“Sharp knives seemed to cut her delicate feet, yet she hardly felt them, so deep was the pain in her heart. She could not forget that this was the last night she would ever see the one for whom she had left her home and family, had given up her beautiful voice, and had day by day endured unending torment, of which he knew nothing at all. An eternal night awaited her.”
This quote highlights the pain and suffering the princess suffers in order to gain a soul. She suffers the physical pain in her feet, but she also suffers the emotional torment of being separated from her family, and the prospect of not having an afterlife. Anderson himself was a Christian, and here he might be saying something about how lucky humans are to be born with a soul, unlike the mermaids in this tale.
"The poor little thing did not know where to go, and was quite miserable because he was so ugly and laughed at by the whole farmyard. So it went on from day to day till it got worse and worse. The poor duckling was driven about by every one; even his brothers and sisters were unkind to him, and would say, “Ah, you ugly creature, I wish the cat would get you,” and his mother said she wished he had never been born. "
This quote creates a sense of sympathy for the ugly duckling, who is mistreated by everyone around him. Although the duckling has done nothing wrong, he is treated horribly because of his appearance. In creating a sympathetic character like the ugly duckling, Anderson teaches his readers to think before they judge others based on their appearance.
“What’s this?” thought the Emperor. “I can see nothing at all! That is terrible. Am I stupid? Am I not fit to be Emperor?"
Here the Emperor acknowledges that he cannot see the clothes; however, due to his fear of being judged by others he pretends he can see them. As a result, he wears his invisible suit and makes a fool out of himself.
