The Snow Queen, Parts 3 and 4

Even beautiful flowers can be part of a prison.

 Hello again friends. I'm changing up my usual rhythm for this story. We'll be looking at Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen every week until it's done. Then I'll write a modern version of it. Otherwise, I'd be writing stories that didn't finish. So, if you read stories 1 and 2 last week, go ahead and scroll down to stories 3 and 4 and give them a read.

So, apparently that old woman who kidnapped Gerda wasn't a bad woman? Or maybe her powers just weren't strong enough to make her a wicked witch? I'm not sure quite what Andersen meant by all of that. And the old woman isn't really in the story after she enchants Gerda to forget about her quest and family. So, I hope the old woman enjoyed having a sweet kiddo in the house because we don't see much about how they live while Gerda is there.

The Snow Queen who kidnapped Kay and the old woman who kidnapped Gerda are good foils for each other, though. Kay is trapped in winter while Gerda is trapped in spring. There's even a difference in how they both ended up there. Gerda came to the old woman, however unwittingly, and Kay was dragged away. I do appreciate that part. (And Gerda was able to rescue herself, while it seems that Kay isn't.)

I have to admit, though, I got a little impatient with the flowers' stories. Poor Gerda was just asking if they had seen her friend and they're telling her about dead people and a super clean girl, and all sorts of things. I'm sure there's a deeper meaning to those stories as well, maybe something about how people can be self-centered and not helpful. The flowers just wanted to tell their own stories, after all. They didn't want to help Gerda with hers as it unfolded.

One of the reasons that I keep calling these stories fairy tales, even though they aren't oral traditions like most of the others, is because of the themes in them. Gerda is a good, sweet little girl, so everyone helps her. The crow that finds her is able to talk to her and helps her. Even when Gerda breaks into the palace and wakes up a random man, he and his wife still want to help her. He even gives Gerda his bed to sleep in after she wakes him up. I don't think I would be that generous to someone who'd woken me up, especially if they were a stranger.

We also need to talk about the crows. How does one become a tame crow in a castle? And how does that tame crow become engaged to a wild crow? I'm interested in their story. If anyone writes a spin off, let me know. Or I might write that one of these days. However the crows ended up in that situation, it's great for them that they helped out Gerda. Because of that, they both get appointments at court, and all the food they can eat. I'm not sure what position a crow would have, but I suppose if they can fly and speak to humans, they could be incredibly useful.

In the overall story, Gerda begins her journey to finding Kay and that's really all that happens. But Andersen put so much detail into her journey. We learn so much about this world. And I do appreciate that Kay got himself kidnapped and it's up to Gerda to find him and bring him home. Never mind that she was also kidnapped and later given the option to live in a beautiful palace. Gerda may be a sweet and kind little girl, but she's also powerful and determined. She may be becoming my new role model.

The moral of these stories is that if you're good, you'll get good outcomes, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. Alternatively, if you're going to ask a river to find your friend, take its first answer as the real answer and don't climb into a boat with no oars to ask again.

Have a different moral? Want to talk about the flowers' stories? Wondering if Gerda's grandma has given up on seeing her again? Comment below! And don't forget to subscribe if you like what you're reading.