The ugly duckling
The ugly duckling is one of the greatest and most beloved fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. It is a wonderful story of a little bird that matures into a beautiful swan, a story about personal transformation. This includes the process of of disovering one's own values, listening to one's inner voice, listening to what one feels, finding one's own path of happiness in life, and developing / creating one's own personality.
A key topic in the story is also the seeking of acceptance / recognition / love from others that one lives among. I read here that the duckling is born in an environment in which
1. the duckling finds that is is different than the others: It does not look like the others, it does not behave like the others, and it does not think like the others.
2. the duckling is confronted with other animals who have little social competence. The duckling is not appreciated by the others and not wanted by the others. Through various signals / messages, it is eventually pushed out / ejected by the others - directly and/or indirectly.
1. the duckling finds that is is different than the others: It does not look like the others, it does not behave like the others, and it does not think like the others.
2. the duckling is confronted with other animals who have little social competence. The duckling is not appreciated by the others and not wanted by the others. Through various signals / messages, it is eventually pushed out / ejected by the others - directly and/or indirectly.
I read on the English Wikipedia that when the critic Georg Brandes asked H.C. Andersen about whether he could write his autobiography, Mr. Andersen replied that it had already been written - The ugly duckling.
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