"The Fir-Tree" is a literary fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

 by Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 poet and author Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...

 (1805–1875). The tale is about a fir tree so anxious to grow up, so anxious for greater things, that he cannot appreciate living in the moment. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 with "The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen is a fairy tale by author Hans Christian Andersen . The tale was first published in 1845, and centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by a little boy and girl, Kai and Gerda....

" in Copenhagen, Denmark by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar indicates that "The Fir-Tree" was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism.

Plot summary

In the woods stands a little fir-tree. He is preoccupied with growing up and is thoroughly embarrassed when a hare hops over him, an act which emphasizes his diminutiveness. The children call him the baby of the forest and again he is embarrassed and frustrated. A stork tells him of seeing older trees chopped down and used as ship masts, and the little tree envies them. In the fall, nearby trees are felled and the sparrows tell the little fir-tree of seeing them decorated in houses.

One day while still in his youth, the fir-tree is cut down for a Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 decoration. He is bought, carried into a house, decorated, and, on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

, he glows with candles, colored apples, toys, and baskets of candy. A gold star tops the tree. The children enter and plunder the tree of its candy and gifts then listen to a little fat man tell the story of "Humpty Dumpty".

The next day, the fir-tree expects the festivities to be renewed, but servants take the tree down and carry him into the attic. The tree is lonely and disappointed but the mice gather to hear the tree recite the tale of "Humpty Dumpty". Rats arrive, and, when they belittle the simple tale, the mice leave and do not return. In the spring, the fir-tree – now withered and discolored – is carried into the yard. A boy takes the star from its topmost branch. The fir-tree is then cut into pieces and burned.

Publication history

"The Fir-Tree" was published with "The Snow Queen" on 21 December 1844 by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection. 1845. (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samling. 1845.). The tale was republished 18 December 1849 as a part of Fairy Tales. 1850. and again on 15 December 1862 as a part of Fairy Tales and Stories. 1862.. The tale has since been translated into various languages and printed around the world.

Andersen promoted the tale by reading it aloud at social gatherings. In December 1845, he read "The Fir-Tree" and "The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen . The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from his neighbors until, much to his delight , he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all...

" to the Princess of Prussia, and then read "The Fir-Tree" at Count Bismarck-Bohlen's Christmas party. Folklorist Wilhelm Grimm

Wilhelm Grimm

Wilhelm Carl Grimm was a German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm.-Life and work:...

 was present at the party and liked the tale, according to Andersen's diary.

Commentary

Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager suggests the tale portrays a certain psychological type (like its author) who cannot be happy in the moment because he expects greater glory just around the corner and then is overwhelmed with regret. The fir-tree, like his creator, is "a fantasist, vain, fearful, restless, afflicted with the trembling sensitivity of the neurotic, manically swinging from hope to misery." By placing the tale in a gentle, nonthreatening domestic setting of silk draperies and comfortable sofas, the tale's fatalistic tone was accepted by the bourgeosie adult reader who could identify with the tragic fir-tree's anxious longing and limitless pining.

Andersen had written tales with unhappy endings before ("The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid

"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...

" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. After several adventures, the tin soldier perishes in a fire with the ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A...

", for example) but a new note was struck with "The Fir-Tree"—a note of "deeply ingrained pessimism, suggesting not only the mercilessness of fate but the pointlessness of life itself, that only the moment is worthwhile." For the first time in his fairy tales, Andersen expressed an existential doubt that his religious beliefs could not allay. Such doubt was touched upon again in later tales such as "Auntie Toothache" and "Old Johanna's Tale". Wullschlager believes the tale is an appropriate complement to Andersen's "The Snowman

The Snowman (fairy tale)

"The Snowman" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a snowman who falls in love with a stove. It was published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen as Sneemanden on 2 March 1861...

" of 1861.

Adaptations

The tale was adapted to a 28-minute video format in 1979 by Huntingwood Films with the production under the direction of Martin Hunter and filming conducted at Black Creek Pioneer Village

Black Creek Pioneer Village

Black Creek Pioneer Village is a historic site in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, just west of York University and southeast of the Jane and Steeles intersection. It overlooks Black Creek, a tributary of the Humber River. The village is a recreation of life in 19th-century Ontario and gives an idea how...

, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Jeff Kahnert provided the voice of the Fir-Tree.

External links

• "The Fir Tree" English translation by Jean Hersholt
  Jean Hersholt
  Jean Pierre Hersholt was a Danish-born actor who lived in the United States, where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi...
  
  
• Grantræet Original Danish text