COMPLEX

TRANSFORMATIONS:
THE TINDER-BOX

By Megan Lynch
 Complex Transformations – Megan Lynch

Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Tinder-box, is a witty story that focuses on the
greed of men without consequence. Written in 1835, the tale describes the immoral ventures
of a soldier who lies and steals in order to achieve what he desires. The soldier never suffers
consequences for his actions, as there is no power strong enough to defy him. An invited
reading that is suggested through the tale is that greed is a virtue of humanity and should be
used for one’s own benefit. Not only does the text establish men as superior to women,
providing opportunities for feminist critical theory, but it also establishes men as superior to
nature, bringing forth the concept of postcolonialism. Textual intervention is “based on
readers’ and (re)writers’ understandings of the ways in which the base text attempts to
position them and the resources they have in terms of reading practices to accept, negotiate
and/or resist those positions.” (Johnson; 2001, p.g.54). As fairy tales are often produced with
a certain moral to be gained from them, intervening in a text like The Tinder-box allows the
transformation to challenge the moral message and provide an alternate offering to this world
view.

Throughout the base text, the soldier’s entire objective is self-interest, and through his desire
to satisfy that self-interest, he uses the power he possesses to manipulate those that are
inferior to him, thus creating binary opposites. This is because “the opposing binaries are
usually realised in structural, literary and sometimes visual configurations that support one
discourse more strongly.” (Johnson; 2001, p.g.51). This is asserted numerous times in the
tale, first when exploiting the knowledge of the witch to gain his wealth, and then using his
superior strength in order to gain the tinderbox; second when the soldier acquires the dogs’
services through the tinderbox and uses them to gain more wealth and influence; and third
when the soldier continues to drag the sleeping princess from her bed and abuse her, taking
no regard for her rights and highlighting her vulnerability. Through this method, the story
creates not only a male/female binary, but also a man/nature binary. The text positions the
reader to sympathise with both the women and the dogs in the tale, however underlying
textual elements define both parties as dependant on the male counterpart. All parties exist to
be exploited by the soldier, either through information, service, or as another object to satisfy
the soldier’s greed, and are expected not to defy that. When the witch attempts to, the soldier
threatens “to cut off her head”.

Thus, binary oppositions in the text work to highlight the line between superiority and
inferiority through social context. Feminist theorist, Helene Cixous argues the concept of
patriarchal binary thought, which explains that the word woman is another connotation for
the man’s other. “A woman is not a person in her own right…she is less than a man; she is a
kind of alien in a man’s world; she is not a fully developed human being the way a man is.”
(Tyson; 2006, p.g.96). This concept strengthens the statement mentioned previously that
asserts the fact that women in the text exist only to aid the men in their desire to succeed but
hold no right as people otherwise.

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 Complex Transformations – Megan Lynch

As well as binary oppositions, semiotics aid in explaining how the connotations and
associations in The Tinder-box – such as how the witch and the princess are portrayed in the
text – are used to create the reading that women exist only to serve particular roles in a male-
centric society. This is done through the use of “a linguistic or non-linguistic object or
behaviour (or collection of objects and behaviours) that can be analysed as if it were a
specialised language.” (Tyson; 2006, p.g.216). The reading of the witch is that she is “very
frightful-looking”, as well as old and disobedient, whereas the reading of the princess is that
she is “very beautiful”, as well as young and obedient. In result of this, the witch is killed for
her disobedience, whereas the princess becomes the wife of the soldier because of her
obedience. Through these signs, the stereotypes of the ‘good girl’ and the ‘bad girl’ are
applied, the former being the princess and the latter being the witch. This concept is a
patriarchal ideology that “suggests that there are only two identities a woman can have. If she
accepts her traditional gender role and obeys the patriarchal rules, she’s a ‘good girl’; if she
doesn’t, she’s a ‘bad girl’.” (Tyson; 2006, p.g.89). Thus, this notion supports the text’s
invited reading of patriarchal superiority, as the text highlights the limits that gender roles
implement on women and how they serve men.

This can also be seen through a postcolonial lens, as postcolonialism can be used when
referring to the relationship between man and nature in the text, as it assists in highlighting
how the language used creates a superior/inferior dynamic. The dogs are the ‘savages’ that
are conquered and controlled by the soldier, the ‘civilised’. They do as they are told with the
words, “what orders, master?”, and have no rights or power to defy the soldier, as they have
no meaning or significance in the story otherwise, thus making them the soldier’s other, or
therefore, “not fully human.” (Tyson; 2006, p.g.420). In this way, the invited readings of the
text are enforced, as through creating these binaries, an environmental inferiority is
established.

When referring to the inferiority of women in the tale, feminist theory is used in order to
explain how both the witch and the princess are merely tools of the soldier, merely because of
patriarchal expectation. This is due to the concept of the patriarchal woman, or rather “a
woman who has internalised the norms and values of patriarchy…” (Tyson; 2006, p.g.85). In
The Tinder-box, women are not given the right to defy the strength of men, but are forced to
conform and not complain. This is seen in the cases of the witch and the princess, as referred
to previously. This idea of the patriarchal woman is implied, as the women are expected
without complaint to serve the soldier due to the norms and gender roles placed upon them,
providing men with the ability to control and exploit women without consequence.

