The Princess and the Pea
Hans Christian Andersen
(A Deconstructive Criticism)
by: CCOC
At a first glance, Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Princess and the Pea” gives us another fairytale-like story of a prince who successfully wedded a princess and lived happily ever after. However, this literary work should not be coned in a single viewpoint of a prince in conquest to find the perfect princess for him. For there are some loopholes and lapses that open another perspective that probably the author wanted his readers to uncover and that is how society labels what an ideal woman should be which is timely and relevant to date.
Right at the beginning of the story, a prince was introduced, “Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she would have to be a real princess” but this passage doesn’t assure that the said “prince” was a prince. The fact that he was the one who traveled around places to search for her “real princess” instead of his supposed servants if he was a prince with subjects and kingdom to serve “He traveled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted.” Besides, if he was indeed a prince and a perfect bachelor at the same time, wouldn’t be easier for him to attract the attention of his people and other kingdoms? That instead of going around the world to find his perfect mate, it would have been best to just invite all the princesses in all the kingdom there is for a banquet to look for her bride.
With these interpretations, it’s not plausible that the “prince” mentioned in the story is an intended symbolism that the author included to impart a meaningful lesson that touches societal biases and stereotypes on women. That instead of viewing the prince with a heavy heart, feeling bad that it took him a while to find his perfect and real princess, the said prince may symbolize those men in the society who think highly of themselves. By this, the critic means those men who feel entitled and privileged that they can assume that what they deserve is only the best, “There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones.” And because of that notion, it can be claimed that with the existence of these kinds of men, societal standards on women were created that eventually caused biases and stereotypes that enslave women to conform, “There was always something about them that was not as it should be… for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.”
This interpretation was further strengthened as the story progresses to the arrival of a princess whose identity was at first questioned and doubted, “It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate… yet she said that she was a real princess.” With these passages, it was evident that the story contains societal biases and stereotypes of women. That just because she was not in good condition with her state and appearance, she was doubted and questioned, due to her “failure” to meet the aforementioned standards of the society which were represented by the judging eyes of the prince and his family, “… good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels.” Furthermore, the inclusion of the passage, “Well, we’ll soon find that out…” gives us a glimpse of how women are continuously subjected to undergo some sort of “testing” just to prove herself to the prince and his family.
To sum it up, Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Princess and the Pea” allows us to see another side of how these concepts and ideas of princes and princesses corrupted our perception of how women should embody being a “woman”. That with these existing biases and stereotypes on women, we should not subject them to conform to these standards and ideas. A reminder for us that it was never a responsibility of a woman to prove herself to anyone or to even act delicate and sensitive just to please people, especially men.
