What did the little match girl express and reveal to the author?

The Little Match Girl is a fairy tale written by Danish fairy tale writer Andersen and published in 1846. This paper mainly tells the story of a little match girl who froze to death in the street on New Year's Eve when the rich family was beaming and drinking.

The little girl died with a smile on her lips, which was in sharp contrast with her real life of hunger and cold through the beautiful fantasy of lighting matches. Through this fairy tale, Andersen expressed his deep sympathy for the poor and his dissatisfaction with the society at that time, and mercilessly exposed the darkness and evil of capitalist society.

The Little Match Girl

It tells the tragic fate of a little girl who sells matches on Christmas Eve. The little girl didn't eat all day because she didn't sell a match. She is cold and hungry. She struck the first match and saw the warm stove. She polished the second match and saw the delicious roast goose; She polished the third match and saw the beautiful Christmas tree; She polished the fourth stove and met her long-lost grandmother. She was afraid that once the match went out, grandma would disappear like a stove, a roast goose and a Christmas tree, so she polished a whole match and wanted grandma to stay with her. Finally, the little girl died with a smile on her lips, and no one knew the beautiful scene she saw at the last moment.

In The Little Match Girl, Andersen described the poor little girl's unfortunate fate, but also described in detail the child's psychological activities in the case of hunger, cold and helplessness, especially her fantasies about food, warmth and affection. The writer described in detail the four fantasy fragments of the little girl about a warm stove, a fat roast goose, a beautiful Christmas tree and a loving grandmother. It was precisely under the capitalist system at that time that the poor could not realize their good wishes and ensure food and clothing. However, this kind of fantasy is different from the absurd descriptions in fairy tales. She drew directly from real life, which was the truest reflection of the unequal reality of European capitalist society at that time. People can be seen everywhere, and stories can happen at any time.

The Little Match Girl

The power of tragedy lies in tearing up beauty for people to see. The little match girl destroyed a girl's pure soul. The poor girl yearns for a beautiful situation in an instant without even the most basic food and clothing, which may be the true nature of human nature. The writer Andersen described the bitterness and tragic fate of this weak life with her longing and disillusionment for a better situation, which enhanced the artistic appeal of the characters. The article describes "blushing with laughter", seeing "warm stove, delicious roast goose, beautiful Christmas tree and loving grandma" in fantasy, and flying to heaven with grandma to find a life without cold, hunger and pain. The author described the beautiful fantasy of the little girl and the cold reality she faced, and mercilessly whipped the evil capitalist society.

The Little Match Girl