Reading the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen and the novels of Horatio Alger as proto-entrepreneurial narrative.

Smith, Robert; Neergaard, Helle

Abstract

Once upon a time, long ago, in the slums of Odense in the State of Denmark, there lived a poor boy whose ambition it was to write stories. His name was Hans Christian Andersen, a cobbler's son. As a boy, Hans was noticebly different from other boys, being gentler and taller than others. He lived in a world of his own imaginative making. He was indeed different, being dyslexic in an age before the condition was appreciated. His poor yet industrious father, Hans Sr., doted on him and read him stories every afternoon. The young Hans was a bright boy and helped his father around the shop as he dreamed his dreams. Hans Sr. introduced his son to literature and to the theatre, but his greatest gift was to encourage him to write his own fairytales. Hans Christian Andersen’s mother, Anne Marie, was of peasant stock and was therefore a natural storyteller, who entertained her children with the folktales of ordinary people. Life was good until tragedy struck the Andersen household with the passing of Hans' father. From that day onwards, the family was beset by poverty. Hans helped his mother make ends meet by working long, hard hours. It was a time when social inequalities stalked the Kingdom of Denmark, causing many of its sons and daughters to brave the passage to the distant shores of America. The spectre of poverty haunted him all his days, but it nevertheless lit a flame deep within - a flame that has not yet been extinguished.

Citation

SMITH, R. and NEERGAARD, H. 2007. Reading the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen and the novels of Horatio Alger as proto-entrepreneurial narrative. Bridge: journal of the Danish American Heritage Society, 30(2).

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2007
• Online Publication Date: Nov 30, 2007
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2007
• Deposit Date: Dec 8, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 8, 2011
• Journal: Bridge: journal of the Danish American Heritage Society
• Electronic ISSN: 0741-1200
• Publisher: Danish American Heritage Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 2
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/693
• Contract Date: Dec 8, 2011