Proud and Wicked No More: “The Red Shoes” and Contemporary Children’s Picturebooks
Proud and Wicked No More: “The Red Shoes” and Contemporary Children’s Picturebooks

Summary/Abstract: Despite young Karen’s dreadful demise in Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Red Shoes”, which casts it as a rather “inappropriate” story for contemporary child audiences, the influence of “The Red Shoes” persists in contemporary picturebooks for young readers. This essay considers both explicit adaptations of “The Red Shoes” as well as texts that borrow the imagery of Andersen’s fraught tale for their stories about girlhood and ballet. Specifically, I consider the ideological implications of reproducing Andersen’s story and imagery, as well as the degree to which revision must occur to get outside of the problems – about gender especially.

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