The Little Match Girl
Encyclopedia
The Little Match Girl is a short story by Danish
poet
and author
Hans Christian Andersen
. The story is about a dying child's dreams and hope, and was first published in 1845. It has been adapted
to various media including animated film, and a television musical.
and a holiday feast. The girl looks skyward, sees a shooting star
, and remembers her deceased grandmother saying that such a falling star means someone died and is going into Heaven. As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother nearby for as long as she can. The child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven
. The next morning, passers-by find the dead child in the nook.
depicting a poor child selling matches printed in a calendar for 1843; several illustrations had been sent to Andersen by the editor of an almanac requesting him to write a story around one.
Another known inspiration for the story is the well known fairy tale The Star Money
previously recorded by the Brothers Grimm
. It is a story of a poor young girl who gives away everything that she has to the needy and ends up with nothing except her love for God. The Grimms' variation differs, ending with the girl remaining alive and receiving divine gifts (money that falls from the stars) for her charity.
Another source of inspiration could be his trip to Bratislava (Pressburg) in 1841 where he was witnessing how the town of Devin burnt down and how women were searching for their lost children.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
. The story is about a dying child's dreams and hope, and was first published in 1845. It has been adapted
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
to various media including animated film, and a television musical.
Plot summary
On a cold New Year’s Eve, a poor girl tries to sell matches in the street. She is freezing badly, but she is afraid to go home because her father will beat her for not selling any matches. She takes shelter in a nook and lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow, she sees several lovely visions including a Christmas treeChristmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
and a holiday feast. The girl looks skyward, sees a shooting star
Shooting Star
Shooting star is a common name for the visible path of a meteoroid as it enters the atmosphere to become a meteor.Shooting star may also refer to:* Shooting Star Children's Hospice, a UK children's charity* The Shooting Star, a 1942 Tintin adventure...
, and remembers her deceased grandmother saying that such a falling star means someone died and is going into Heaven. As she lights her next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, the only person to have treated her with love and kindness. She strikes one match after another to keep the vision of her grandmother nearby for as long as she can. The child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
. The next morning, passers-by find the dead child in the nook.
Source
The source for the story was a widely popular woodcut illustration by the Danish artist Johan Thomas LundbyeJohan Lundbye
Johan Thomas Lundbye was a promising young Danish painter and graphic artist, known for his animal and landscape paintings who died at the age of 29...
depicting a poor child selling matches printed in a calendar for 1843; several illustrations had been sent to Andersen by the editor of an almanac requesting him to write a story around one.
Another known inspiration for the story is the well known fairy tale The Star Money
The Star Money
The Star Money or The Star Talers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 779, Divine Rewards and Punishments.- Synopsis :...
previously recorded by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
. It is a story of a poor young girl who gives away everything that she has to the needy and ends up with nothing except her love for God. The Grimms' variation differs, ending with the girl remaining alive and receiving divine gifts (money that falls from the stars) for her charity.
Another source of inspiration could be his trip to Bratislava (Pressburg) in 1841 where he was witnessing how the town of Devin burnt down and how women were searching for their lost children.
Publication
"The Little Match Girl" was first published December 1845 in Dansk Folkekalender for 1846. The work was re-published 4 March 1848 as a part of New Fairy Tales. Second Volume. Second Collection. 1848. (Nye Eventyr. Andet Bind. Anden Samling. 1848.), and again 18 December 1849 as a part of Fairy Tales. 1850. (Eventyr. 1850.). The work was also published 30 March 1863 as a part of Fairy Tales and Stories. Second Volume. 1863. (Eventyr og Historier. Andet Bind. 1863.)Live-action film
- In 1928, "La Petite Marchande d'Allumettes" ("The Little Match Girl"), a forty-minute silent film by Jean RenoirJean RenoirJean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
, was released. - "La Vendedora de Rosas" directed by Victor Gaviria, was partially based on the story. The film earned a nomination to the Palm D'Ore in Cannes.
