Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen is a very large collection of the author’s stories, which include well-known works such as The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, and Thumbelina. While I enjoyed revisiting some of the familiar fairytales, the antiquated writing style made the stories rather tough to read (holy passive voice and non-restrictive clauses, Batman!).

I read Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen as part of the 2026 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. April’s challenge was to read a collection of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales because he was born in April 1805. I’m not going to claim that I read every fairytale in the book, but I read plenty, including a longer one called The Ice Maiden.

The Ice Maiden is a fairytale about how you can’t change fate, with a secondary theme regarding the perils of jealousy. Rudy is the main character in this story, which takes place in the rugged mountains of Switzerland. When Rudy was a baby, his mother fell down into an abyss while holding baby Rudy. While his mother perished, Rudy survived but did not come away unscathed – the Ice Maiden kissed him on the cheek, forever marking him as hers.

Rudy grows up to be a fearless mountain climber and a skilled marksman. He makes a living by hunting the chamois that roam the mountains. A miller’s daughter, who is in a higher social class than him, catches his eye and he becomes determined to marry her. He finally wins over her and her father but nearly ruins the relationship when he storms off in a jealous fit when he sees his fiancée in a seemingly compromised situation with another man.

In his rage, he takes to the mountains, where he encounters a beautiful young woman (the Ice Maiden in disguise) in a cottage. He ends up kissing her, which is his second kiss from the Ice Maiden.

If you’re familiar with fairytales, you’ll know that good and bad things happen after three events. The third kiss, which happened during his wedding trip, resulted in Rudy’s death when he swam to catch a drifting rowboat. One kiss on his foot from the Ice Maiden and Rudy was a goner. He couldn’t escape the fate that was established when he was a baby.

Andersen’s fairytales are full of deep themes and moral lessons. In addition to the themes of fate and jealousy found in The Ice Maiden, he also frequently focused on:

• The Misfit and Social Outcast: Thumbelina
• Transformation and Inner Beauty: The Ugly Duckling
• Unrequited or Self-Sacrificing Love: The Little Mermaid
• Spirituality and Redemption: God is mentioned several times in the shorter tales I read
• Poverty and Class Inequality: this theme is present in The Ice Maiden

The last theme was an outcome of his impoverished childhood. His father only had a grade school education and his mother was illiterate, making Andersen’s writing success even more remarkable. I also found it interesting that he took inspiration from old myths and stories, reimagining stories to make them his own (Thumbelina and The Emperor’s New Clothes).

While I’m glad I read Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, I won’t be reading anymore of his stories. I’m all fairytaled out, plus his writing style made me a little crazy.

Did you read some fairytales this month? Tell us what you thought in the comments section.

**Reminder – May’s challenge is to read a book that mostly takes place at a wedding.