In Denmark’s 19th century your social
heritage was almost impossible to rid yourself of. The strict social structure
of Denmark’s 19th century made it difficult to move up in society,
if you were a son of a carpenter, you were destined to become a carpenter.
Those were the social norms of the time. The
Ugly Duckling by H.C. Andersen is a reflection of the society of the 19th
century; he portrays the problems of breaking your social heritage. But was it in
fact so difficult to break the social heritage?
Mr Andersen used the example of a swan being hatched
with ducklings as a way of portraying society. The story has a subjective 3rd
person narrator, since it follows only the ugly duckling and you see things
from his point of view. H.C. Andersen uses his own experience as inspiration
for the fairy tale. The ugly duckling is the main character of the fairy tale. The
ugly duckling goes through a journey from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan.
Throughout his journey he attempts to fit in several communities to find a place
where he belongs. It’s in these “communities” we see Mr Andersen’s critique of
the social structure in Denmark at the time:
“When they reached the farmyard, there was a great
disturbance, two families were fighting for an eel’s head, which, after all,
was carried off by the cat. “See, children, that is the way of the world, …”[1]
This
quote illustrates Mr Andersen’s view on the world: very brutal and with no
mercy for the weak in society. This is also how H.C. Andersen experienced life,
he had to fight for himself and nothing was given to him. He wasn’t born as a
high-class citizen but a low-class citizen. In the story, the ugly duckling
hides in a cottage, where he lives for a few weeks. Here he meets a hen and a
cat: ““Can you lay eggs?” she asked.
“No.” “Then have the goodness to hold your tongue.” “Can you raise your back,
or purr, or throw out sparks?” said the tom cat. “No.” “Then you have no right
to express an opinion when sensible people are speaking.””1
This quote shows how society works; it is
oversimplified, if you cannot meet the criteria that society sets, you are
quickly deemed useless and a failure. Even though you may have skills that
would enable you to perform another task with ease. The story is chronological
and takes place in the course of a year. The seasons foreshadows the ugly
ducklings life, they represent his life situation: the summer is where he is
born: a happy moment. From there on it goes downhill, he leaves his family and
when winter comes he is all alone and depressed. Then when summer returns he
discovers his true identity: he is a swan.
Towards the end, the ugly duckling has given up all
hope:
““Kill me,” said the poor bird; and he bent his head
down to the surface of the water, and awaited death.”[2]
This quote illustrates the depressed state, which the
ugly duckling is in. He feels unworthy to be amongst the swans due to his
ugliness. The gracefulness of the swans brings forth a longing inside of the
ugly duckling to be as them, but he knows he cannot, therefore he does not wish
to stay alive. He would rather be killed by these great and beautiful swans,
than by the mean and graceless ducks. As he cries for his death, he looks down
and sees his reflection in the surface of the water. At this point in the fairy
tale, the ugly duckling “dies” and the true identity of the character is
revealed: a graceful and beautiful swan.
Even though the ugly duckling is seen as a weakling by
society, he manages to get through the winter alone, he prevails even though
society has shunned him. This shows: where there is a will there is a way. He
doesn’t need to follow the social structure and norms to succeed in life; he
made it on his own and found his purpose. This can be interpreted as Mr
Andersen life experience; he met a lot of adversity, which he overcame and
became a successful author.
“To be born in a duck’s nest, in a farmyard,
is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan’s egg.”2
This quote is the basically the message of The Ugly Duckling, it means that the
place and the social status you are born into is irrelevant, all that matters
is what you can achieve in life. Another message that can be found in The Ugly Duckling is that even though
people tells you, that you are incompetent or useless, you can always find your
place in life as long as you are willing to fight for it.
In The Ugly
Duckling the social structure and inheritance are expressed by the ugly
ducklings journey through different societies and cultures. Your identity is
not controlled by your legacy. You can create the identity you want for
yourself. The fairy tale shows the difficulty in breaking with social inheritance;
however, if you are destined to be something different than culture dictates it
is achievable.
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