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Thumbelina

 Thumbelina
type
TVTItem
 Thumbelina
label
Thumbelina
 Thumbelina
page
Thumbelina
 Thumbelina
comment
Thumbelina is a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1835.A woman desperately wants to raise a child, so she seeks out the help of a local witch, who gives her a grain of barley. From this seed, a tulip springs up overnight, and when the woman kisses the petals, they open to reveal a tiny girl sitting inside, no bigger than her thumb. She names the girl "Thumbelina" (Tomme-Lise in the original Danish), and raises her as her own. The girl sleeps in a walnut shell, and it is arranged for her to row in a small boat in a saucepan set on a table. During the summer, she sleeps at an open window. One night, a toad jumps in, deeming this delicate girl the perfect wife for her son, and carries her off.Thumbelina awakens to find herself on a lily pad, and is promptly presented to her captor's son, whom she finds ugly. But the wedding is set, and the toad mother carries off her bed, leaving Thumbelina alone and upset. The fish notice her plight, and feel sorry for her. They gnaw off the stem of the lily pad, and it floats off down river, sending Thumbelina off into the wild world. She makes friends with a butterfly, and uses her apron string to tie the butterfly to the leaf, using it to steer. Then, a stag beetle spots her, becomes smitten with her, and carries her off, to present her to the other insects, who dismiss her as ugly. She is promptly dumped, and left to live alone in the forest all summer — actually having a useful life, until autumn sets in. Food gets scarce, and a field mouse finds her huddled and freezing in a corn field, and takes her in. She is allowed to live there, but has to work for her lodgings. The field mouse has a neighbour, it turns out: a mole. This mole is reckoned to be a fine gentleman, but he hates sunlight and lives far underground. The field mouse agrees with the mole that Thumbelina is to marry him. She does not like him, but seems to be stuck with him.In the tunnels between the caves of the Mole and the mouse lodgings, Thumbelina finds a swallow nearly frozen to death. She tends to it, and it survives, to come out in the spring, while Thumbelina is to prepare for her wedding. At the end of summer, this is meant to happen, but Thumbelina walks out one last time to greet the departing birds. The swallow shows up, and Thumbelina begs to be carried away — which the swallow does, leaving the Mole behind. The swallow carries Thumbelina to a southern land, where she is dropped off in a meadow full of flowers, and in each of the flowers resides a small fairy, being of her own size. The fairy prince woos her, and this time Thumbelina gives in, to be his princess. She is granted a pair of fairy wings (actually from a fly), to spin around with the others. The fairy prince also gives her a new name: Maya, which sounds a lot better than "thumbelina". The swallow grieves because he also has grown to love her, but is also content that she finally is happy. At last, the Swallow returns to Denmark, where he has a nest close to the window of an author, and from this swallow, states the author, "we have the entire story"...Was adapted into a partly animated musical The Daydreamer and an animated musical in 1994 by Don Bluth, and more infamously, into the Mind Screw that is Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny.
 Thumbelina
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2024-04-14T19:46:15Z
 Thumbelina
parsed
2024-04-14T19:46:15Z
 Thumbelina
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DBTropes
 Thumbelina / int_1282bf4f
type
No Celebrities Were Harmed
 Thumbelina / int_1282bf4f
comment
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Reckoning that Andersen cast himself in the role of the Swallow, the fact that Thumbelina is said to have a beautiful voice, leads us to think of his unrequited love for Jenny Lind, the Swedish singer.
 Thumbelina / int_1282bf4f
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Thumbelina / int_1282bf4f
 Thumbelina / int_17b5862b
type
Chariot Pulled by Cats
 Thumbelina / int_17b5862b
comment
Chariot Pulled by Cats: When Thumbelina escapes the toad and her son, she floats on a leaf boat down the stream. A lovely white butterfly starts fluttering around her. Thumbelina undoes her sash and she then ties one end to the butterfly and the other end to the leaf. She keeps sailing on her butterfly-powered little leaf boat.
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Thumbelina / int_17b5862b
 Thumbelina / int_1b65dfad
type
The Cameo
 Thumbelina / int_1b65dfad
comment
The Cameo: Andersen, of course. He is the author at the end of the story.
 Thumbelina / int_1b65dfad
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Thumbelina / int_1b65dfad
 Thumbelina / int_289008dc
type
Incorruptible Pure Pureness
 Thumbelina / int_289008dc
comment
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Thumbelina is so kind and pretty, everybody takes a shine to her. She has the potential to be abused, though. Luckily, the "abuse" is cut off by a number of circumstances.