Animated
- The Charles Mintz studio adapted "The Little Match Girl", including its grim ending, into a 19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
Color RhapsodiesColor RhapsodiesColor Rhapsodies was a series of usually one-shot animated cartoon shorts produced by Charles Mintz for Columbia Pictures. They were launched in 1934, following the phenomenal success of Walt Disney's Technicolor Silly Symphonies...
animated short film, considered among the studio's best films. It was nominated for the 1937 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), losing to DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's The Old MillThe Old MillThe Old Mill is a 1937 Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by Wilfred Jackson, scored by Leigh Harline, and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on November 5, 1937...
. - In 19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
, Toei AnimationToei AnimationToei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
released an animated film based on Andersen's works, entitled "Hans Christian Andersen no Sekai" ("The World of Hans Christian Andersen"). - In 2003, "The Little Match Girl" was made into an animated short film by Junho Chung for Fine Cut: KCET's Festival of Student FilmFine Cut: KCET's Festival of Student FilmFine Cut: KCET's Festival of Student Film is a television program that airs on the California television station KCET and is now in its tenth season. The program features the work of film students from various SoCal institutions such as the California Institute of the Arts, Loyola Marymount, UCLA,...
. - In 20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
, an adaptation of "The Little Match Girl" was released by ADV Films in Hello KittyHello Kittyis a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. She is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States...
Animation Theater Vol. 3. - In 2006, Walt Disney Feature Animation finished production work on a new adaptation of "The Little Match GirlThe Little Matchgirl (film)The Little Matchgirl is a 2006 animated short film directed by Roger Allers and produced by Don Hahn, who previously were involved in classic Disney animated films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King...
". The short was originally intended to be a part of a Fantasia film, but this project was canceled. The Little MatchgirlThe Little Matchgirl (film)The Little Matchgirl is a 2006 animated short film directed by Roger Allers and produced by Don Hahn, who previously were involved in classic Disney animated films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King...
is last of the four shorts from the aborted compilation to be developed as a stand alone film. This short was subsequently released as a special feature on the 2006 Platinum Edition DVD of The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid (1989 film)The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
. - In the 2005 anime series The Snow QueenThe Snow Queen (anime)is an anime television series based on the children's story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. It is directed by Osamu Dezaki and animated by TMS Entertainment...
, based on another H.C. Andersen story, there is an episode entitled "The Little Match Girl".
Music
- In 2006, the English band The Tiger Lillies and a string trio released the album "The Little Match Girl" based on the story.
- David LangDavid Lang (composer)David Lang is an American composer living in New York City. He was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Little Match Girl Passion.-Biography:...
composed his The Little Match Girl PassionThe Little Match Girl PassionThe Little Match Girl Passion is a Musical composition by David Lang, based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, The Little Match Girl. It is influenced by Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion and has won the Pulitzer Prize. It premiered at Carnegie Hall....
in 2007, with two sopranos, tenor and bass-baritone. This work earned Lang the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for music 2008. Recorded by Theatre of Voices and Paul Hillier for Harmonia Mundi USA. - The German avant-gardeAvant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
composer Helmut LachenmannHelmut LachenmannHelmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
has written an opera based on the story called Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern. - In 1973, The American Opera composer William Byron Webster,wrote a tragic opera for minimal orchestration. The opera was recorded in 1990.
- In 1995, German singer Meret Becker included the song "Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern" in her album Noctambule.
- In 2001, guitarist Loren Mazzacane ConnorsLoren Mazzacane ConnorsLoren MazzaCane Connors is an American experimental musician who has recorded and performed under several different names: Guitar Roberts, Loren Mazzacane, Loren Mattei, and currently Loren Connors...
released the album The Little Match Girl based on the story. - In 2001 the Hungarian band TormentorTormentorTormentor is a black metal band formed in 1986 in Budapest, Hungary. Tormentor was one of the first black metal bands using synthesisers to create a more atmospheric sound. They recorded their first album, Anno Domini, in 1988, but were unable to release it until the end of communism. The album...
wrote the song "The Little Match Girl," with lyrics based on the story. - In 2002 GrooveLilyGrooveLilyGroovelily is a trio, a pop band made up of Valerie Vigoda , Brendan Milburn , and Gene Lewin . The band was originally formed in 1994 as "The Valerie Vigoda Band." Groovelily's music combines classical music, musical theatre, jazz and rock...
released Striking 12Striking 12Striking 12 is the music group GrooveLily's off-Broadway holiday musical, based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl".The cast recording was released in 2004 by PS Classics.- Track listing : # Violin Ascension# Overture...
