Folk and fairy tales come in many types and varieties, often unique to the teller. Those of Hans-Christian Andersen are no different, bearing a connection to both traditional fairy tales and more modern writings.
Andersen's tales are different than most European folk and fairy tales simply by their length and design. Stories that we looked at previously tended to be rather short, with the occasional exception, but all of Andersen's stories are of a style that lends itself to longer stories. The method of laying out actions and characters has more in common with modern day novels than the likes of Little Red Riding Hood, which depended on a minimalistic writing style.
Logistical storytelling mechanisms aside, his stories also differ from traditional folk and fairy tales due to their manner of conflict. Rather than being driven by outside agents, the conflicts of Andersen's stories is primarily driven by the inherent flaws and personalities of its protagonists. In The Little Mermaid, it is the titular character's obsession with the prince that leads her into a bargain that ends in her own death. In The Red Shoes, it is the girl's pride and vanity that curse her to dance forever. In The Emperor's New Clothes, it is the emperor's arrogance and pride that lead him to be tricked. In all of these stories there are secondary characters who could be considered antagonists, but act more as plot devices than active forces of malevolence. The sea witch in The Little Mermaid makes it expressly clear that she wishes the little mermaid harm but herself makes no action against her, simply providing her to tools for her own destruction. The angel in The Red Shoes may appear threatening, but he never actually does more than deliver to the girl the news of what has befallen her, and at the end of the story he even serves as a beneficiary to her. The two swindlers in The Emperor's New Clothes are undoubtedly criminal, but while they attempted to scam the emperor it was only the emperor's pride that not only allowed them to get away with it but made him a fool before his people.
The Red Shoes also has the distinguishing feature of being overtly religious. Its mention of church, confirmation, eucharist, and other Christian rites and symbols connect it to faith in a way unseen in other folk or fairy tales. In a way this would make it a separate sort of story, save only for its lack of geographic connection. Tales like the Lambton Worm and the assorted saints are all connected to specific locations as well as religious faith, but The Red Shoes has none of that, leaving it in a nebulous limbo between the two story types.
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