 Thumbelina / int_289008dc
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Thumbelina / int_289008dc
 Thumbelina / int_38b58aa3
type
Leaf Boat
 Thumbelina / int_38b58aa3
comment
Leaf Boat: Thumbelina escapes from the Toad and her son on a leaf boat, floating down a stream. Her boat is pulled by a butterfly for some time.
 Thumbelina / int_38b58aa3
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Thumbelina / int_38b58aa3
 Thumbelina / int_39b8d3d6
type
Boring, but Practical
 Thumbelina / int_39b8d3d6
comment
Boring, but Practical: The attitude of the Field Mouse. She is pragmatic, and is on the side of the mole when it comes to the "impractical" Swallow, which both ground dwellers think deserves no better, for just singing his life away without hoarding food for winter. She scoffs of the fact that Thumbelina has little interest in marrying for money. But Thumbelina states quite bluntly that the Mole is "boring".
 Thumbelina / int_39b8d3d6
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Thumbelina / int_39b8d3d6
 Thumbelina / int_3ac583f4
type
SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism
 Thumbelina / int_3ac583f4
comment
Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Strongly on the Romantic/Idealistic side. The "romantic" attributes, like beauty, sunlight, high flights (the Swallow embodies romanticism), overcomes the more "realistic" ground dwelling animals and their practical, almost cynical attitudes.
 Thumbelina / int_3ac583f4
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Thumbelina / int_3ac583f4
 Thumbelina / int_3b9b21c9
type
So Beautiful, It's a Curse
 Thumbelina / int_3b9b21c9
comment
So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Thumbelina. Much of the problems she has to face, comes from the fact that somebody wants her company because of her beauty. This dumps her with one Abhorrent Admirer after another.
 Thumbelina / int_3b9b21c9
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Thumbelina / int_3b9b21c9
 Thumbelina / int_48cca03a
type
Interspecies Romance
 Thumbelina / int_48cca03a
comment
Inter Species Romance: One-sided, and therefore also defied. It seems every male animal involved wants Thumbelina, but the arrangement is always made over her head or behind her back.
 Thumbelina / int_48cca03a
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Thumbelina / int_48cca03a
 Thumbelina / int_4b316d47
type
Break the Cutie
 Thumbelina / int_4b316d47
comment
Break the Cutie: Thumbelina is close to breakdown a number of times — but when she eventually finds her own kind, she seems to have shaved it off. Other Andersen Heroines fare worse than her, though.
 Thumbelina / int_4b316d47
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Thumbelina / int_4b316d47
 Thumbelina / int_4c8e8078
type
All of the Other Reindeer
 Thumbelina / int_4c8e8078
comment
All of the Other Reindeer: The scarabees taunt Thumbelina for not looking like them. She is left alone, actually crying because she believes like them that she is not pretty. Fair enough, she has no idea what she looks like, and no one to compare herself to.
 Thumbelina / int_4c8e8078
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Thumbelina / int_4c8e8078
 Thumbelina / int_52989fee
type
Narrator
 Thumbelina / int_52989fee
comment
Narrator: The Swallow narrates the Thumbelina's story to the (unnamed) author who lives in the attic close to his nest in Copenhagen. The author is obviously Andersen himself, and thus, by default, the Swallow also is an Author Avatar.
 Thumbelina / int_52989fee
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Thumbelina / int_52989fee
 Thumbelina / int_5b04b205
type
I'm Taking Her Home with Me!
 Thumbelina / int_5b04b205
comment
I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: Thumbelina is so gorgeous and irresistible that many characters just snatch her and take her home. For example the toad mother claims her as a bride for her son. A big May-bug (a cockchafer) flies by and fastens his claws around her slender waist and flies away with her though lady May-bugs call her ugly.
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Thumbelina / int_5b04b205
 Thumbelina / int_60547993
type
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 Thumbelina / int_60547993
comment
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: The Swallow leaves Thumbelina with this thought in mind.
 Thumbelina / int_60547993
featureApplicability
1.0
 Thumbelina / int_60547993
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1.0
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Thumbelina / int_60547993
 Thumbelina / int_66755d29
type
Author Avatar
 Thumbelina / int_66755d29
comment
Author Avatar: The Swallow. Andersen often associated himself with this bird.