, a musical based on "The Little Match Girl". - The story was also used as a basis for the band GrooveLilyGrooveLilyGroovelily is a trio, a pop band made up of Valerie Vigoda , Brendan Milburn , and Gene Lewin . The band was originally formed in 1994 as "The Valerie Vigoda Band." Groovelily's music combines classical music, musical theatre, jazz and rock...
's 2004 off-Broadway musical Striking 12Striking 12Striking 12 is the music group GrooveLily's off-Broadway holiday musical, based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl".The cast recording was released in 2004 by PS Classics.- Track listing : # Violin Ascension# Overture...
. - Xiong Tian Ping the song 'Match Heaven' was performed by the Taiwanese pop artist Xiong Tian Ping in his debut album.
- FinnishFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
symphonic metalSymphonic metalSymphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
band NightwishNightwishNightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
released an album called WishmasterWishmaster (album)Wishmaster is the third album of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, released on May 19, 2000 by Spinefarm Records.Wishmaster's sound continues the bombastic symphonic power metal approach originally featured on Oceanborn, albeit with more emphasis on atmosphere and melody versus powerful speed...
. The song "Bare Grace Misery" contains the line "A Little Match Girl freezing in the snow." - In 2005, ErasureErasureErasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
made a music video of their song "Breathe"Breathe (Erasure song)"Breathe" is a song by British synth pop duo Erasure. It was released by Mute Records in the UK and the U.S. as the first single from the band's eleventh studio album Nightbird....
, based on a modern adaptation of the story. - As described by art director Rob O'Connor, the artwork for the album A Winter Symphony by Sarah Brightman has the artist portraying an "exotic, beautiful...grown-up version of the little match girl."
- In 2002 Moppi ProductionsMoppi ProductionsMoppi Productions is a Finnish-based demogroup founded in 1996. It is mainly known for their story-based demos and the demo authoring tool Demopaja...
released the demo "Halla" which was heavily influenced by "The Little Match Girl". - In 2007, the Japanese pop group AKB48AKB48AKB48 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto.The group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan. Its ten latest consecutive singles topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart...
released the song 'Tear-Seller Girl' (Namida uri no shoujo, 涙売りの少女), the theme of which references the Little Match Girl. - In 2011, the Japanese video game The Idolmaster 2The Idolmaster 2is a console raising simulation game released exclusively in Japan by Namco Bandai Games on February 24, 2011. The game is a sequel to The Idolmaster, and follows the career of a producer who works for the fictional integrated 765 Production and 961 Production idol agencies and has to work with a...
included a song entitled "Little Match Girl" as downloadable contentDownloadable contentDownloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for those who pre-ordered the game; the song's lyrics are loosely based on the story.
16mm short subject
- In 1954, Castle FilmsCastle FilmsCastle Films was a home-movie distributor founded in California by former newsreel cameraman Eugene W. Castle in 1924. The company originally produced business and advertising films. By 1931 it had moved its principal office to New York City. In 1937, Castle branched out into 8 mm and 16 mm home...
released a 16 mm English language version of a 1952 b&w French short live-action film. Instead of her grandmother, the Virgin Mary, whom the match girl believes is her own long-lost mother, takes the girl to heaven. No mention is made of the father beating the child. Music from The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
is used in one of the dream sequences.
Television
- In 19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
, a contemporarized version set in Cincinnati on Christmas Eve was aired on WLWTWLWTWLWT, virtual channel 5 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, the station is owned by Hearst Television...
. It featured a nine-year-old Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
in the role of the title character. This Christmas special was placed in syndication and last aired on the Family Channel in December 1982. - In 1987 British TV released "The Little Match Girl" a musical based on the original story. The cast included TwiggyTwiggyLesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
and Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRoger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
. It included the song "Mistletoe and WineMistletoe and Wine"Mistletoe and Wine" is a popular single by Cliff Richard.Written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan, it was originally performed as part of the musical Scraps at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, London in 1976...
