December 20, 2012

Hans Christian Anderson: The Fir Tree

What is it with the Anderson? Many describe his stories as "fairy tales," but in most fairy tails, I recall innocence triumphing (eventually) over evil. In Anderson's stories, innocence and longing generally lead to a bad end.

Sure, the Ugly Duckling has a happy ending, but have you read "The Little Match Girl" or the original "Little Mermaid"? Death! Death comes to us all, especially those who hope for something better. And so it is with "The Fir Tree."

The fir tree, happily growing in the (clean, innocent, unsullied) forest, longs for something better, to be a Christmas tree. And his wish is granted. And for a few days or weeks, he stand proudly in the family's room, lit and decorated, before being shunted off to the attic, to dry out and turn brown, before being burned in the summer.

And for some insane reason, this story was included in a set of Christmas stories for children that came into our possession, along with "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "The Nutcracker." It's not as bad as "The Little Match Girl," it's only a tree that has its dreams crushed and dies, not a child, but still. I understand that the nights in northern Europe are long, and there is not much to do but drink clear and very alcoholic liquors, but one would think the editors of these editions would say to themselves, "Hey, this isn't really what Christmas is about, is it?"

In this day and age, even in Anderson's day and age, did people need a lesson not to dream, not to hope for something better? He was pretty reactionary: a love of simpler, rural times; not hoping for more than one has now. Which, actually, when you consider what people long for in Christmas, does make this the perfect Christmas story.