 Thumbelina / int_66755d29
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1.0
 Thumbelina / int_66755d29
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1.0
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Thumbelina / int_66755d29
 Thumbelina / int_6a3c49f
type
Direct Line to the Author
 Thumbelina / int_6a3c49f
comment
Direct Line to the Author: Andersen learned the story from the swallow.
 Thumbelina / int_6a3c49f
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Thumbelina / int_6a3c49f
 Thumbelina / int_726a29e9
type
Kidnapped While Sleeping
 Thumbelina / int_726a29e9
comment
Kidnapped While Sleeping: The mother toad kidnaps Thumbelina while she was sleeping on the windowsill.
 Thumbelina / int_726a29e9
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1.0
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Thumbelina / int_726a29e9
 Thumbelina / int_747e6b7f
type
Harmony Versus Discipline
 Thumbelina / int_747e6b7f
comment
Harmony Versus Discipline: Thumbelina versus the Field Mouse. The Field Mouse "disciplines" Thumbelina to some extent, but she bails out as soon as the Swallow gives her an opportunity. As it were, Thumbelina has lived in harmony with nature all summer, until all was barren and there was nothing left to eat.
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 Thumbelina / int_77aedc5c
type
Horse of a Different Color
 Thumbelina / int_77aedc5c
comment
Horse of a Different Color: Thumbelina rides her friend Swallow when she flees from the kindly Field Mouse. The Swallow takes her to the Fairies.
 Thumbelina / int_77aedc5c
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 Thumbelina / int_7fb534b7
type
Plot-Relevant Age-Up
 Thumbelina / int_7fb534b7
comment
Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Thumbelina is described as a child when she is revealed inside the tulip. When the female toad arrives and carries her away, she does it because she deems her fit to marry her son. How much time did really go by? Presumably enough to age her at least to adolescence, but the reader might be excused for thinking that mere days have passed. Andersen didn't elaborate this point much and makes no mention of a years-long time skip.
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Thumbelina / int_7fb534b7
 Thumbelina / int_80621707
type
Arranged Marriage
 Thumbelina / int_80621707
comment
Thumbelina is sorry to leave the kind Field Mouse but she must flee from her to escape her Arranged Marriage.
 Thumbelina / int_80621707
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Thumbelina / int_80621707
 Thumbelina / int_8382e003
type
Fairy Sexy
 Thumbelina / int_8382e003
comment
Fairy Sexy: Thumbelina is a beautiful tiny fairy-like humanoid creature and many characters take a fancy to her, although she does not understand it herself. It is implied she is a fairy, sans the wings, of course, but sadly misplaced in Denmark.
 Thumbelina / int_8382e003
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Thumbelina / int_8382e003
 Thumbelina / int_863fa679
type
What Happened to the Mouse?
 Thumbelina / int_863fa679
comment
What Happened to the Mouse?: Several times, because we follow the route of the heroine, and the people she escapes from, or is robbed from, is left behind. Thumbelina's initial human "mother" is never mentioned again, and she longed for a child so she must be heart-broken to having lost her daughter. Thumbelina feels sorry for the Butterfly who is still tied to the leaf. She thinks he will die of hunger. Thumbelina is sorry to leave the kind Field Mouse but she must flee from her to escape her Arranged Marriage.
 Thumbelina / int_863fa679
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Thumbelina / int_863fa679
 Thumbelina / int_88cee6e2
type
Abhorrent Admirer
 Thumbelina / int_88cee6e2
comment
Abhorrent Admirer: The toad, the beetle and the Mole. The first one is rude and stupid (as well as abhorrent), the last one is lofty, arrogant and boring. The beetle is actually quite nice to her, but dumps her because his fellow insects think she is the abhorrent one.
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Thumbelina / int_88cee6e2
 Thumbelina / int_9874f2ab
type
All Work vs. All Play
 Thumbelina / int_9874f2ab
comment
All Work vs. All Play: The Field Mouse vs the Swallow. At least she sees it that way. See also Boring, but Practical. It is, as ever in a story by Andersen, a question of values.
 Thumbelina / int_9874f2ab
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Thumbelina / int_9874f2ab
 Thumbelina / int_a0955420
type
She's a Man in Japan
 Thumbelina / int_a0955420
comment
She's a Man in Japan: The Swallow is female in many translations (such as Russian, German, French, Italian or Czech). It's all the question of its grammatical gender.
