Friday, December 24, 2010

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Little Match Girl

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe 

This week's holiday selection for Fairy Tale Fridays is The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen.  It is sad, short little tale that may not have truly been the best pick for Christmas Eve!

The Little Match Girl is the title character in Andersen's short and follows the final day of a poor little girl.  She is so poor that she sells matches to get by.  Unfortunately, on this last day of the year, no one is buying her product and she is too afraid to go home without a sale for fear of her father's response.  Instead, she curls up and lights each match herself to stay warm.  Each time she lights a match, she sees a vision of warmth and love, one that warms her from the inside out, but sadly, it is not enough to save her.  She is found the next morning with a lap filled with burnt matches, frozen to death with a smile on her face.

The Little Match Girl is a sad tale, but one that also leaves me with a bit of a smile.  The girl is so sweet and innocent, and she left the world with a warmth that she had not known for a long time.  However, it is sad not only because of her death, but because people left her there to freeze.  I am left wondering, why could not one person invite her into the warmth of their home?  If only . . .

One of my favorite authors, Gregory Maguire takes on this tale in his own personalized short, Matchless.  I read it last year and do not remember it being quite this sad.  I think I need to re-read it again to refresh my memory.

Despite the bleakness of this tale, I wish you all the best of the holidays!  May you be warm, well-fed, and joyful!

UPCOMING TALES:
Friday, December 31st:  Thumbling by The Brothers Grimm
Friday, January 7th:  The Ice Maiden by Hans Christian Andersen
Friday, January 14th:  Your Choice, Classic or Modern!
Friday, January 21st:  Fairy Tale Fridays Happy Ending & Wrap-Up Post

7 comments:

  1. Have a Merry Christmas!

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  2. carolsnotebook . . . Thanks! I hope you had a great one!! :)

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  3. This was a sad story, but I like to think that she went somewhere warm and lovely after she left this cruel world.

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  4. Merry Christmas thanks for the thoughts on this book :)

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  5. Alexia561 . . . It was a very sad story, but I like to think the same as you!

    Sheila (Bookjourney) . . . Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! I hope you have the best ever! :)

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  6. Really late comment but the Maguire one wasn't as sad. Sometimes you wonder why a story like this was written. I doubt it inspired anyone to be kind to a street urchin in any meaningful way. There may have been a few extra pennies thrown at them but I bet that was it. You wonder if Andersen thought she was better off dead.

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  7. Kristen M. . . I was thinking the same thing, both about Maguire's book and Andersen's thinking! And, no worries about the late comment. Who comments late on your posts all the time?!? :)

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