It is for these reasons that my transformation aims to equalise the relationships between both
man and woman, and man and nature. I have subverted the text, rather than inverted it, as
inversion is merely a swapping of the binaries, which “simply turns it (the meaning) on its
head” instead of changing the dynamics of the binaries themselves. (Hourihan; 1997,

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p.g.205). By subverting the binaries and the semiotics of the base text, an alternative reading
of male superiority is created.

In the transformation, a majority of the textual elements, such as genre, narrative style, and
structure were not changed. Instead, conventions of the plot were altered, using both text-
centered and world-centered approaches, in order to challenge the base text’s invited
readings. Through doing this, Derrida’s concept that “as soon as the word genre is
sounded…a limit is drawn. And when a limit is established, norms and interactions are not
far behind,” is challenged. (Derrida & Ronell; 1992, p.g.56).

The binaries of the base text remained the same, however their dynamics were altered.
Instead of one half dominating over the other, it is an “’either/or’ way of thinking” in which
they express difference, but not necessarily superiority/inferiority. (Moon; 2011, p.g.3). The
transformation reflects this, as while the male/female binary still exists, men are no longer
given the power to exploit the women, at least not without consequence, and the women now
have the right to implement consequence. Instead of being man’s other, women are now
independent elements of the story and can stand alongside men as equals. In the
transformation, the girl – or the altered reading of the witch – does not offer to assist the
soldier in his endeavours, but instead tells him that “in order to return, you must climb out
yourself.” Another example of this is when the soldier threatens to cut off the girl’s head,
instead of allowing this to happen, the girl uses her power as a witch to take away all of the
riches the soldier had just gained, leaving the soldier with less than what he’d started. Thus,
the invited reading is now altered, as instead of it being greed without consequence, it is
greed with consequence.

The remaking of semiotics in the base text also aids in supporting this resistant reading, as by
changing the dynamics of the witch, the concept of greed with consequence is reinforced.
This is done by using Derrida’s concept of differance, which refers to “the result of the
differences by which we distinguish one signifier from another,” – and when applied, the
original meanings gathered from the base text can be transformed. (Tyson; 2006, p.g.253).
An example of this was the altering of the ‘old’ witch into an ‘ordinary’ little girl. Although
the little girl is revealed to still be a witch in the end of the tale, it is not expected, as a little
girl predominantly signifies a lack of intelligence, because “little girls have been (and some
still are) told early in their educational careers that they can’t do math… In short, girls are
programmed to fail… (and it) suggests that females are less logical than males.” (Tyson;
2006, p.g.87). However, despite this view, in the case mentioned in the previous paragraph,
the little girl manages to outsmart the soldier, punishing him for his greed. Through
challenging this concept that girls are not as logical as men, the invited reading is changed, as
they are no longer powerless against the ways of men, but have the knowledge needed to
surpass them.

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A feminist lens explores this concept further, as by challenging the role of the witch as the
‘bad girl’ in the tale through changing the role’s outcome, the resistant reading of greed with
consequence can be supported more effectively. Instead of the ‘bad girl’ being “used and then
discarded” for her disobedience, as is done in the base text, the ‘bad girl’ fights for her right
to be disobedient and is successful. (Tyson; 2006, p.g.90). The example mentioned above
reinforces this, as the witch is no longer killed, but instead ends up using her power to remain
an aspect of the text by forcing the soldier to ‘pay what is due’ for his greed. Through this
success, the soldier, once the victor in the base text, is now the one left with even less than
what he started with, thus once again challenging the original reading that there is no price
for greed.

The invited reading that greed can be used for one’s own benefit was also altered, as by
neutralising the postcolonial concept of the other, particularly when referring to the
relationship in which the soldier had with the dogs, this notion is changed. Instead of
embodying the concept of the colonial subject, or “colonised persons who did not resist
colonial subjugation,” the dogs no longer allow themselves to be exploited by the soldier and
are given the power to speak freely. (Tyson; 2006, p.g.421). In the original text, the dogs are
tamed by a blue-checkered apron alone, however through the transformation, the dogs are
able to make demands of the soldier in exchange for their treasure. The dogs are no longer
the ‘savages’ but stand equally with the soldier as the ‘civilised’. Not only does this change
the invited reading that there is no consequence against greed, it also undermines the belief
that men can outsmart nature.

A simple transformation of this text would have either been to merely swap the male/female
binary, or to have made man inferior to nature. This would have been a rewriting of the text
that only provided an “alternative or negotiated re-write that disagrees mildly or reads across
the primary discourse of the base text.” (Johnson; 2001, p.g.50). A complex transformation
does not mildly disagree with a text but aims to change the entire fabric of the text and the
meanings woven within it. Through the methods mentioned, the original invited reading of
The Tinder-box was transformed. My resistant reading of the text opposes the idea of greed
as a virtue and the concept of patriarchal ideology, and instead encourages equality, both in a
gender context and an environmental context.

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Bibliography:

Derrida, J & Ronell, A. (1992). The Law of Genre. The University of Chicago Press.
Chicago.

Glotfelty, C, & Fromm, H. (1996). The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology.
University of Georgia Press. London.

Herrett, M., Helliher, D., & Simon, W. (2014). Textual Journeys: Exploring Senior English.
Cengage Learning Australia. Sydney.

Hourihan, M. (1997). Deconstructing the Hero: Literary Theory and Children’s Literature.
Routledge. London.

Johnson, G (2001). Understanding Textual Intervention: From Reading to Writing Practices.

English in Australia, 47-55.

Moon, B. (2001). Literary Terms. Chalkface Press. Sydney.

Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Routledge. London.