"The Tallow Candle" ( da, Tællelyset) is a 700-word literary fairytale by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was written in the 1820s, making it one of his earliest works and his first known work in the fairytale genre, but its existence was apparently unknown to scholars or the public for almost two centuries. A copy of the manuscript was discovered in a filing box in the National Archives of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

in October 2012.

Plot

tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, includ ...

candle, whose parents are a

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and a melting pot, becomes more and more disheartened as it cannot find a purpose in life. It meets a

tinderbox A tinderbox, or patch box, is a container made of wood or metal containing flint, firesteel, and tinder (typically charcloth, but possibly a small quantity of dry, finely divided fibrous matter such as hemp), used together to help kindle a fire ...

who lights a flame on the candle, and it finally finds its right place in life and spreads joy and happiness for itself and its fellow creatures.

Discovery

The manuscript was discovered in late 2012 in a suitcase with documents belonging to the Plum family in the local branch of the

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, Denmark. The first people to come across the document were a couple doing amateur research into their family history, but they thought nothing of it since it seemed unrelated to

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

. Later the archivist and local historian Esben Brage noted the document's signature and realized that it might be an original H. C. Andersen document. Danish experts confirmed its authorship in December 2012.

Commentaries and criticism

Andersen scholars agree that the work is not of the same literary quality as his later tales, and that it has many similarities with other writings from his time at the Latinate schools in Slagelse and Elsinore. It was dedicated to Madame Bunkeflod, a vicar's widow and one of the young Andersen's benefactors. One scholar argued that the tale was overly didactic and moralistic, and lacking Andersen's later sense of humor, probably to impress his benefactress, who had paid for his education. Danish author and Andersen specialist Johannes Møllehave opined that the tale could have been written by any bright 15-year-old and that it displayed nothing of Andersen's later virtuosity. Two Danish

philologists Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

have expressed doubts about the authorship of the fairy tale. They argue that the tale is too close in form to the models used in the Latinate schools of the time for it to be likely to be an original composition, and they have also expressed disbelief in the use of the word ''formfuldendt'' ("flawless") which does not otherwise appear in texts until much later. Since the manuscript is difficult to read there is a possibility that what is written is in fact another word. Christian Graugaard, a Danish poet and professor of sexology, has analyzed the tale as a covert autoerotic tale, in which the candle symbolizes the phallus and the melting tallow the semen in an ejaculation. According to him Andersen often added erotic undertones and metaphoric phallic imagery in his tales. He characterizes the fairy tale as "a literary cumshot".

References

External links

The full text of The Tallow candle in Danish

English translation of The Tallow Candle, by Julian Isherwood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tallow Candle, The 1820s short stories 2012 archaeological discoveries Danish fairy tales Short stories by Hans Christian Andersen Fictional objects

Plot

Discovery

Commentaries and criticism

See also

References

External links