Re: [Pen-l] Thoughts provoked by the Platypus

[j.martin.pedersen]

On 31/08/10 16:09, raghu wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 5:28 PM, j.martin.pedersen
> <m.peder...@lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:
>> Try HC Andersen's Ugly Duckling -
>> what is that all about?
> 
> 
> Sorry if I sound ignorant, but what about "The ugly duckling"? I
> thought it was a children's tale and supposedly autobiographical. I
> didn't realize it had racist undertones. Can anyone point me to more
> information on this? Does the same apply also to Andersen's other
> works?

HCA just tells of life in a little duck pond (which is a common way of
describing "Our" country in Danish: "the duck pond") where the arrival
of someone who looks different causes a communal stir, leading to the
newcomers exclusion. Xenophobia in other words. Not to say that HC
Andersen was a racist or anything by any means, he just told the story
of life in "the duck pond". The point of reference was merely to suggest
that it has been a central issue for ages in Denmark.
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