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The Snow Queen

Hans Christian Andersen

Start date: February 1, 2023

Finish date: February 28, 2023

Discussion: Fairy & Folk Tales/Fables

Discussion leader: Gem

Why we're reading this: February 2023 Group Read
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Fairy & Folk Tales/Fables

Snow White by Jacob Grimm - July 2025
By Gem , Belle · 3 posts · 13 views

last updated Jul 11, 2025 02:16PM

Cinderella by Charles Perrault - April 2025
By Gem , Belle · 12 posts · 13 views

last updated Apr 13, 2025 08:55PM

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What Members Thought

Sep 30, 2020 Suzy Davies rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fairytales-for-children-and-adults

This fairytale is perhaps my favorite one of all time. The story of two young children, Kay, a boy, and Gerda, a girl, friends who are "like brother and sister" so close they are to each other. They are poor; their parents live opposite one another in two "garrets" and their grandmother is near them. A hobgoblin's spell interferes with Kay's way of looking at the world. Before too long, Kay is "abducted" by the mysterious and chillingly seductive Snow Queen, who has a heart of ice. When Kay goes This fairytale is perhaps my favorite one of all time. The story of two young children, Kay, a boy, and Gerda, a girl, friends who are "like brother and sister" so close they are to each other. They are poor; their parents live opposite one another in two "garrets" and their grandmother is near them. A hobgoblin's spell interferes with Kay's way of looking at the world. Before too long, Kay is "abducted" by the mysterious and chillingly seductive Snow Queen, who has a heart of ice. When Kay goes missing, Gerda wonders where he might be, and this is the beginning of a quest narrative, with the anatagonists being the witch with her garden of "floral voices," the Prince and Princess, and the crow who provide delays, temptations, misleading information and pleasurable but time-wasting distractions along the way.
This tale is not straightforward by any means. Beneath the surface of the text, we have a romance story of cruel seduction in which The Snow Queen seduces Kay, and he goes willingly on a dangerous adventure to end up trapped, isolated and devoid of love or feeling. Kay complements the darkness of The Snow Queen deceptively hidden in the "light" of snow and ice. Kay also represents the shadow side; he may not even be worthy of Gerda who is his willing but passive rescuer in the tale. Although lacking in direction, she represents goodness and loyalty.
Kay, full of adolescent angst, with "ice" in his eye and his heart - splinters from the hobgoblin's mirror which have distorted his vision- shows he has a coldness about him, a way of looking at the world that means he is blinded. When Gerda finally finds him, The Snow Queen has vanished.
The Snow Queen will always be an enigma, but perhaps this tale is a religious allegorical tale of Death, which is a seducer, and the afterlife; the children's return home to the garden as adults, in the warmth of the sunshine. This is their salvation in "heaven."
The recurring motif of the rose represents memory, idealizing and romanticising childhood itself as being at one with nature. Importantly, it is repeated in the religious verse; God's promise is that his love is infinite, and outlasts the flowers, when the blooms have died. Even without the undertext of romance, this beautiful story would still be romantic.
The way in which Andersen describes the snow is enchanting and unforgettable.
The richness of the text means this fairytale can be read by older children and adults. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 18, 2016 Gem rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, z-2016-read, classics, 19th-century-lit, fantasy, fairy-tales, danish-lit, z-2023-read

I enjoyed this selection more than the first time around (December 2016). That said, I don't know if it's the translation, or the fact that it was written over 150 years ago but Andersen's writing often seems disjointed to me and I noticed it, especially in The Snow Queen.

The story is a powerful one that shows the lengths that someone will go to in order to rescue a loved one. It's pretty moving. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2013 Karla rated it liked it

Shelves: fairytale, oldschool-awesome

I thought this story was far less about the snow queen than it was about a boy and a girl defying odds. And mostly the girl. For me, the queen made me think of the witch in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. For those who have seen it, the challenges faced by the boy and the girl in this story also made me think of the video to Winter on Pump it Up.

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