The fairy tale by H.H. Andersen is dedicated to Jenny Lind, a very famous opera actress in the 18th century. She had phenomenal range. She was applauded by Berlin, Paris, London and Vienna. Her voice was admired, and her performances were sold out.
Andersen was captivated to the depths of his soul by her beautiful voice. Lindh and the writer met in Copenhagen. Literally at first sight, he fell in love with the singer. Whether this feeling was mutual is unknown. But she really appreciated his writing talent.
Andersen couldn’t speak beautifully about his love, so he decided to write about it and confess his feelings. Having sent a letter with Lind's confession, he did not wait for a response. This is how the famous fairy tale was born, telling about the touching love that Gerda and Kai felt for each other.
Prototypes of heroes in a fairy tale
Two years later, Lind and Andersen met. The actress invited Andersen to become her brother. He agreed (since it was better than being a nobody), thinking that Gerda and Kai were also like brother and sister.
Perhaps in search of a real feeling, Andersen spent a lot of time traveling, trying to escape from the kingdom of the Snow Queen, which was Copenhagen for him. In life, everything is not like in a fairy tale. The image of Kai and Gerda, invented by Andersen and personifying him and Lind, was just as pure. In his life, Kai was never able to make Gerda fall in love with him and escape from the kingdom of the Snow Queen.
Illustrations for “The Snow Queen” by H.H. Andersen by artist Nika Georgievna Golts
“I developed as an artist during Soviet times. There was strict political censorship back then, there was a lot of “no”, a lot of things were dangerous. But it was possible to get around it, especially due to the specifics of the children's book. The current censorship is much worse. This is censorship of money. In order to sell it profitably, they try to make the book cooler, brighter to the point of loudness, and they adopt not the best examples from the foreign market, often in bad taste.”
The house of the architect and theater artist Georgy Pavlovich Golts was littered with sketches of costumes and scenery and architectural projects, and Nika, while still a little girl, drew next to her father, primitively intertwined the drawings and glued them into small books. There, in a one-story wooden house with white tiled shoulders, surrounded by birds flying from room to room, her beloved dog and cats, among books on art, was her first creative workshop. And only then the art school and the Institute. Surikov.
“In general, I believe that an artist should “be able to.” You need to study technique, the laws of painting, learn to draw. This does not mean that these laws cannot be broken. On the contrary - it is necessary. But the right to make a bold, unexpected, daring move is given only by fluent mastery.”
After defending her diploma, Nika wanted to engage in monumental painting, but came to the publishing house. At first, for the sake of earning money, and then I realized that this would be forever. Her first work was “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” by H.H. Andersen, followed by Wilde, Pogorelsky and many other authors and books on which generations of young readers grew up.
Roses are blooming... Beauty, beauty! Soon we will see the baby Christ.
» Roses are blooming... Beauty, beauty! Soon we will see the baby Christ."
(from a fairy tale, the song is sung by Kai and Gerda))
“Gerda began to read the Our Father; it was so cold that the girl’s breath immediately turned into a thick fog.
This fog kept getting thicker and thicker, but small, bright angels began to stand out from it, who, having stepped on the ground, grew into large, formidable angels with helmets on their heads and spears and shields in their hands.
Their number kept growing, and when Gerda finished her prayer, a whole legion had already formed around her.
The angels took the snow monsters onto their spears, and they crumbled into thousands of snowflakes.
Gerda could now boldly move forward; the angels stroked her arms and legs, and she no longer felt so cold.
Finally the girl reached the palace of the Snow Queen."
Few people remember how Andersen made the exit of Kai and Gerda from the kingdom of the Snow Queen: “He clung tightly to Gerda. She laughed and cried with joy. Yes, her joy was so great that even the ice floes danced, and when they got tired, they lay down and composed the very word that the Snow Queen ordered Kai to compose; having folded it, Kai could become his own master and even receive from her the whole world and new skates as a gift... Now Kai was not at all afraid of the arrival of the Snow Queen: his freedom lay here, written in shiny icy letters.”
Source
Brief analysis of the tale
G. H. Andersen is the first Danish writer whose works were included in world literature. The most famous fairy tales are “The Little Mermaid” and “The Snow Queen”. They are familiar to almost all of us. The fairy tale “The Snow Queen” tells about good and evil, love and oblivion. It also talks about devotion and betrayal.
The image of the Snow Queen in the fairy tale was taken for a reason. Before his death, Andersen's father told him that the Ice Maiden had come for him. In his fairy tale, the writer personified the Snow Queen precisely with the Ice Maiden, who took his dying father with her.
At first glance, the tale is simple and does not contain any deep meaning. Delving deeper into the process of analysis, you understand that the plot raises some of the most important aspects of life - love, devotion, determination, kindness, the fight against evil, religious motives.