", which became a Christmas hit a year later for Cliff RichardCliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
. - In 1987 a modernized version, "The Little Match Girl", was shown on American television. The cast included Keshia Knight PulliamKeshia Knight PulliamKeshia Knight Pulliam is an American actress. She is most recognized for her childhood role as Rudy Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Currently, she appears as reformed con artist Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy-drama Tyler Perry's House of Payne.-Personal life:Keshia...
, Rue McLanahan, and William DanielsWilliam DanielsWilliam David Daniels is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild . He is known for his performance as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate , as John Adams in 1776, as Carter Nash in Captain Nice, as Mr. George Feeny in ABC's Boy Meets World, as the voice of KITT in...
. - In 2009 a modernized version set to original music and narrated by F. Murray AbrahamF. Murray AbrahamFahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
was presented by HBO Storybook MusicalsHBO Storybook MusicalsHBO Storybook Musicals is a series of television specials first airing on HBO, and now airing on HBO Family, combining animation that is true to the original storybook's illustrations, plus high-spirited songs from musical songwriters.-Episodes:...
, in which the girl is the daughter of a homeless New York couple forced to live underground in an abandoned subway station due to the economic collapse of the 1990s. - On the first episode of Gilmore GirlsGilmore GirlsGilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
, before going into her grandmother's house, Rory says to Lorelai "So, do we go in or do we just stand here re-enacting The little match girl?"
Literature
- In 1996, HogfatherHogfatherHogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee.The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents...
, one of Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's popular DiscworldDiscworldDiscworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
series of novels, gave the story a decidedly less morbid ending, thanks to the intervention of Death himself. - In 2003, "The Little Match Girl" was adapted into a short story mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Hans Tseng and was featured in the first volume of TokyopopTokyopopTokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
's Rising Stars of MangaRising Stars of MangaRising Stars of Manga was an English-language comic anthology published by TOKYOPOP from 2002 to 2008, and a contest held by the same company. It was originally semi-annual, but switched to annual beginning with the 6th volume....
. - In Neil GaimanNeil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's 20042004 in literatureThe year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
novella, "A Study in EmeraldA Study in Emerald"A Study in Emerald" is a short story written by British fantasy and graphic novel author Neil Gaiman. The story is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche transferred to the Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. It won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. The title is a reference to...
," the main characters view a set of three plays, one of which is a stage adaptation of the "Little Match Girl". - A Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
short story titled "Leah" about a homeless little girl who goes into a coma and is found by Spider-Man, the doctors inform Spider-Man she won't make it, as Spidey kisses Leah on the cheek he wishes her "sweet, sweet dreams"; Leah falls asleep looking at newspaper clippings of Spider-Man mirroring the girls death while looking into the matches. The story was originally in the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-ManFriendly Neighborhood Spider-ManFriendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The title is derived from a trademark self-referential comment often made by Spider-Man , ironic in that Spider-Man is often falsely considered by the general public to be a dangerous vigilante and/or a criminal,...
Annual #1. - Match GirlMatch Girl (short story)Match Girl is a short story by Anne Bishop, published in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears Match Girl (1995) is a short story by Anne Bishop, published in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears Match Girl (1995) is a short story by Anne Bishop, published in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears (edited by Ellen Datlow and...
, a short story by Anne BishopAnne BishopAnne Bishop is an American fantasy writer. Her most noted work is The Black Jewels trilogy. She lives in upstate New York. She won the Crawford Award in 2000 for the first three novels in her The Black Jewels series: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, and Queen of the Darkness.-The Black...
, published in Ruby Slippers, Golden TearsRuby Slippers, Golden TearsRuby Slippers, Golden Tears is the third book in a series of collections of re-told fairy tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.-Contents:*Introduction – Terri Windling & Ellen Datlow...
in 1995. - In 1992 Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés Clarissa Pinkola EstésClarissa Pinkola EstésClarissa Pinkola Estés is an American poet, post-trauma specialist and Jungian psychoanalyst.-Biography:Similar to William Carlos Williams and other poets who also worked in the health or other professions in tandem, Estés is a poet who uses her poems throughout her psychoanalytic books,...
page 319 The Little Match Girl, as told to the author by her aunt, is followed by a lucid analysis. - Novelist Gregory MaguireGregory MaguireGregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...
read a short story based on "The Little Match Girl" over the air on NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. In 2009 he expanded the short story into a novel, published as Matchless: A Christmas StoryMatchless: A Christmas StoryMatchless: A Christmas Story is a short story by Gregory Maguire, published in 2009 although originally commissioned as a piece for National Public Radio in 2008...