 Thumbelina / int_a0955420
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Thumbelina / int_a0955420
 Thumbelina / int_a2484b0e
type
The Beautiful Elite
 Thumbelina / int_a2484b0e
comment
The Beautiful Elite: The Mole, seen from a rodent perspective. He is rich, and he has (omigosh) a velvet coat!
 Thumbelina / int_a2484b0e
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Thumbelina / int_a2484b0e
 Thumbelina / int_af696bef
type
Fish out of Water
 Thumbelina / int_af696bef
comment
Fish out of Water: Thumbelina for most of the story. Only at the end, she finds her own species.
 Thumbelina / int_af696bef
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Thumbelina / int_af696bef
 Thumbelina / int_af8dad6b
type
Beautiful Singing Voice
 Thumbelina / int_af8dad6b
comment
Beautiful Singing Voice: Thumbelina, in both the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and its 1994 animated adaptation, is noted as having a gorgeous singing voice that attracts people to her before they even see her.
 Thumbelina / int_af8dad6b
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Thumbelina / int_af8dad6b
 Thumbelina / int_b06bbf4b
type
Be Careful What You Wish For
 Thumbelina / int_b06bbf4b
comment
Be Careful What You Wish For: The mother specified that she wanted a "teeny weeny child". The witch delivered on her Exact Words.
 Thumbelina / int_b06bbf4b
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Thumbelina / int_b06bbf4b
 Thumbelina / int_b15b6a35
type
Cosmic Plaything
 Thumbelina / int_b15b6a35
comment
Cosmic Plaything: Thumbelina. She is more or less dragged from place to place, and only interferes a few times, which benefits her: She takes action to make sure the butterfly can steer the leaf she is on, and later, she tends to the Swallow, and eventually decides to leave with him.
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Thumbelina / int_b15b6a35
 Thumbelina / int_b53077b3
type
Take That!
 Thumbelina / int_b53077b3
comment
Take That!: Danish bourgeois customs of marriage, and the fact that girls had little to say in the matter.
 Thumbelina / int_b53077b3
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Thumbelina / int_b53077b3
 Thumbelina / int_c5d4245f
type
Mole Miner
 Thumbelina / int_c5d4245f
comment
Mole Miner: The Mole, of course, having a lot of space, caves and tunnels.
 Thumbelina / int_c5d4245f
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Thumbelina / int_c5d4245f
 Thumbelina / int_ca87e3ec
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No Name Given
 Thumbelina / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: Apart from Thumbelina, all characters are unnamed.
 Thumbelina / int_ca87e3ec
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 Thumbelina / int_e6a901a3
type
Meaningful Rename
 Thumbelina / int_e6a901a3
comment
Meaningful Rename: Thumbelina finds a new identity (and a people), and is renamed Maya.
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Thumbelina / int_e6a901a3
 Thumbelina / int_e87efd00
type
Born from Plants
 Thumbelina / int_e87efd00
comment
Born from Plants: Thumbelina is essentially a wingless fairy born from a flower, and she gets wings part way through her story.
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Thumbelina / int_e87efd00
 Thumbelina / int_e9e35e8f
type
Exact Words
 Thumbelina / int_e9e35e8f
comment
Exact Words: As stated in the opening lines: "once there was a woman who wished for a small, small child..." She states the same to the local witch, who gives the woman exactly what she wished for: a humanoid no bigger than a thumb.
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 Thumbelina / int_eb81c601
type
Big Damn Heroes
 Thumbelina / int_eb81c601
comment
Big Damn Heroes: The Swallow, coming in for the rescue in the nick of time — carrying Thumbelina away to a better fate.
 Thumbelina / int_eb81c601
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 Thumbelina / int_eeb4f505
type
Lilliputians
 Thumbelina / int_eeb4f505
comment
Lilliputians: Thumbelina is described as being no bigger than her mother's thumb, not to mention the fairy prince.
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 Thumbelina / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 Thumbelina / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: After getting kidnapped, dumped, and pressured to marry animals she doesn't like, Thumbelina eventually gets to marry the fairy prince who genuinely loves her.
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ItemName
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Thumbelina

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Thumbelina
seeAlso
Thumbelina
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Ambiguously Human / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Beautiful Singing Voice / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Born from Plants / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Chariot Pulled by Cats / int_f79f638c
 CinderellaFourByFour
seeAlso
Thumbelina
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
First Time in the Sun / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Fractured Fairy Tale / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Lilliputians / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Public Domain Character / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
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Reptiles Are Abhorrent / int_f79f638c
 Thumbelina
hasFeature
Wonder Child / int_f79f638c