Hans Christian Andersen: Misunderstood Storyteller?
Hans Christian Andersen: Misunderstood Storyteller? Popular perceptions of Hans Christian Andersen paint him out to be the subject of a fairy tale: escaping from a life of poverty, we are told that Andersen was an ugly duckling that forged his path in the world of writing, living his life out through the art of the written word and implanting insightful, morally correct themes into childrens' fairy tales. But — as is the case with many celebrities we think lead perfect lives (see: Armie Hammer and his cannibalistic tendencies) – Andersen's public image was carefully curated to support his romanticized status as a writer of fairy tales. In fact, there's an entire book about how abnormal his life was, and how it differed from these glossed-over perceptions of Anderson in pop culture: in Hans Christian Andersen: the Misunderstood Storyteller , Jack Zipes traces the rise of the writer to his egocentric pursuit towards fame and his complicated relationship with sexuality. A...