Nowhere is this pathos more excruciatingly brought to bear than in The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. A child is wandering the streets barefoot in the snow, but she’s afraid to go home because she hasn’t sold enough matches and her father will beat her. As night falls she strikes her matches to keep warm and sees visions of the loving family life that fate has denied her. Finally, curling up beneath a street lamp, she succumbs to the piercing cold and is borne to heaven.
Adapting this story for the stage, as the choreographer and director Arthur Pita did in 2013, cannot have been easy. Poignancy is one thing; an auditorium full of sobbing parents and children quite another. That Pita succeeds not only in producing a joyous spectacle, but in leaving Andersen’s compassionate message intact, is testament to his theatrical deftness. Corey Claire Annand is as entrancing as she is touching in the title role, and the three-strong supporting cast of eccentric vagabonds are individually pitch-perfect.
Corey Claire Annand in the title role, with Karl Fagerlund, Valentina Golfieri and Angelo Smimmo in The Little Match Girl. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Observer
Pita has coloured the piece with quirky humour and imaginative grace notes. The story is relocated to 19th-century Italy, and when our young heroine freezes to death [in a scene no less heart-rending than Andersen’s] she is transported to the moon. There, she attends the 1969 American landing, dances with an astronaut, and helps relaunch the lunar module with one of her matches.
Pita’s choreography for Annand is simple but telling, and she draws strong, articulate lines. The cast sing, too. The countertenor Angelo Smimmo is notably fine, while Annand has an engaging, canary-like chirrup. A live multi-instrumental soundtrack by composer Frank Moon provides haunting atmospherics. All in all, a delicate and charming work, which deserves to become a Christmas perennial.
“It’s Christmas Eve, but for one little girl, there will be no stockings hung lovingly above the fireplace or shiny presents wrapped under the tree. The best that the little match girl can hope for is a warm, dry corner of the street to protect her against the freezing snow that has been falling for hours. Helpless and cold, the child seeks a bit of comfort from the only source she has–the bundle of matches in her apron pocket. She had struggled all day to sell even one, but the crowds of people had only hurried past her with hardly a glance as they finished up their holiday shopping and rushed home to begin their feasts. Alas, at least she has the matches now, each one holding the promise of a few short seconds of warmth and light. But as she strikes each match, she discovers a truth that sets her heart soaring–all along, even in times when she has felt most alone, she has been lovingly watched over by those who have gone before her and have anxiously awaited a joyous reunion. She learns she is not forgotten, and in the learning shares a poignant message of love and service. The tender tale of the little match girl reminds each of us to take notice of the least of those among us and to do our part to extend a kindly hand–at Christmastime and always.”
My Review:
Happy December everyone!! I wanted to get this review out earlier today, but life happened! I did go for a run and get my house cleaned though, so that was something. I wanted to start December out with this beautiful Christmas picture book. The illustrations are amazing. Seriously. They are so beautiful! The story is so sad, but very well written. I haven’t read it before, so I wasn’t prepared. Grab your Kleenexes my friends, you’ll need them. Even though it is very sad, there is a little bit of hope for something better. In the intro. it says,
Though on the surface, the little girl seems the picture of misery and despair, her story is one of
hope for a better life and assurance that a joyous reunion in heaven is awaiting even God’s most helpless children. Despite her suffering, the little girl finds warmth and light, ever believing that all will be right in the end. It is a message that has stood the test of time–and one that reminds each of us to look for ways to bring warmth of love and light of understanding to others.
This book is a wonderful way to start the Christmas season. Christmas is a wonderful time of year to remember those around us, and to try a little harder to help and serve those around us who are in need of our help, love, kindness, smile, comfort, friendship, and service. With that, I thought I’d share this wonderful opportunity with you. I don’t do this often, but I think this one is important. It is put together by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [sometimes called the Mormon Church], but it is non-denominational. It is people and service oriented. It’s called “Light the World,” and it’s 25 ways to serve for 25 days. It started today. Each day from now until Christmas there is a short movie clip and an idea for an act of service. I’ll post the first movie here. If you would like to participate [you don’t sign up or anything, it’s just on your own], you may go to www.mormon.org to find out more information and to see the daily videos. Merry Christmas everyone!!!
What is the main point of The Little Match Girl?
It tells the story of a little girl trying to sell matches in the night during a cold winter. The little girl fails to sell her matches, then lights them to warm herself instead. She sees visions of food and warmth, eventually seeing her departed grandmother, who welcomes her into Heaven.
What is the moral of the story of The Little Match Girl?
What is the moral of the story? Being kind to others who are less fortunate is one of the morals or teachings in the story The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. The little girl struggles to support her family despite her awful circumstances, dreaming of food and comfort.
What is the central idea of the story The Little Match Girl?
Answer and Explanation: By Hans Christian Anderson, "The Little Match Girl" is a story about a girl who freezes to death on the street after experiences beautiful visions are she watches the last of her matches burn out. The main idea of "The Little Match Girl" is a criticism of Western work ethic.
What is the saddest story of The Little Match Girl?
She tried to warm up with the matches by lighting them up, one by one. Eventually, she ran out of matches. When she lit the last one, she saw her grandmother, who had passed away, and she took her to heaven. It's a sad story, especially when you are a child around the same age as the little match girl.