The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep

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The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep
Vilhelm Pedersen illustration
Author	Hans Christian Andersen
Original title	Hyrdinden og Skorstensfejeren
Country	Denmark
Language	Danish
Genre(s)	Fairy tale
Publisher	C. A. Reitzel
Publication date	7 April 1845
Media type	Print

"The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" (Hyrdinden og Skorstensfejeren) is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a romance between a china shepherdess and a china chimney sweep. The two are threatened by a carved satyr who wants the shepherdess for his wife. The tale was first published in 1845. "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" is original with Andersen and not a retelling of folk material. The title is sometimes translated into English as "The Shepherdess and the Sweep".

1 Plot summary
2 Publication
3 Analysis
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Two china figurines (a shepherdess and a chimney sweep) stand side-by-side on a table top. They are in love. Their romance is threatened, however, by the carved figure of a satyr on a nearby cabinet who wants the shepherdess for his wife. The satyr importunes a porcelain Chinaman on the table (who considers himself the shepherdess' grandfather) to give his consent to the marriage. When the Chinaman agrees to the union, the shepherdess and the chimney sweep flee, clambering down a table leg to the floor. They hide in a puppet theater, and, when they emerge, discover the Chinaman has fallen to the floor in attempting to pursue them. The lovers then climb with great difficulty through a stove pipe to the roof, sustained in their flight by a star shining high above them. When the shepherdess reaches the rooftop and gazes upon the world before her, she takes fright at its vastness, and wants to return to the table top. The chimney sweep tries to dissuade her, but, as he loves her greatly, he finally accedes to her wishes and guides her back to the table top. There, the two discover the Chinaman was broken in his fall and cannot press the shepherdess to marry the satyr. The lovers are safe at last.

[edit] Publication

Paper chimney sweep cut by Andersen

The tale was first published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen 7 April 1845 in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Third Collection. 1845. (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Tredie Samling. 1845.) Other tales in the volume include "The Elf Mound" (Elverhøi), "The Red Shoes" (De røde Skoe), "The Jumpers" (Springfyrene}, and "Holger Danske" (Holger the Dane). The tale was republished 18 December 1849 as a part of Fairy Tales. 1850.) (Eventyr. 1850.), and again on 30 March 1863 as a part of Fairy Tales and Stories. Second Volume. 1863. (Eventyr og Historier. Andet Bind. 1863.) ^[1]

[edit] Analysis

Like "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (1838), "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" is about a romance between two household objects. While "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" ends with the lovers joined in death, "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" ends with the lovers living happily ever after. The tale displays Andersen's talent for investing inanimate household objects with life, character, and personality. Other Andersen tales about household objects include "The Sweethearts; or, The Top and the Ball", "The Shirt Collar", and "The Teapot".

[edit] See also

List of works by Hans Christian Andersen
Vilhelm Pedersen, first illustrator of Andersen's fairy tales
Le Roi et l'oiseau, a French animated feature-length film loosely based on The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep