Is Hans Christian Andersens, “The Emperors New Clothes” a Moral Story?
His spiritual mentor Orstead is a physicist and scientist. Andersen’s interest in science no doubt influences his writing. (Mylius) He takes numerous trips to Germany. His serious writing is always better received in Germany then in his home land Denmark. One may conclude his thought and beliefs are more in line with contemporary German thought of the time. The fairy tales are of a moral nature, but not Biblically influenced. The morals are the morals of western civilization as define by Greek and Rome and embrace by the Germans in their second Renaissance. These thought systems are what drive Andersen. In conclusion, Andersen’s Emperors exposes lack of morals and through the eyes of a child teaches us pure behavior. The Russian tale rewards moral or virtuous behavior while the politically correct version excuses the lack of moral behavior and embraces it. We now ask, what is a fairy tale? Andersen creates them to be engaging but they are more than entertainment. Kai Munk spoke of Ande
