and in his heritage there is another fairy tale about the Snow Queen, who stole her lover from his bride.

Andersen wrote the fairy tale in a very difficult time, when religion and science were in conflict. Therefore, there is an opinion that the confrontation between Gerda and the queen describes the events that took place.

In the USSR, the fairy tale was remade, since censorship did not allow the mention of Christ and the reading of the Gospel at night.

"The Snow Queen": analysis of the work

Andersen in his fairy tales creates an opposition - the opposition of good and evil, summer and winter, external and internal, death and life.

Thus, the Snow Queen has become a classic character in folklore. Dark and cold mistress of winter and death. She is contrasted with the warm and kind Gerda, the embodiment of life and summer.

Kai and Gerda, according to Schelling’s natural philosophy, are androgynous, that is, the opposition of death and life, summer and winter. Children are together in the summer, but suffer separation in the winter.

The first half of the tale talks about the creation of a magic mirror that can distort good, turning it into evil. A person traumatized by its fragment acts as an opponent of culture. On the one hand, this is a myth that affects culture and breaks the connection between man and nature. So Kai becomes soulless and rejects his love for summer and the beauty of nature. But he begins to love the creations of the mind with all his heart.

The fragment that ended up in the boy's eye allows him to think rationally, cynically, and show interest in the geometric structure of snowflakes.

As we know, a fairy tale cannot have a bad ending, so Andersen contrasted Christian values with the world of technology. That is why the children in the fairy tale sing psalms to the rose. Although the rose fades, the memory of it remains. Thus, memory is a mediator between the world of the living and the dead. This is exactly how Gerda, once in the witch’s garden, forgets Kai, and then her memory returns again and she runs away. It is roses that help her in this.

The scene in the castle with the false prince and princess is very symbolic. In this dark moment, Gerda is helped by ravens, symbolizing the powers of the night and wisdom. Climbing the stairs is a tribute to Plato's myth of the cave, in which non-existent shadows create the idea of a false reality. It takes a lot of strength for Gerda to distinguish between lies and truth.

The further the fairy tale “The Snow Queen” advances, the summary of which you already know, the more often peasant symbolism appears. Gerda, with the help of prayer, copes with the storm and ends up in the queen's domain. The atmosphere of the castle was created by the author himself. It highlights all the complexes and failures of the poor writer. According to biographers, the Andresen family had some mental disorders.

So the queen's powers can symbolize actions that can drive you crazy. The castle is motionless and cold, crystalline.

Thus, Kai’s injury leads to his seriousness and intellectual development, and his attitude towards his loved ones changes dramatically. Soon he is completely alone in the icy halls. These signs characterize schizophrenia.

Kai meditates over the ice, showing his loneliness. Gerda's arrival to Kai suggests his salvation from the world of the dead, from the world of madness. He returns to the world of love and kindness, eternal summer. The couple reunites again, and the person gains integrity thanks to a difficult path and overcoming himself.

Very briefly Because of her love for the prince, the little mermaid exchanges her fish tail for a pair of slender legs. Unable to achieve reciprocity, she dies and becomes sea foam.

In the deepest part of the sea stands the coral palace of the sea king. He has been widowed for a long time, and his old mother, a worthy and intelligent woman, is in charge of the palace. She loves her six granddaughters very much, pretty little mermaid princesses. The best of all is the youngest, quiet and thoughtful, with sea-blue eyes. Instead of legs, she, like other mermaids, has a fish tail. She loves only her garden with bright red flowers and a marble statue of a beautiful boy that fell to the bottom from a lost ship. Hugging the statue, the little mermaid dreams of ships, cities, people and animals.

According to tradition, the mermaid first rises to the surface at the age of sixteen. The time comes for the daughters of the sea king to see the land. The little mermaid, the youngest in the family, had a chance to rise after her sisters. She emerges not far from a three-masted ship, from the deck of which music can be heard. In the ship's cabin, the little mermaid notices many smart people, and among them a handsome prince with big black eyes, who looks like the marble boy from her garden. The ship's crew and guests cheerfully celebrate his sixteenth birthday. In the evening the fireworks begin. Large suns spin like wheels in the night sky, fiery fish spin their tails, and loud music sounds on the deck.

Late in the evening, after the holiday, a strong storm begins at sea. The prince's ship turns over on its side and breaks into pieces. The little mermaid saves the drowning prince. Supporting him, she sails to the shore with a beautiful grove and a tall white building like a church or monastery, and leaves the prince on the sand. Soon people run out of the white building to help. Having come to his senses, the prince smiles and the little mermaid becomes sad, because he did not smile at her and did not even know who saved his life. She dives into the water and swims away.

The little mermaid tells everything to her sisters and they take her to the prince’s palace. Since then, the little mermaid swims there every evening and looks at the young prince for a long time. She often hears fishermen saying a lot of good things about the prince, and she is glad that she saved him.

The little mermaid asks her grandmother about people and learns that their lifespan is shorter than that of mermaids. But people have an immortal soul, which flies to the sky after the body turns to dust. Mermaids live for three hundred years, but they are not given an immortal soul. After death, all that remains is sea foam. A mermaid can only receive a soul if one of the people loves her and they are married by a priest. But this will never happen, because the fish tail of mermaids is considered beautiful, but people find it ugly. To please a person, you need to acquire two awkward supports - legs, as people call them.

The little mermaid loves the prince and is ready to do anything to get an immortal soul. Leaving her sisters to dance at the ball, she goes to the sea witch. She agrees to make a drink, after drinking which the little mermaid’s fish tail will turn into a pair of slender legs. At the same time, her graceful gait will remain, but walking will cause terrible pain. The Witch warns that, having taken on a human form, the little mermaid will never return to her native element. If the prince marries someone else, the little mermaid's heart will break into pieces and she will become sea foam. In payment for the magic drink, the witch demands the beautiful voice of the little mermaid. She will be left with a pretty face, an airy gait and expressive eyes, “enough to conquer the human heart.” After giving the little mermaid the potion, the witch cuts off her tongue.

Having sailed to the prince's palace at night, the little mermaid drinks a magical drink. A sharp pain pierces her. and she loses consciousness. Waking up during the day, she sees the prince in front of her, and when she lowers her eyes, she discovers, instead of a fish tail, two small legs, like those of a child. The prince tries to find out who she is and how she got here, but she is silent. Taking the little mermaid by the hand, the prince leads her to the palace, and she patiently endures the pain, and her gait remains airy.

In the palace, the little mermaid is dressed in silk and muslin, and she becomes the first beauty. Still remaining mute, she dances like no one has ever danced before. Everyone admires her, and the prince calls the little mermaid his little foundling. He becomes more and more attached to the little mermaid, but loves her only as a sweet, kind child. It never even occurs to him to make her his wife.

At the request of his parents, the prince goes across the sea to a neighboring king to meet his daughter, and takes the Little Mermaid with him. A prince and a beautiful princess fall in love, celebrate their engagement, and then their wedding. Soon the time comes to go to the prince's homeland. A luxurious tent for the newlyweds is pitched on the deck of the ship.

Only one evening remains for the little mermaid to spend time with the one “for whom she left her family and her father’s house, gave her wonderful voice and endured endless torment every day, while he did not notice them. ... Long after midnight, dancing and music continued on the ship, and the little mermaid laughed and danced with mortal torment in her heart.”

When the ship becomes quiet, the little mermaid remains on the deck to wait for the first rays of the sun. Suddenly, near the ship, she notices her sisters with their hair cut off - they gave their hair to the witch so that she could help save the little mermaid from death. The witch gave them a sharp knife, which the little mermaid must plunge into the prince's heart. If his blood gets on her legs, they will grow back into a fish tail, the little mermaid will become the same and live her three hundred years. “Kill the prince and return to us!” - with these words the sisters swim away.

The little mermaid lifts the curtain of the tent and sees that the head of the beautiful bride lies on the chest of the prince. She kisses the prince, throws the knife into the waves, which turn red, as if stained with blood, throws herself into the sea and her body dissolves into sea foam.

After death, the little mermaid joins the daughters of the air, who fly without wings thanks to their own lightness. Like mermaids, they do not have an immortal soul. But they can get it for the good deeds they do to people. The Little Mermaid sees the prince and his bride looking for her throughout the ship. Invisible, she kisses the beautiful bride, smiles at the prince and, together with other children of the air, rises to the pink clouds.

