Quest and Place in Carl Hansen and Hans Christian Andersen

Authors

David S. Iversen

Keywords

Danish authors, literature, immigrants

Abstract

Carl Hansen and Hans Christian Andersen demonstrate a number of similar characteristics as authors. Both wrote their stories with their respective readership in mind. Both authors strove to establish character and setting with as few words as possible. Both knew their audiences well and made use of scenes, places, and experiences that their readers recognized. Each man was also driven to become an author, albeit for slightly different reasons. Hans Christian Andersen was, according to Sven H. Rossel, "single-minded in pursuit of art and recognition,"1 while Carl Hansen relates that "some five years before he emigrated to the United States he [had] caught the disease 'digteritis,' the nagging urge to write and be published."2 They both demonstrate as well an understanding of the folkloric concepts of "quest" and "place." The goal of this paper will be to show how they represent these concepts by comparing three short stories by Carl Hansen with three of Andersen's well-known tales.

Recommended Citation

Iversen, David S. (2006) "Quest and Place in Carl Hansen and Hans Christian Andersen," The Bridge: Vol. 29: No. 2, Article 42.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol29/iss2/42