Fairy tales
Andersen began writing them in 1835, becoming increasingly famous. The Danish author also tried to establish himself as a playwright and novelist, but his fame as a storyteller always overshadowed his other literary attempts. Andersen created his last fairy tale in 1872. After that, he hurt himself badly, falling from a high bed, and became seriously ill. Never having recovered, the great storyteller died in the summer of 1875. Despite the fact that he wrote a huge number of kind and clever children's fairy tales, the one who wrote “The Snow Queen” never had a wife or children.
The story of Kai and Gerda
This is a story of touching friendship and love between two fairy-tale characters from Andersen's fairy tale. Gerda and Kai had known each other since childhood and spent a lot of time together. In the fairy tale, it is Gerda who has to prove the strength of friendship, who went on a long and difficult journey after the boy who became a prisoner of the Snow Queen herself. Having charmed Kai with a piece of ice, she turned him into a callous, spoiled and arrogant boy. At the same time, Kai was not aware of his changes. Having managed to go through many difficulties, Gerda managed to find Kai and melt his icy heart. Kindness and faith in her friend’s salvation gave the girl strength and confidence. The fairy tale teaches you to be faithful to your feelings, not to leave a loved one in trouble, to be kind and, despite difficulties, to strive to achieve your goal.
Characteristics of Kai and Gerda
Andersen's fairy tale describes to us a kind, attentive and sympathetic Kai. But after challenging the Snow Queen herself, he turns into a rude and angry boy, capable of offending anyone, even Gerda and his grandmother, whose fairy tales he loved to listen to. One of Kai's pranks ended with him being captured by the Snow Queen.
In the palace of the evil queen, he became a boy with an icy heart. Kai kept trying to make the word “eternity” out of ice floes, but he couldn’t. Then she promised to give him skates and the whole world. Kai's desire to comprehend eternity indicates his lack of understanding that this cannot be done without true feelings, without love, having only a cold mind and an icy heart.
Having lost all human feelings, Kai, in fear, wanted to read a prayer, but could not. All he could think about in his head was the multiplication table. Frozen figures of regular geometric shapes were the only thing that delighted him. Kai tramples his once-beloved roses and examines snowflakes with interest through a magnifying glass.
The image of Gerda is a contrast to the character of the Snow Queen. To find Kai and rescue him from the ice castle, the girl sets out on a long and difficult journey. In the name of her love, a brave little girl sets off into the unknown. The obstacles encountered along this path did not make Gerda angry and did not force her to turn back towards home and abandon her friend in captivity of the Snow Queen. She remained friendly, kind and sweet throughout the entire fairy tale. Bravery, perseverance and patience help her not to become discouraged, but to humbly overcome all failures. Thanks to this character, she managed to find Kai. And love for him was able to melt his icy heart and cope with the spell of the evil queen.
The description of Gerda and Kai may be a prototype of real people and similar stories in real life. You just need to take a closer look around.
Characteristics of the Snow Queen
The Snow Queen, Blizzard Witch, Ice Maiden is a classic character in Scandinavian folklore. Lifeless and cold space, snow and eternal ice - this is the Kingdom of the Snow Queen. A tall, beautiful ruler on a throne located on a lake called the “Mirror of the Mind”, she is the embodiment of cold reason and beauty, devoid of feelings.
Christian motives in a fairy tale
Andersen's tale is imbued with Christian motifs. This is rarely seen in Russian publications. In the episode, when Gerda tries to enter the Snow Queen's castle, the guards do not let her in. She was able to get into it thanks to the fact that she began to read the “Our Father” prayer. After which the guards, turning into angels, paved the way for the girl.
While Gerda and Kai return to their home, the grandmother reads the Gospel. After the meeting, the children all begin to dance around the rose bush and sing a Christmas carol, which is how the instructive tale ends.
And this mysterious journey from the world of good to the land of evil began with a fragment of a broken mirror that fell into Kai’s eye. The mirror broke because trolls (that is, demons) reflected everything in the world in a distorted form. Andersen explains this by saying that the demons in the lying mirror wanted to reflect the Creator. God, not allowing this, made the mirror escape from the hands of the demons and break.
The image of Hell is reflected in the word “eternity”, which the Snow Queen instructed Kai to compose. Icy eternity, not created by the Creator, is an image of hell.
In the episode where the deer asks the sorceress to help Gerda and give her the strength of twelve heroes (twelve apostles), she replies that she cannot make the girl stronger than she is. Her strength is her small loving heart. And God helps her anyway.