Andersen's fairy tales (a summary of which is presented in this article) have won the sincere love of readers and are very popular all over the world. The writer gained fame after publishing a fantastic story called “A Walking Journey...” published in 1829. Since when did Andersen's fairy tales become famous? You can read a summary of the best of them in this article.

A few words about the creation of his fairy tales

The real creative breakthrough in the creation of literary works begins in 1835. This date is significant for his tales. In the 1840s, his collection “Picture Book without Pictures” was published, which confirms his inherent talent. Andersen's fairy tales gained success and fame with incredible speed. Brief summaries of their favorite works were retold to each other by devoted readers and eagerly awaiting new works. In 1838, the second edition of fairy tales was started, and in 1845 - the third. By this time he was already very famous throughout Europe. In 1847 he visited England, where he received a warm and cordial welcome. In the second half of the 1840s and in subsequent years, the writer worked with special diligence and published plays and novels, cherishing the dream of becoming famous as a playwright. But everything is in vain. Although Andersen’s fairy tales (a summary of which is well known to everyone) brought him fame, at some period of his life he began to despise them. However, he continues to write them. The most recent fairy tale was created in 1872 on Christmas Eve. That same year, the writer fell out of bed, was badly hurt, and could no longer recover from his injuries, although he lived for another three years. On August 4, 1875 he died.

Summary

Late period

"Thumbelina"

Even a brief summary of the fairy tale “Thumbelina” by Andersen makes it clear what an amazing idea lies at its heart.

The woman could not have children and turned to the witch. She advised her to plant a tulip seed. The woman did so, and a miracle happened. An inch tall girl appeared. The nutshell became her cradle, and the tulip petal became her boat. But Thumbelina did not live long in this house. The girl's real adventure begins after she was kidnapped by the Toad for her ugly son. The fish saved her. The cockchafer liked the beauty, but his relatives did not appreciate his choice, and he left her. A sad little girl ends up in the hole of a very greedy field mouse, who advised her to marry a mole. Anticipating a dull life underground, Thumbelina went out to say goodbye to the sun and the swallow, whom she had been caring for all winter. She invited her to fly away with her. The girl agreed, and they flew to warmer lands. At the flower she met the king of the elves, who proposed to her. Thumbelina has finally found her prince.

"Flint"

One day a soldier met a witch. She suggested that he go to a hollow guarded by scary dogs, where he could collect a countless amount of jewelry. For this she asked to bring her flint. He did everything, but did not give up the flint, but cut off the adviser’s head. He soon squandered all the wealth from the hollow, losing all his new friends. One day he used a flint candle. A dog appeared that could grant three wishes.

One day he wanted to see the princess. The dog complied with his request. In the morning the girl told her mysterious dream.

Another time, the queen tied a bag of cereal onto her daughter’s back, which spilled onto the road. The soldier was tracked down and put in prison. On the day of execution, the soldier asked the shoemaker to bring him flint, for which he gave him 4 coppers. He wanted to smoke. After the click of the flint, three dogs appeared at once. They threw the audience so high that people crashed to the ground. The soldier was released and asked to take the princess as his wife. Invited dogs also sat at the wedding table.

In the forest there lived a nightingale who enchanted with his singing. The emperor ordered him to be found and brought to the palace. The subjects complied with his decree. The bird was placed in the palace, and it sang so much that the emperor became emotional and began to cry. The nightingale became very popular. Once, the Japanese emperor sent a colleague a golden nightingale with precious stones. He could sing one song from the repertoire of a living bird. A year later the nightingale broke down and was only brought in once a year. Five years later, the emperor fell ill, and there was no one to take care of the bird. And then a real nightingale appeared and with its song saved him from death. But he asked not to break the toy.

Thus, Andersen's fairy tales are popular all over the world. Their number and variety of fascinating plots confirm the genius of the author. He wrote them from 1835 until his death. The considered summary of the fairy tale “Thumbelina” by Andersen (as well as “Flint” and “Nightingale”) indicates interesting plots.