The Ugly Duckling
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The Ugly Duckling (Danish: Den grimme ælling) is a classic-contemporary story by Hans Christian Andersen about a duckling, notably larger, clumsier and uglier than the other ducklings in his brood. The story was first published November 11, 1843 and figured in Andersen's collected New Tales (Nye Eventyr) in 1844.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
A mother duck hatches her eggs and, while most of her ducklings are normal, one is gray, too large, and too clumsy to fit in among the others. Though she tries to accept him, the entire barnyard realizes that he simply does not belong and after a period of harassment he leaves (or is driven away) to fend for himself. He wanders for the entire summer and fall, for no one will take him in, and he nearly freezes to death in an icy pond. Though he is rescued by a human, he cannot live in captivity, and he goes back to the wild.
By the end of winter he is miraculously still alive. He comes to a pond in a park or garden, where beautiful white swans are swimming. He is drawn to their beauty, though he has no reason to think that they will treat him better than anyone else has. Still, he thinks, even if they kill him, he must approach them. To his surprise, the beautiful creatures welcome and accept him; gazing at his reflection, he sees that he too is a swan. The children declare that he is the most beautiful swan of them all, yet he isn't proud for a good heart is never proud. Because of all that he suffered he now appreciates his happiness so much more. "It doesn't matter that you were born in a duck yard, so long as you have lain inside a swan's egg."
[edit] Analysis
The moral concept of the "Ugly Duckling" is that inner beauty will overshadow the physical appearance. Its understated social moral is buried within the tale: To be born in a duck's nest, in a farmyard, is of no consequence to a bird, if it is hatched from a swan's egg. A human parallel would concern a child who looks or acts different from the other children around him/her.
Andersen uses the story to explain his early life. Born into lower middle-class, he frequently felt the part of the ugly duckling. He was an admittedly effeminate youth who later reveals his homosexual feelings through correspondence. This further explains his feelings of being out of place in his day. Today, the story's significance has grown to become a metaphor for anything neglected continually, or anything neglected at first, then becoming popular or good. For example: "I can't believe Sara's so accomplished now! She used to be such an ugly duckling."
While the story is uplifting to those currently suffering harassment because of difference, it also encourages belief that the tormentors are simply destined to remain lower class, giving an otherwise innocent story a tinge of elitism and classism.
One other concern is that while the underlying theme of a youth who is not accepted among his peers finding a group where he belongs is a pleasant premise, it is ironically rather self-defeating. The ugly duckling is not accepted among his peers because he is inadvertently different from them; only later as he discovers that he has turned into a beautiful swan is he accepted into a group and finds happiness.
[edit] Adaptations
Walt Disney produced two Silly Symphonies animated shorts based on the story, one in 1931 in black and white, and one in 1939 in Technicolor. The latter film is the more notable version, as it won the 1939 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons). In this version, the baby swan's sufferings are significantly shortened, as he is found by his real mother and father, and brothers and sisters, after only a few minutes of rejection and ostracism, instead of a whole year; also, its quack was similar to that of a motorcar horn. This abbreviated version is read by Lilo to Stitch in the 2002 Disney film Lilo & Stitch. The story has a deep impact on Stitch, who sets out to look for his real family.
The 1952 Charles Vidor musical film Hans Christian Andersen contains a song, "The Ugly Duckling", written by Frank Loesser and sung by Danny Kaye.
A musical, Honk!, based loosely on the text of Hans Christian Andersen, but more on the concept of the "Ugly Duckling," was performed in London's West End Theatre.
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) TV show Ugly Betty became a hit in the United States in the autumn of 2006 by combining the basic theme with both the soap opera and 'dramedy' formats.
In 1914, the Russian-born composer Prokofiev composed a work for voice and piano based on Nina Mershchersky's adaptation of Andersen's original tale. Later in 1932, he arranged the work for voice and orchestra.
[edit] Books
- Ugly by Donna Jo Napoli
[edit] External links
