@Drowningindisappointment
The craziest thing is, I can perfectly imagine running into a modern-day Hans Christian Andersen at any moment. His breed of “slightly delusional but genius chaos bisexual” lives on
@saraknox1631
It's misleading to say the original Little Mermaid wanted to be immortal. What she wanted was a soul, which is not exactly the same. She would still die, but she would have the ability to have a relationship with God, to go to heaven, and to be able to continue her relationships with humans in the afterlife. That's what made the seafoam death so sad - it's not just death but a soulless death.
@PeacockandPuppets
Taking on a matron is the high brow phrasing of milf hunting
@jacquiecotillard9699
As a big fan of the tabletop RPG “Trapped In Your House Due To Hans Christian Andersen,” I’m so glad to see the Dickens incident get some attention.
@iggysmice3087
The ugly duckling always spoke to me because I grew up with undiagnosed autism. I was always weird. I was never exactly like other kids and they never seemed to like me for it. Even adults seemed to notice that there was something different and I never ever quite fit in anywhere with anybody. I was 19 when I met someone online who was just like me, same obsessions, same awkward and not-instinctive social behavior, same issues with day to day things like clothing and food. They are autistic. A few conversations with professionals later, and I learned that I was never just a duck who was terrible at life, but in fact I am a very typical autistic swan and there are many others who are just like me. If you feel awkward and like nothing social has ever come naturally to you, research neurodivergence. You might find other swans too.
@aidanfarnan4683
The man was so chaotic, there is a tabletop RPG game that is just trying to survive having him as a house guest. 11/10 deranged bisexual icon.
@kagitsune
"Platonic romance" is a wonderfully paradoxical phrase, and it makes so much sense. I've felt it before!!
@SIC647
As a Dane, I find it funny when foreigners (not you here) try to discredit him as being weird, socially awkward, sexually off. Yes, yes we know. It has always been known. That is part of who he is, and likely a big part of the reason, that he was able to write stories that transcended "normal" society and proved everlasting - because he wasn't "normal". He was able to see things from the outside. And for all the pain that it brought him, I am grateful how it fuelled his art. "The line between genius and mad is very thin".
@PurelyCoincidental
I'm an historian who's largely focused on the nineteenth century, and to me, Andersen is such a prime example of the kind of craziness you get in early- to mid-nineteenth century Romanticism. (I mean that in a loving manner.) His personality and behavior were of a kind that were not only uniquely tolerated in that time, but also idealized...at least by some...perhaps not by those who were the object of his affection, lol. I see other people commenting here about how much happier he would have been in the modern day, and that's likely true. However, if he had been born even a generation earlier than he was, I don't know if we'd have ever heard of him. I don't feel like the 18th c. would have accommodated and praised him nearly as much. Lovely video, btw, and I hope you have a great and well-deserved holiday break. :)
@ricucci-hillmusic
I know it's right at the beginning of the video, but The Little Match Girl was actually adapted into a short cartoon by disney, set to a Borodin string quartet, and it is the most heartbreaking thing that you will ever watch. They don't sugarcoat it. The girl freezes to death and they make sure you know she's dead
@mangoblaze
Dickens: oh what a a cool up & coming writer, I can't wait to have tea with him in my abode [4 weeks later] ... PLEASE stop sobbing on my lawn.
@gabriellebertrand3054
Mr. Anderson would have been so much happier if he was born today. I see him as a Queer asexual man who reminds me so much of me. I’m autistic and the switching between thinking I’m the most amazing person ever to depressive romantic spirals is very relatable.
@RealCoolCowboy
I would honestly love a Hans Christian Andersen biopic, with the first scene of Dickens walking into his house, a grumpy look on his face, feint crying in the background, asking his son "He's still crying, isn't he?"
@KaraZ0r3l
As an autistic asexual queer person with religious trauma Hans Christian Andersen is hella relatable 😂 he is another level of chaos in some ways but there are so many ways moments where I was like "yep, I get it, if I didn't have coping mechanisms and people who cared enough to teach me how to human I might do something similar"
@Sing_A_Rebel_Song
Please make a “disaster bis of history series” I need this 😂
@martinsinding7631
Andersen is such a titanic figure here in Denmark that he often comes across as a character more than a real person. I think many danes do not have a very whole picture of who he actually was as a person, they mostly know the romantic character of Andersen. We love to see him as the small town boy who grew to be a world traveling writer. Since he is arguably the most famous literary figure Denmark (where I am from) can boast about we often see people play into the myth of Andersen. There is a whole ride dedicated to him and his fairytales in Tivoli Gardens and he is so ominpresecent in the danish school system that we seldom put much thought into Andersen as a writer and an individual. Which is too bad because he really is a very interesting person and he has left such a plethora of written records that we can examine to form a picture of him. I would think some of the more close-minded danes would have a hard time accepting any discussion of Andersens's sexuality, he is simply too ingrained in the cultural canon as this whimsical weaver of fairytales and not a person with flaws. As a historian it is almost indescribable how stoked I am that my favorite history youtuber would cover anything about our small country. Love the video.
@sennyside
Hi, I'm actually a descendant of the Andersen family! I just wanted to say that I'm a huge fan, and it's wonderful to see you talking about his life!
@mfuentes4961
I am a simple woman. I see Kaz Rowe upload a video about Hans Christian Andersen and I will drop everything (including office work) to watch it lol
@JeraWizard
"Forward, forward, or die. That is my constant thought." When I was at one of the toughest and most heartbroken points in my life, I wrote the line "just like sharks that swim in the sea, if I stop moving I'll die immediately". I feel like that has the same energy. Sure, he's riding the high of his recent play's success, but he's heartbroken. He's trying to focus on everything BUT the heartbreak.
@evelienheerens2879