The Tinder Box

Infobox Book |
name = The Tinder Box
title_orig = Fyrtøiet
translator = Charles Boner


image_caption = Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen
author = Hans Christian Andersen
country = Denmark
language = Danish
series =
genre = Fairy tale
published_in = Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Hefte.
publication_type =
publisher = C.A. Reitzel
media_type = Print
pub_date = 1835
english_pub_date = 1846
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Tinder Box" ( _da. Fyrtøiet) is a fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinder box capable of summoning three dogs to do his bidding. When the soldier uses the tinder box to bring a sleeping princess to his chamber, he is arrested, but escapes execution through the intervention of the three dogs. Andersen's tale has its source in folk material, and, for some, his retelling may reflect his desire for social revenge after suffering various humiliations in his youth. "The Tinder Box" was published in 1835, and twice again during Andersen's lifetime. The tale has been adapted to various media including ballet and animated film.

Plot summary

With the help of a witch, a soldier acquires riches and a magic tinder box which will summon three powerful dogs to do his bidding. When the soldier finds himself in a town where a princess is kept under lock and key after a prophecy indicated she would marry a common soldier, he strikes the tinder box and orders one of the magic dogs to bring the princess to his chamber. After several such visits, the princess's nocturnal whereabouts are discovered. The soldier is arrested and sentenced to death. On the scaffold, he strikes the tinder box and the dogs save his life. The soldier is reunited with the princess and they marry.

Source

Andersen's story is a retelling of the Scandinavian folk tale, "The Spirit in the Candle" ("Aanden i Lyset"). In the folk tale, a soldier gains riches through the magic of a troll's candle which summons an iron man to do the soldier's bidding. The candle allows the soldier to visit a princess, and, when the soldier faces death at the stake, he uses the candle to summon the iron man to save his life.Opie, Iona and Peter. "The Classic Fairy Tales". Oxford University Press, 1974. ISBN 0192115596]

Analysis

Andersen grew up poor and uneducated, and was subject to many slights and humiliations on the road to fame and wealth. In "Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller", Jackie Wullschlager writes of "The Tinder Box": cquote |It is a confident, young man's tale - jaunty, brisk, and exhilarating. It celebrates youth over age and it has the energy and hope and satisfaction of a traditional folktale - "Aladdin", "Puss in Boots", "Jack and the Beanstalk" – whose young hero overcomes adversity and ends a contented, successful adult....For Andersen, the fairy tale was a form in which he could express forbidden emotions and thoughts without, as it were, being caught. It's no accident that of the first three folktales he chose to adapt, two are fantasies of social revenge....

Publication

"The Tinder Box" was Andersen's first fairy tale and was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel 8 May 1835 in "Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. First Booklet. 1835." ("Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. Første Hefte. 1835."). The tale was first in the booklet, which included three other tales by Andersen: (in contents order) "Little Claus and Big Claus" ("Lille Claus og store Claus"), "The Princess and the Pea" ("Prinsessen på ærten"), and "Little Ida's Flowers" ("Den lille Idas Blomster"). "The Tinder Box" was re-published twice during the author's lifetime: 18 December 1849 as a part of "Fairy Tales. 1850." ("Eventyr. 1850." ), and again 15 December 1862 as a part of "Fairy Tales and Stories. First Volume. 1862." ("Eventyr og Historier. Første Bind. 1862."). [ [http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/register/info_e.html?vid=6 Hans Christian Andersen Center: Hans Christian Andersen: The Tinder Box] Retrieved 1 February 1 2008]

Translations

The tale was first translated into English by Charles Boner, who included it in "A Danish Story-Book" (1846).

Adaptations

* Andrew Lang included the tale in "The Yellow Fairy Book" (1894).
* "The Tinder Box" was the first Danish animated feature, opening in cinemas in 1946. The film was directed by Svend Methling and animated by (among others) Børge Ring, who would win an Academy Award in 1984 for his animated short, "Anna & Bella". [ [http://www.dfi.dk/tidsskriftetfilm/46/fromthetinderbox.htm From the Tinder Box to the Ugly Duckling] Retrieved 1 February 2008]
*"Classics Illustrated Junior", a 1950s American comic book series, printed the tale July 1957 as issue #540.
* The tale was adapted into a 30-minute ballet in 2007 with sets and costumes designed by Queen Margrethe II. The ballet opened in the Pantomime Theatre in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2007/07/13/ballet-margrethe-andersen.html Danish queen lends a hand for Andersen-inspired ballet] Retrieved 1 February 2008]
* The tale has been adapted to the puppet theaters of Poland. [ [http://www.dik.org.pl/en/andersen/theatre.htm H.C. Andersen in Polish theatres] Retrieved 1 February 2008]
* "Sparks" by Greg Frost is a modern story based on Andersen's original and was published in the anthology, "Black Swan, White Swan".

See also

*List of works by Hans Christian Andersen
*Aladdin

References

External links

* [http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheTinderBox_e.html "The Tinder Box"] Jean Hersholt's English translation
* [http://www.adl.dk/adl_pub/vaerker/cv/e_vaerk/e_vaerk.xsql?ff_id=22&id=2238&hist=fmF&nnoc=adl_pub "Fyrtøiet"] Original Danish text