. - The Little Match Girl is sometimes referenced in the Japanese manga, Crayon Shin Chan.
- The Little Match Girl is retold in a poem by William McGonagall (1825–1902)
- In the Piers Anthony novel "The Color of Her Panties", chapter 11, the characters reference the story of the Little Match Girl, and the Demoness Metria takes the form of an orphan waif selling matches. As she lights her matches, the heart's desire of the one for whom she lights the match is granted.
Other
- Suikoden IIISuikoden IIIis a console role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console, and the third installment in the Suikoden video game series. It was released in 2002 in Japan and Notrth America, with a manga version published in 2004...
, (2002), a video game for the PlayStation 2, contains a highly-abridged play version of "The Little Match Girl". In the game, the player can cast characters in different roles and have them perform a shortened version of the story. - "Resurrection of the Little Match GirlResurrection of the Little Match GirlResurrection of the Little Match Girl is a 2002 South Korean action film. It was screened at the 2003 London Film Festival and was the opening film of the Fantasia Festival that same year....
" is a 2003 Korean movie. - In the Japanese anime Gakuen AliceGakuen Alice, also known as Alice Academy, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tachibana Higuchi, currently being serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume. It was adapted into an anime series produced by Aniplex and Group TAC which originally premiered on NHK BS-2. It spanned...
, the main character, Mikan Sakura puts on a play about The Little Match Girl to earn money. - The Colombian movieCinema of ColombiaColombian Cinema has struggled to develop as a solid industry throughout its history. During the beginning of the 20th century some production companies tried to maintain a level of constant production but lack of government support and a strong international industry ended up diminishing initiative...
La Vendedora De RosasLa Vendedora De RosasLa vendedora de rosas is a 1998 Colombian film directed by Victor Gaviria. It's an independent film about drugs in Colombia, poverty and the difficult life young children have to suffer in Medellín. The film is based on the fairy tale The Little Match Girl of Hans Christian Andersen...
(Little Rose Selling Girl) is a 1998 film about homeless children victims of solvent abuse, loosely based in The Little Match Girl. - In France, director Jean Benoît-Lévys film version, La Jeune Fille aux Allumettes (1952) included a brief dance sequence with ballet star Janine Charrat.
- The Fairy Tale ForestFairy Tale ForestThe Fairy Tale Forest is a wooded section of the amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands, where a number of well-known fairy tales and fairy tale figures are depicted by animated statues and buildings...
(Sprookjesbos in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) of the amusement parkAmusement parkthumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
EftelingEftelingEfteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands, and as it opened in 1952, it is one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand, and has received over 100 million visitors....
in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
has a three dimensional attraction showing the story of the Little Match Girl, called Het Meisje met de Zwavelstokjes. In this attraction, use is made of the pepper's ghostPepper's ghostPepper's ghost is an illusionary technique used in theatre and in some magic tricks. Using a plate glass and special lighting techniques, it can make objects seem to appear or disappear, transparent, or make one object seem to morph into another...
technique.
See also
- List of works by Hans Christian Andersen
- Near death experienceNear death experienceA near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution;...
- Vilhelm PedersenVilhelm PedersenThomas Vilhelm Pedersen was a Danish artist best known for being the first artist to illustrate the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen....
, first illustrator of Andersen's fairy tales
External links
- "The Little Match Girl" Jean Hersholt's English translation
- Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne Original Danish text
- Surlalune: The Annotated Little Match Girl
- "The Little Matchgirl" Creative Commons audiobook
- "The Little Match Girl 1902 Adaptation (downloadable)" at The British Film Institute Released as part of the Creative Archive
- Dramatic reading of "The Little Match Girl" with full text and notes (Downloadable mp3 and streaming audio)
- Shedding Light on the Little Matchgirl traces the path director Roger Allers and the Disney Studio took in adapting the Hans Christian Andersen story to animation.
- David Lang's passion
- English translation (full text) from "Andersen's Fairy Tales"