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 tree 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.
SourceThe source for the story was a widely popular woodcut illustration by the Danish artist Johan Thomas Lundbye 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.
[edit] 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.)
SourceThe source for the story was a widely popular woodcut illustration by the Danish artist Johan Thomas Lundbye 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.
[edit] 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.)
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