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Thumbelina Characters

Characters  Hans Christian Andersen

Analysis of specific characteristics and features of literary characters included in Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen. It includes action and characteristics of Thumbelina as the major character and minor characters such as the toad, the toad's son, a cockchafer, a mole, the swallow, etc.

  • Thumbelina's Mother
  • A Fairy
  • Thumbelina
  • The Old Toad
  • Toad's Son
  • The Cockchafer
  • The Field Mouse
  • A Mole
  • The Swallow
  • The King of Flowers, The King of Elves

Further study

  • Thumbelina Book
  • Thumbelina Analysis
  • Thumbelina Summary
  • Hans Christian Andersen Biography

Thumbelina's Mother

The story begins with a woman who dreamed of having a child and went to the witch for help. Why didn't she give birth to a child on her own, didn't she adopt an orphan? After all, it is usually done by those who dream of children. However, there is a category of people who cannot cope with their problems on their own. They resort to the services of wizards, magicians, witches, psychics. This is about such a person having desires, but no abilities, creative imagination, vital energy. This poor woman can't even imagine a normal name for a girl, she is unable to ensure the baby's safety, carelessly leaving the shell with the sleeping girl briefly by the open window. It is quite natural that she lost her happiness.

A Fairy

A fairy is an image of a person, on the contrary to Thumbelina's mother, with the ability to be creative. It is in her power to create something fantastic, spiritual, and animated from something ordinary, for example from barley grain. Yet, a fairy is a simple person, not an almighty God, so the wonderful creature turned out to be small, very small.

Thumbelina

Born with the power of creative imagination, has beauty and talent. She can provide joy and happiness to all living beings. But she is so small that she cannot exist independently in the material world. Her charm extends only to the spiritual component of reality. This is her salvation and at the same time a test - someone always needs her, and at the same time, she is dependent on someone.

Thumbelina is a symbolic character, she is something beautiful but unattainable in real life because no one has managed to own her in this world. Only in a distant land did the king of elves succeed, a creature as fantastic as Thumbelina herself.

The Old Toad

The toad stole Thumbelina, she was a little more prudent than her mother; she laid her gently on a sheet, away from the shore, to prevent a potential daughter-in-law from escaping. Yet, having stereotypical thinking, she could not assume that there were other forces capable of thwarting her plans: for example, a swimming fish. The toad doesn't even think that someone is ready to help the unfortunate creature. Besides, she doesn't think about the fact that her son as a husband can make anyone unhappy. And the worst part is that the toad is busy building a family nest in a swampy swamp where Thumbelina can't survive. But the old toad can't understand all this.

What can we learn from this character? At least the fact that any act is complicated by many circumstances, some can be foreseen and prevented, while others, due to human limitations, are impossible. There are people who do not have an adequate idea of ​​the world, of themselves, and those around them. Everything they do sooner or later will fail.

Toad's Son

An absolute creature without a spine. Had they found him a bride, he would have married; if they hadn't found him, he wouldn't have married. This is a picture of a person who has no personality at all. It is unlikely that he was very upset after the loss of the bride. He doesn't need a wife at all.

The Cockchafer

The cockchafer or the May bug was not devoid of aesthetic taste, and he liked the little Thumbelina very much. But when other cockchafers came and expressed their opinion: "Why, she has only two legs-what a miserable sight!", "She hasn't any feelers," The cockchafer rejected Thumbelina. Why did this happen?

First, the cockchafer is an egoist who considers himself worthy of all the best, takes everything he likes from life, and is dependent on other people's opinions. This is representative of the modern crowd, for which it is most terrible to be different from "friends", to be different from everyone else. The value of anything to such people is not measured by their own ideas, but by the way others judge it. The fairy tale "Thumbelina" gives us an understanding of terrible evil, which consists in rejecting love for the sake of public opinion.

Secondly, the cockchafer is not an option that suits Thumbelina's husband. A hundred thousand cockchafers could not give him a shred of the spiritual joy that Thumbelina could give. In the inner state of happiness and love, he prefers his external position among useless and narrow-minded relatives, resulting in Thumbelina's thinking she is flawed just because she is rejected by insignificant creatures.

The Field Mouse

This creature loves Thumbelina, takes care of her, and wishes her only happiness. She's busy marrying Thumbelina to the mole. To her personally, the marriage of Thumbelina and the mole looks like the culmination of a prosperous life, since the mole is rich and has a luxurious fur coat. To the mouse, these arguments are enough to consider the mole an enviable groom. In this case, he assumes the right to decide on the fate of others, guided solely by good intentions, and does so completely disinterestedly. The example of the mouse shows how some people can make other people unhappy, wishing only good for them, showing sincere care for a loved one. Truly "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

A Mole

The personification of a rich man. His character is given in a few words: "important, sedative and silent." He considers himself the pinnacle of every girl's dream, and does not like the sun, flowers, and birds - all that Thumbelina adores - a character opposite to Thumbelina in its very essence. This marriage was initially doomed.

In this situation, Thumbelina is true to herself: she unquestioningly obeys her breadwinner, considering him her benefactor. It is only at the last moment that she decides to run away because she cannot imagine her life without sunlight.

The Swallow

Thumbelina warmed and saved him from starvation. The character in the shape of a swallow is the connection between the heroine of the fairy tale and another world, opposed to everyday and boring reality. The mole and the mouse, who dedicate their lives to accumulating material wealth, unanimously accuse the bird of useless existence. For them, singing is a completely empty skill. While for Thumbelina it is a great joy. She takes care of the bird in gratitude for the moments of pleasure it once brought. In the end, the swallow returned the favor by saving Thumbelina, knowing that the life with a mole will be her death. The swallow helps her escape and takes her to the elves' world where she finally feels at home.

The King of Flowers, The King of Elves

Thumbelina's first fiancé who actually asks her to consent to the marriage. The first one who actually asked her for her opinion regarding marriage. Born of a flower, by him, she becomes the queen of flowers. He made her achieve her happiness.

And when the other little ladies and gentleman surrounded Thumbelina and saw that she had no wings, they simply gave her one without further ado. This is how all problems should be solved in an ideal society, taking care of the personality of another creature. This example is the main life lesson that can be learned from the fairy tale "Thumbelina".

Further study

  • Thumbelina Book
  • Thumbelina Analysis
  • Thumbelina Summary
  • Hans Christian Andersen Biography

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