The Red Shoes by HC Andersen: A Literary Analysis
Simone Jahn
English A
25-4-14
The Red Shoes
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Introduction
„The Red Shoes“ (De Røde Sko) is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen from 1845, during the Romantic Period. The story centers around Karen, a girl who gets entranced by a pair of red shoes. The story has a moral incentive, especially for children, that one must not be vain and arrogant since it is a sin. The belief in God is also a very important theme in the story; one must not disregard Christianity - that is the greatest sin. Throughout the story, Karen learns that the most important things are not material but rather non-material values. The story also presents one of the most important values in Christianity: charity, and the ability to forgive those who have sinned. Everyone is allowed into heaven as long as they believe in
God and can confess their sins. The sin that Karen commits is that she is very vain and cares more about how she looks in her red shoes than her religion and the people close to her. But as she sees her mistake, she is still allowed to go to paradise.
In this essay, Karen’s choices that lead to her sin and the importance of Karen’s social rank in the story will be discussed, as well as the symbolic meanings of red shoes, feet, dancing and Christianity. At last the time period it was written in will be taken into consideration and the two different endings to the story will be compared.
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Summary
Karen is a poor girl who goes barefoot until she receives a pair of poorly made red shoes from the shoemaker in town. When her mother dies, she wears the shoes for her mother’s funeral, even though people find it inappropriate to wear red for a religious ceremony. An old widow adopts her afterwards and Karen tricks the widow into buying her a finer pair of red shoes for her confirmation, similar to ones Karen has seen a princess wear. When Karen
1
Simone Jahn
English A
25-4-14
gets confirmed, she chooses to wear her beautiful
English A
25-4-14
The Red Shoes
!
!
Introduction
„The Red Shoes“ (De Røde Sko) is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen from 1845, during the Romantic Period. The story centers around Karen, a girl who gets entranced by a pair of red shoes. The story has a moral incentive, especially for children, that one must not be vain and arrogant since it is a sin. The belief in God is also a very important theme in the story; one must not disregard Christianity - that is the greatest sin. Throughout the story, Karen learns that the most important things are not material but rather non-material values. The story also presents one of the most important values in Christianity: charity, and the ability to forgive those who have sinned. Everyone is allowed into heaven as long as they believe in
God and can confess their sins. The sin that Karen commits is that she is very vain and cares more about how she looks in her red shoes than her religion and the people close to her. But as she sees her mistake, she is still allowed to go to paradise.
In this essay, Karen’s choices that lead to her sin and the importance of Karen’s social rank in the story will be discussed, as well as the symbolic meanings of red shoes, feet, dancing and Christianity. At last the time period it was written in will be taken into consideration and the two different endings to the story will be compared.
!
Summary
Karen is a poor girl who goes barefoot until she receives a pair of poorly made red shoes from the shoemaker in town. When her mother dies, she wears the shoes for her mother’s funeral, even though people find it inappropriate to wear red for a religious ceremony. An old widow adopts her afterwards and Karen tricks the widow into buying her a finer pair of red shoes for her confirmation, similar to ones Karen has seen a princess wear. When Karen
1
Simone Jahn
English A
25-4-14
gets confirmed, she chooses to wear her beautiful