Theme Of The Little Match Girl

“The Little Match Girl” written by Hans Christian Anderson is a short fairytale of hope in the darkest of times for a poor little girl. Written in December 1845, The Little Match Girl tells the tale of a young child, trying to sell matches on the cold night of December 31st to avoid being beaten by her father at home. To prolong her inevitable freezing to death by she lights matches to try to keep herself warm, to distract herself dreadful conditions and to try to keep warm. The matches she lit produced an image on the wall near her, a figment of her imagination such a iron stove roast dinner, Christmas tree and her grandmother. The little girl’s imagination had produced these images to provide herself with comfort even while her life had no …show more content…
Anderson also used matches as a prop for the little girl as begging was illegal at the time, children were also considered miniature adults during the 19th century and were used for cheap labor. (Capano) The theme of this bittersweet fairytale written by Anderson that you can find comfort through your own imagination even when life seems hopeless. This theme is developed throughout the story through the use of images in which she invents thought he power of her imagination to make herself feel warm even on the coldest winter night. Contrast between what her imagination is causing her to see on the wall and what she is really experiences also proves the theme that you can find comfort using your own imagination even when life seems completely hopeless. The way Anderson characterizes the young child as not yet hopeless and optimistic is shown through the little girl using her imagination to create comfort for herself in her final moments of …show more content…
(Capano) Similar to the little girl in the story, who is forced to sell matches to make money for her family: “In an old apron she carried several packages of matches, and she held a box of them in her hand. No one had bought any from her all day long, and no one had given her a cent.” .(Anderson) Anderson took inspiration from the social norm during the time period of the 1840’s of children being forced to work to help support the family and incorpertated it into his short story to create relavence to the readers at the time it was published. Another reference to the historical setting in which the Little Match Girl was set is the use of matches. During the Victorian times, begging was illegal.In order to make the story somewhat realistic for the time, the Little Match Girl is selling matches on the streets instead of just begging for money as people often do now a days. (Capano) As the author says in the quote “for she had not sold any matches and could not bring a farthing of money”. (Anderson)The Little girl had no been sucessul in selling any matches, a prop used as she could not beg for