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Author
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Comment
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balaustine
Unregistered User
(4/23/06 3:47 pm)
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Gerda and the Robber-Girl
Hi, all! It's me again, this time with a question about Hans Christian
Andersen's "The Snow
Queen."
Gerda and the Littlle Robber-Girl's relationship in Andersen's "The Snow Queen" has always been puzzling to me. I could never figure out what they were to each other, even though I know Andersen wanted the Robber-Girl to be seen as Gerda's polar opposite, the dark to her light.
So, are they friends? Could they possibly be something more than friends? To me, the Robber-Girl's attraction to Gerda is almost sexual, although I may simply be delving too deep into the meaning of the text. What do you think?
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Rosemary Lake
Registered User
(4/24/06 5:10 am)
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Freud
Reading Freud might help in understanding books that were written before his theories became widely-discussed. Many behaviors that now seem like red flags were normal and innocent then.
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Writerpatrick
Registered User
(4/24/06 9:53 am)
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Re: Gerda and the Robber-Girl
It's likely that the Robber-Girl was just looking for a friend. If she spent her life amidst criminals then she wouldn't have anyone she could trust, but Gerda came across as someone to trust. And the Robber-Girl likely lacked socialization skills, so she didn't know how to show her concern. But I don't think the character was meant to be that deep.
The Robber-Girl was just one of many female characters Gerda encounters along her journey. If the various characters represent aspects of Gerda's personality, then it's possible that the Robber-Girl character was meant to represent greed and nothing more. The spring witch could represent an interest in beauty and an unwillingness to accept ugliness. The Ice Queen could represent a lack of emotional expression. The old woman could represent the fear of old age and loss of beauty. Each would be a challenge Gerda has to face.
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kristiw
Unregistered User
(4/24/06 11:00 am)
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possessive love
I think what always struck me about the Robber-girl was how possessive and violent her love is, while still being very real affection-- I mean it isn't a matter of love being tainted by those things, but of love having those darker undertones built in. I suppose you could say something about her living very simply, in the wilderness; her expressions are stripped bare rather than overlaid with social conventions or hypocrisies. It's kind of interesting that Gerda is on this grand quest to regain *possession* of her friend/love. Just to be provocative, maybe she's not Gerda's polar opposite, but her underlying self.
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balaustine
Unregistered User
(4/24/06 5:03 pm)
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Re: Gerda and the Robber-Girl
Writerpatrick, if the Robber-Girl represents greed, then what can be said of her giving Ba, her reindeer, to Gerda to aid her in her quest? I do think that letting Gerda go redeems her in some way.
Kristiw, that is interesting! "Her underlying self"? I never thought of it that way! Very, very interesting.
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balaustine
Unregistered User
(4/25/06 9:00 pm)
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Re: Gerda and the Robber-Girl
I know, double-posting is bad, but I just thought of something else I wanted to ask in regards to this topic. Has anyone out there read any articles/essays that mentions the Robber-Girl and Gerda's relationship? I know of one at Haworth Press, that claims the Robber-Girl is a lesbian, but I haven't read/purchased it yet. Anyone read any good articles on this? The reason I'm asking is because I'm currently working on a short story that takes a closer look at their relationship.
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KathieRose
Unregistered User
(4/30/06 8:00 pm)
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Re: Gerda and the Robber Girl
The Snow Queen was my favorite fairytale as a child and I still love and ponder it. This is very subjective, of course, but I connected the Robber Girl with my foster sister who was 'bad' to my 'good'. Of course my 'goodness' was compelled and I secretly admired her defiance, toughness, aggression. I think 'bad' is also drawn to 'good' and that's how I saw the Robber Girl; she has this dark streak but she's drawn to Gerda too and becomes protective of her. If I recall correctly, there's no mention of another child among the robbers so maybe that's a draw as well. And she IS affectionate with both her [alcoholic?] mother whose beard she pulls and the reindeer even though her affection is laced with threat. But I think there is an opposition and a draw because of that. In Jungian terms, there is not just a 'dark shadow' which Jung writes about, the 'dark' side of a basically good or positive personality but also a 'bright shadow' in people whose conscious sense of self is negative or dark or 'bad'. I remember reading a paper eons ago by a first generation Jungian, a woman, who did therapy with hard core prisoners and wrote about how many of them had 'golden shadows', positive aspects of themselves that couldn't be integrated into their self image because they were identified with being criminals. So I'd see Gerda and the Robber Girl as shadow sides of each other, maybe........ And I wouldn't see the Snow Queen as only lack of emotional expression -- in the translation I have of the fairytale the Snow Queen is connected with 'cold intellect' which I thought was extremely intriguing. When Kai tries unsuccessfully to put together the puzzle the Snow Queen gives him, whose pieces spell the word 'eternity', and can't do it, the narrator in the translation comments that Kai was 'playing the game of Intellect' because his heart is still frozen from her touch. Only when his frozen heart is melted by Gerda's tears can he put the pieces together. I really love this tale........
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