The purpose of this written paper is to conduct an in depth analysis and comparison of two different works: The Little Match Girl, a short tale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1845 and The Little Match Girl Passion, musical... more
The purpose of this written paper is to conduct an in depth analysis and comparison of two different works: The Little Match Girl, a short tale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1845 and The Little Match Girl Passion, musical composition inspired by the short tale, created by David Lang for the Theatre of Voices, in 2007.
Kökeni, kervancıların geceleri ateş başında vakit geçirmek amaçlı birbirlerine anlattıkları olağanüstü kişi ve olayları konu olan sözlü edebiyat ürünleri olan masallar, içlerinde şiddet, ölüm ve cinsellik gibi çocuklara uygun olmayan... more
Kökeni, kervancıların geceleri ateş başında vakit geçirmek amaçlı birbirlerine anlattıkları olağanüstü kişi ve olayları konu olan sözlü edebiyat ürünleri olan masallar, içlerinde şiddet, ölüm ve cinsellik gibi çocuklara uygun olmayan ögeler içermektedir. İlerleyen zamanlarda masallar, didaktik olma ve olağanüstü olaylar içermeleri nedeniyle çocuklara yönelik olarak yazılmaya başlamıştır. 19. yüzyılda yaşayan Danimarkalı yazar Hans Christian Andersen içinde yaşadığı toplumsal yapının çarpıklıklarını ele alan içinde fantastik ögeler barındıran metinler kaleme almıştır. İçlerinde ölüm, intihar, korku gibi olumsuz duygu ve davranışların olduğu bu metinler, dönemindeki masallardan farklı olarak bir çoğunun karanlık bir yapısı ve kötü bir sonu vardı. Bu çalışmada yazarın en ünlü metinlerinden biri olan ve bu yapıda olan “Kibritçi Kız” üzerinde durulacaktır. Türk edebiyatının en önemli öykü yazarlarından biri olan Sabahattin Ali, öykülerinde yine toplumsal durumları kaleme almıştır. Öyküleri ayrıntılı ve etkileyici uzam ve karakter tasvirleri içermektedir. Yazdığı öykülerden biri olan “Ayran” birçok yönden Andersen’in “Kibritçi Kız” metniyle önemli benzerlikler taşımaktadır. İşte bu çalışmada Hans Christian Andersen’in “Kibritçi Kız” eseriyle, Sabahattin Ali’nin “Ayran” adlı öyküsü sosyolojik yöntemle ve karşılaştırmalı edebiyat biliminin verileri ışığında çocuğa uygunluk ilkelerine uygunlukları, eserlerin çocuk baş karakterler yaklaşımı ve masal-öykü türlerinin farklılıkları bağlamında karşılaştıracaktır.
The present paper attempts to investigate the intersemiotic interpretations of classic fairy tales. With the growing popularity of classic fairy tales, their intersemiotic interpretations have become ubiquitous in a number of fields, such... more
The present paper attempts to investigate the intersemiotic interpretations of classic fairy tales. With the growing popularity of classic fairy tales, their intersemiotic interpretations have become ubiquitous in a number of fields, such as cinema, animations, illustrations, to name a few. The paper aims at identifying the changes the motifs of the fairy tale texts undergo in the process of intersemiotic interpretations. In order to achieve this aim, we have deployed descriptive and comparative methods of analysis. Having conducted the research we present the following findings: a) regardless of the medium into which fairy tales are transformed, motifs of the fairy tale are subjected to omissions, additions, explicitations, and condensations during the intersemiotic interpretation; b) the culture, into which the fairy tale text is transformed, and the target audience of the product are major factors underlying the changes of fairy tale motifs during the intersemiotic interpretation. In intersemotic translation as in any kind of translation, there is hardly, if ever, a perfect equivalence of signs, especially when the text translated into a different medium is as complex as classic fairy tales which represent universal values and illustrate universal truths.
It was December 31, New Year’s Eve, when the unnamed little girl who sold matches for a living walked barefoot through frosty snow, winding her way through the city’s narrow streets and alleyways. Her body shivered in the cold breeze. She... more
It was December 31, New Year’s Eve, when the unnamed little girl who sold matches for a living walked barefoot through frosty snow, winding her way through the city’s narrow streets and alleyways. Her body shivered in the cold breeze. She could see light shining through the windows and Christmas trees, presents piled excessively beneath their branches. She could smell roasted goose nestled among apple slices. She heard laughter from families gathered together.
She had sold no matches and dared not go home that night, afraid that her father would give her a beating. But then again, what difference would it make? Her living conditions were so precarious, with the wind blowing right through the cracks into her room, that she would hardly be any warmer there.
Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 story goes on until the girl dies of exhaustion and starvation after having a vision. She sees a bright beam of light, which is actually her grandmother - “the only person who had loved her, and who was now dead”[1], reaching out with open arms and swooping her away and off to heaven. Out of her misery and tribulation.
Tragedy adds to injury (for that matter, disdain and revolt) as the next day goes by. People wander around the streets, walking past her dead body, unaware of her most dreadful fate. Her story does not make the papers.
Death as solace and redemption
She dies a silent death - an act of acceptance in the face of the nasty and brutish vicissitudes of life. Not an act of resignation. The short fictional story sends shivers down your spine and leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
