Illustration til "Klokken" i H.C. Andersen, "Eventyr og Historier", Bind 2 1870 - 1873

Curator: It's remarkable how a few etched lines can evoke such a distinct mood. Editor: Absolutely. And in this engraving, done sometime between 1870 and 1873 by H.P. Hansen, we have an illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's tale, "The Bell," from "Fairy Tales and Stories, Volume 2." What do you see, feel even, when you look at it? Curator: It whispers of melancholy, doesn’t it? These two figures, framed by stark landscapes... There's a fragility, a hint of yearning perhaps. It makes me think of lost boys from a folktale, poised between youth and whatever comes next. The clock might be the journey forward for them? Editor: It really pulls you in. I read it as a poignant depiction of societal expectations and the loss of innocence. In many of Andersen's tales, the tension between nature and culture reflects real-world social structures, gender roles, class differences, that children are inducted into early. Curator: True. It's almost like the clock, representing society, calls these young figures away from nature and themselves. Do you find that romanticism—which hangs so heavily in the atmosphere of that time—is used to disguise messages of moral panic? Editor: That's such an interesting provocation: panic. What else could one do, faced with so much power? Andersen uses the genre conventions of romanticism and domestic realism against themselves, allowing a critical edge into portrayals of childhood. Hansen's choice to execute this using engraving gives it a crisp formality that underscores the theme. Curator: An apt point. These children could almost be caught under glass, specimens, pinned down. But still, within that constrained space, a delicate story unfolds, as fragile as time, perhaps. And their gaze is turned toward a better future? Editor: That’s where I find some hope in Andersen and Hansen’s work. Despite everything—oppressive structures, constricting gender roles—imagination and creativity always make the possibility of resistance seem very near. Curator: A lovely thought to carry with us. Even in shadows, light finds a way. Editor: Yes, a small etching, a whole universe.