Kiddy or Gerda from the fairy tale "The Snow Queen". Porcelain doll Roly Muler
Good day, my dears! It is on the magical New Year's Eve that miracles happen! Don’t you believe this didn’t happen to you?! As soon as I saw this girl, looked into her eyes, I immediately found myself in H. H. Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen”. Yes, everyone’s favorite fairy tale from our childhood, which our mother or grandmother first read to us at night, and then we ourselves, having learned to read, re-read it more than once. I don’t know if it happens to you that you look and immediately an image appears, associations associated with a particular situation. And now it was no longer Kiddy who looked at me, that’s the girl’s name, but Gerda - this little modest girl with a kind huge heart and soul, who is always ready to help in difficult times. During her long wanderings, Gerda shows only her best side. On the way, her politeness, devotion, and responsiveness helped her a lot; these qualities amazed both the prince and princess, and the old Lapland woman to such an extent that they all began to readily help her! She endured everything and was able to leave the house of the old woman, who was going to keep Gerda with her... ...the old woman combed her hair with a golden comb, it shone like gold and curled so wonderfully around her gentle face, round and rosy, like a rose. “I’ve wanted to have such a cute girl for a long time!” - said the old lady. - You'll see how nicely you and I will live! The girl loved flowers very much... Gerda knew almost every flower, but the most expensive and beloved was the rose. They always reminded her of the wonderful roses that bloomed at home... Gerda's heart was very warm. There was no room for the cold. Love lived in her heart: selfless, selfless, not waiting for reward, ready for heroism, love that could transform a person. And the symbol of this boundless love is the Rose. What is Gerda's strength? Many people have probably asked themselves this question... Of course, there are bad people everywhere, but there are still more good ones. Kind and sympathetic, ready to help at any moment, Gerda evokes the same attitude towards herself in everyone she meets. This is her great strength! And the fairy tale teaches us to be just as sincere, loving, friendly and kind. Sometimes we should learn from children the joys of life! Children are honest in their emotions, they are open and spontaneous, and sincerely believe in miracles. Yes, we have grown up and some of us already have our own children and even grandchildren, but it is very important to remain a child in heart and soul! Grandmother sat in the sun and read the gospel aloud: “If you do not become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven!” Kai and Gerda looked at each other and only then understood the meaning of the old psalm: Roses bloom in the valleys... Beauty! Soon we will see the baby Christ! So they sat, both already adults, but children at heart and soul, and it was a warm, blessed summer outside... And so many illustrators depict Gerda in their works: Angela Barrett - Oh, you poor baby! - said the old lady. - How did you end up on such a big fast river and climb so far? With these words, the old woman entered the water, hooked the boat with her hook, pulled it to the shore and landed Gerda. Christian Birmingham Edmund Dulac Angela Barrett Then the little robber opened the door, lured the dogs into the house, cut the rope with which the deer was tied with her sharp knife, and said to him: “Well, quick!” Yes, take care of the girl. Gerda extended both hands in huge mittens to the little robber and said goodbye to her. The reindeer set off at full speed through stumps and hummocks through the forest, through swamps and steppes. Christian Birmingham Anastasia Arkhipova The Finnish woman herself, a short, dirty woman, walked around half naked. She quickly pulled off Gerda's entire dress, mittens and boots - otherwise the girl would have been too hot - put a piece of ice on the deer's head and then began to read what was written on the dried cod. She read everything word by word three times until she had it memorized, and then she put the cod in the cauldron - after all, the fish was good for food, and the Finnish woman did not waste anything. Angela Barrett - I can't make her stronger than she is. Don't you see how great her power is? Don't you see that both people and animals serve her? After all, she walked around half the world barefoot! It’s not up to us to borrow her power! The strength is in her sweet, innocent childish heart. If she herself cannot penetrate the palace of the Snow Queen and remove the fragments from Kai’s heart, then we will certainly not help her! Two miles from here the Snow Queen's garden begins. Take the girl there, drop her off near a large bush covered with red berries, and come back without hesitation! With these words, the Finnish woman lifted Gerda onto the back of the deer, and he began to run as fast as he could. - Oh, I’m without warm boots! Hey, I'm not wearing gloves! - Gerda shouted, finding herself in the cold. Vladislav Erko
And if Gerda were a real, and not a fairy-tale girl... Yes, it’s a miracle, but it’s true! My Kiddy is the embodiment of Gerda. The author of this wonderful girl is Rolly Müller. It is made by the author himself from fine porcelain , the hair is natural, the eyes are glass of the highest quality. To match the baby, I sewed her an outfit, wove a handbag from pearls and beads, emphasizing her individuality. And this is the same rose that Gerda grew, now it is always next to her! We are glad to everyone who came to our first New Year's topic of 2014! We wish you all, my dears, a Happy New Year and the upcoming Merry Christmas. Let these fabulous holidays create a magical mood that should last for the whole year! After all, only we ourselves can create a holiday for ourselves! Let the atmosphere of warmth, comfort and fairy tales remain in your home! All the best!
