Han-Ying Liu

The Myth of Eternal Childhood and Eden in The Snow Queen

This paper shall discuss the myth of childhood, the concept of Eden—the hope of restoring a paradise on earth and the acknowledgement or denial of the impossibility of such hope—as well as the theme of “eternity” in the mid-nineteenth century by contemplating the garden imagery in Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.”  There are many actual gardens and garden-images throughout the story: the small window-garden that Kay and Gerda play in as children, the flower garden of eternal summer belonging to the sorceress, and finally the “warm, beautiful summer” that Kay and Gerda return to, where they finally understand the meaning of the old song:  “Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see.”

Central to the garden imagery is a nineteenth-century desire to preserve the child-like innocence.  As the two protagonists travel from garden to garden, become at least temporarily trapped within each time, their physical growth does not entail a shift in their innocence.  This is conspicuously illustrated first by the “eternity” that Kay is finally able to spell with pieces of ice when Gerda comes to save him, and by the ending of the story, when they finally return home and sit on their old chairs, both “grown up, yet children at heart.”  The Old Grandmother then reads aloud from the bible:  “Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God.”  Indeed, while the Snow Queen’s palace is a space contrasted to the warm summer gardens, its function of “freezing time” and keeping the protagonists child-like is no different from the gardens.

I argue that the themes of eternity and preservation of child-like innocence, especially when embodied by the imagery of garden, serve as a point of projection to a general nineteenth-century desire to create a sense of security in the ever-changing mid-century, when industrialization and urbanization has greatly shifted the face of the earth, and the urban gardens as a space reminiscent of Eden has ceased to be a sufficient means of reassurance.

I shall bring into discussion the popularity of the Wardian case—a tightly sealed glass box in which plants can thrive on their own, without the necessity of adding fresh water or remove the lid at all—among the nineteenth-century bourgeoisie.  It was a phenomenon among many others in the so-called “age of pteridomania.”  The miniature garden within the glass case was so fascinating because of its self-sustenance.  No attendance was needed, and the plants within seemed to be able to live for a much longer period of time than those exposed to the polluted urban air.  The seemingly frozen tiny universe not merely proved human’s power over nature, but also embodied the nineteenth-century longing for a paradise amidst the busy city life.  I shall also adopt Benjamin’s reflection on the snow globe in order to discuss the symbolism associated with the Snow Queen’s palace, where the innocence (or the general Good) is preserved in a seemingly petrified state.  The gaze focused upon the glass cases and the glass globes is nostalgic, but it is at once a gaze experiencing and approving of the accomplishments of human ability in a world growing more modern, more commercial, and more “artificial,” everyday.

Han-ying Liu is currently a PhD student in the English Department of Royal Holloway, University of London.  She has been working on Victorian literature since her MA years, and her PhD thesis centers around Charlotte Brontë and nineteenth-century curiosity exhibitions.  Other interests include Romanticism, Arthurian legends, and children’s literature.