Synopsis of The Tinderbox

A brief overview of Hans Christian Anderson's the Tinder Box

A soldier returning from war encounters a witch with a tempting proposition - she will bathe him in riches in return for a small seemingly meaningless tinder box. The soldier does her bidding enduring a confrontation with three separate dogs each guarding chests and each with larger eyes than the next. Although the dogs are said to be vicious the witch gifts him her apron on which he places the dogs so that he should not fear them. Upon his return to the witch he questions the value of the tinder box assuming it must be of notable significance to be exchanged for a chest filled with gold. The witch refuses to divulge this information and the soldier ruthlessly beheads her and steals the tinder box. 

For some time the soldier enjoys unimaginable wealth until, one day, he is left freezing cold with nothing but the memory of a stub of a candle left inside the tinder box. As he uses the tinder box to light the candle one of the dogs mentioned before runs to his aid. He requests that the dog brings him money and the dog returns with a sack of gold. After returning to his previous wealth he enjoys socialising and hears of a beautiful princess locked in a tower due to a prophecy that one day she will marry a common soldier. The soldier is obsessed with this and decides to use the tinder box to bring the princess to him. The soldier summons a dog to collect her and she later speaks of 'dreams' of riding on a large dogs back into the night. The King hears of these 'dreams' and asks her maid to keep a watchful eye over the princess. The maid sees the dog and princess following them quietly. After seeing the dog and princess enter the inn where the solider stays she marks the door with a white cross. The dog sees the maid marking the door and marks the rest of the doors in the town. When the King and Queen return the next day they cannot find the correct inn. The Queen produces a silk bag filled with flour and ties it to the princess's neck and cuts a hole in the bottom so that a trail is left behind. The dog does not observe this and the following day the King and Queen arrest the solder. 

The King and Queen decide to behead the soldier and on the day of his hanging the soldier sees a young shoemaker's boy passing by from his cell. He calls the boy and offers him money in return for his tinder box from the Inn where he left it. The shoemaker's boy collects and returns the tinder box in exchange for money. The soldier is brought outside to be beheaded in front of the whole town. The King offers the solider one last gift from the world of which the soldier requests one last pipe. The soldier strikes his tinder box three times and summons all three dogs. The dogs toss the King, Queen and executioners up in the air from which they fall to their deaths. The soldier then assumes power and takes the princess as his wife and they live happily ever after.

Analysis

The Tinder Box follows the story of a man blinded by lust and greed toxically combined with a lack of morals and a ruthless animalistic approach to life. For me the story is a cynical indulgence, designed to highlight Anderson’s flippant views on money and the role it plays within society. Possibly the most notable aspect of the story is the brutal lack of morals. Anderson challenges society’s need for moralistic fairy tales and replaces that happy ending with something that leaves the reader with the theory that uncontrollable greed will end up working out well for you.

There are several ongoing issues throughout the story, the main being the constant display of greed throughout – not just from the soldier, but the people who follow him whilst he is wealthy. In the story it is noted that whilst the soldier has lots of money he is flocked by well-wishers which turn their backs on him when he loses everything. This highlights the fickleness and pretentiousness that comes with wealth and prestige. Lust plays a part in this corrupt tale in the reflection of the soldier’s obsession with the princess. Without having met the damsel his obsession stems purely from descriptions of her beauty. Manipulation concludes the story as the soldier uses his cunning ways to manipulate a young boy to bring him his tinder box which leads onto his eventual escape and gaining of power.

To conclude the story is an interesting one – as far as fairy tales go it shares many similarities with its better known counterparts however what interests me most is the issues it raises about the role money and greed plays within society as well as the preconceived idea that all stories must have a happy ending. The soldier is a fascinating character as he has many relatable qualities such as cunning, greed and an irrational streak. The soldier symbolises everything society frowns upon however many of his traits are indeed hard to avoid completely – he serves as a reminder that no one is perfect. The witch is a confusing character. Many would assume that the witch would possess something that would aid her against the soldier’s vicious attack, however she seemed completely defenceless. I think that in this case there could be a link between the prophecy of the soldier and the princess, and the witch. I would love to develop the witch’s character further on the pretence that she did not fully reach her demise. Combining my knowledge of the Celtic beliefs, in the Celtic version of the Tinder Box the witch could have simply been posing as a spirit of the forest and upon her supposed demise she may have returned as her other self.

I am going to further explore Iron Age Britain and the Celtic culture then alter the story to fit my era. At present I imagine the soldier to appear somewhere between Khal Drogo and William Wallis (Mel Gibson), the witch to be in the form of a forest spirit / druid and the dogs to be giant metal statues of which the eyes are made from different precious gems.