Aug 22, 2011

Short Story of The Week (45) - The Red Shoes

Story Title: The Red Shoes
Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Summary

A young orphan girl, Karen,  wishes only to have a pair of beautiful red shoes. However, due to her obsession with them they become cursed to make her dance forever.

My Thoughts

I guess I'm still in the mood for dancing type stories. I am a dancer after all. I promised I would review this awhile back anyway, so I figured there is no time like the present. While The Red Shoes is considered a fairy tale, it is actually more of a morality tale. It makes the point that if you think of only your own vanity you end up paying a heavy price. Not unlike most of the old versions of fairy tales The Red Shoes has some slightly creepy elements. In fact if you read it to a child with a wild imagination it I think parts of it would freak them out. Case in point the only way Karen can get the red shoes off her feet is too...well...have her feet cut off. Yuck! Kind of crazy stuff for a fairy tale. I still think it's an interesting story regardless. As a send off I leave you with the ballet of The Red Shoes from one of my favorite movies The Red Shoes. Enjoy!

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