Comparing Fairy Tales: Mirrors and Shoes
I chose to finish off reading Hans Christian Anderson's stories for this week, particularly The Little Match Girl, The Red Shoes, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Nightingale. While there are some clear distinctions between HCA's works and the earlier fairy tales we read, I was more interested in some of the specific symbols that were reappearing in the stories, and how they were representative of the author.
The first repeated symbol I noticed with the mirror - the meaning behind this is a little obvious given a mirror provides a reflection of oneself (and HCA loves writing about how characters view themselves). The most famous mirror most of us know is the one from Snow White though, with the famous "Mirror Mirror on the Wall" line - it was enough to get a Snow White movie adaptation named after it! HCA incorporates a mirror in the Snow Queen, with the Hobgoblin's mirror that reflected all the negativity in the viewers. He writes about another mirror in The Red Shoes, where it told Karen that she looked beautiful. Finally, we got more references to mirrors in The Emperor's New Clothes, with him being self absorbed and concerned with appearances. A mirror isn't always an obvious symbol since it is such a common item, but HCA definitely took use of it in his stories. Overall, HCA tended to write about personal morals and lessons learned, with the mirror being a reflection (heh) of one's self obsession. Meanwhile, the mirror from Snow White was more of used as a tool of the evil Queen. The Queen's issue was that she was obsessed with being the fairest one of all, but that wasn't the point of the story. HCA wrote about individual journeys (and the ending being about a lesson learned), while the earlier fairy tales were more about romance overcoming evil (with the mirror being a vice for representing the evil character in this instance). Personally, I look into a mirror several times a day, but never really think of it as much more, so I am interested in how it is used in these stories for more extensive lessons.
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| I could not mention mirrors without bringing up Rumpelstiltskin's mirror from Shrek! Its inclusion a prime example of his self obsession. |
The other common imagery I noticed was a tad bit more obscure - shoes. In last week's tales, we saw shoes in Cinderella with her iconic slippers, and again in Snow White with the queen dancing to her death in burning hot shoes (still, such a strange ending I can't get over). Like I mentioned, a lot of the original fairy tales are focused on romance, which often is VERY closely associated with physical beauty. Thus, the glass slippers were used in Cinderella as part of her gorgeous outfit, and the scene of the slipper fitting her foot being a vital scene in all adaptations (the old and the new!). Though, I am interested by the focus on shoes, as they are probably the dirtiest part of one's outfit and don't always get as much attention as a dress or jewelry. Anyway, Cinderella's slippers proved to be the perfect medium for the common theme of romance in these fairy tales, as it is what finally brings the prince back to her. Another common theme in last week's fairy tales was (surprisingly gruesome) karma/revenge on the villains. Snow White's queen was obsessed with her looks, leading perfectly into her wanting of the iron slippers, which was also her method of death. On the flip side, HCA didn't carry over the common themes of romance or revenge, but he still incorporated shoes. This is most obvious in The Red Shoes, where the young girl became so consumed with her shoes and appearance that it ruined her life (and, spoiler alert, her ability to walk), playing into HCA's common theme of personal lessons to be learned.
HCA also liked to connect the lack of shoes to pain. We saw The Little Match Girl being barefoot out in the cold, Karen from The Red Shoes starting out barefoot, and the Little Mermaid getting feet, but then cursed with immense pain while walking. Many of HCA's stories had a pretty grim situation or setting at one point or another, and being shoeless plays right into it. Being shoeless is pretty unenjoyable (check out Soles4Souls!), and I suppose it is a discomfort that even children can relate too, making it a good choice for representing the suffering in a basic, understandable way.
I guess reading these stories, it's the common details and little connections that stand out the most to me. Picking out these common symbols interests me, and I wonder how much of the inclusion of mirrors and shoes was a product of the time (these being old stories) or they're simply being common items that the children reading can associate with. I'm interested to see if there are common symbols in our media today that will stick out strongly to consumers in the future looking back.
Really good insights on the shoes and mirror and how HCA uses them differently than some the earlier authors we read, Jack. Like you, I really find the shoes intriguing. In some of the earlier written tales we read, the shoes are associated, as you point out, with romance and revenge. But for Andersen, there's definitely more of a materialism/hardship vibe.
ReplyDeleteWhich gets *really* interesting (IMHO) when you consider that some scholars trace the shoe/small feet detail back to ancient China's practice of footbinding -- an absolutely gruesome practice that (1) only the most fortunate/wealthiest families could afford to do (since it basically rendered a girl useless because it was so painful) and (2) resulted in this weird obsession with small feet (which became equated with goodness....?) I don't know if HCA knew of this specifically, but we do know that he traveled to the East and was really affected by his travels. Do the shoes have any connection to the Christian perspective we know Andersen had? Or any larger messages about social mobility or charity?
Mari Ness has some interesting thoughts on Andersen and feet and shoes (linked below, because I can't embed the hyperlink in a comment) -- but points out that Andersen's father was a cobbler, in the days before shoes were mass-produced.
But it's also interesting to think how shoes have become a symbol in today's culture (thinking about your last paragraph). Yes, there are the gender specific stereotypes about women having too many shoes (think Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City) but they've also become associated with male athletes...
Mari Ness: https://www.tor.com/2019/01/31/hans-christian-andersens-somewhat-disturbing-obsession-with-feet/
Link to Foot Binding Article: https://www.joyvspicer.com/joy-blog/2013/06/tuesdays-tales-cinderella-and-thoughtshtml
[Disclaimer: she does detail the practice -- and warns you! -- but the first few paragraphs might be all the context you need]
I think the idea of shoes representing social class is super interesting, especially because of how it still applies today. Your post reminded me of the part of Cardi B's song Bodak Yellow when she raps, "you can't f*ck with me if you wanted to / These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes." The line illustrates that she can bank on most of the audience understanding that she's referring to Louboutin's and recognizing them as a status symbol, which I think speaks to the importance we place on shoes as a marker of class.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that I think it interesting is that despite the stereotype that Professor Andres mentioned of girls having too many shoes (to be fair, if you've ever seen my family's shoe closet, it would totally be reasonable to come to that conclusion), the obsession with shoe brands is something that cuts across gender lines. Guys care a lot about the brand of sneakers people wear, for example, so the shoe fixation is definitely not just a girl thing.
In your post, you mentioned that it's weird that fairytales place such importance on shoes even though it's the "dirtiest part of one's outfit." I think that might be precisely why shoes are such a status symbol -- if you can afford lots of different, fancy shoes, that's a clear sign that you have a lot of money and aren't doing any hard work. It's especially meaningful in the case of Cinderella, who trades the shoes she wore as her family's slave for glass slippers. The shoes she had before were probably falling apart, dirty, and made for function. Her new shoes, representing her new social status, are beautiful, and literally made of glass -- you wouldn't be able to do hard work in those if you tried. For her, they're a symbol of social mobility.
I'm also interested in how shoes can be a sign of maturity, especially in light of HCA's weird obsession with the purity of children. I still remember how grown-up I felt wearing my first pair of heels for my bat mitzvah. It's also something that pops up in lots of other cultures -- the changing of the shoes ceremony during a Quinceanera, for example, comes to mind. Maybe that's part of the reason why HCA took a more negative, vanity-focused view towards shoes than other fairytale authors.