Kierkegaard and Andersen. An intriguing relationship. Part 1

Soren Aabye Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen are today the most renowned literary figures from mid C19th Denmark. One a philosopher often acclaimed as the ‘ Father of Existentialism’, whose writings have influenced generations of religious and secular thinkers and have persistently appealed to amateur seekers after wisdom. The other cherished as a writer of fairy tales, such as ‘ The Little Mermaid’ and ‘ The Snow Queen’, which have gained worldwide popularity and have been repeatedly re-imagined by the film industry and even become embroiled in the so-called Culture Wars. It should be no surprise that these contemporaries, one responsible for ‘ Fear and Trembling’ , the other for ‘The Ugly Duckling’, had their creative and personal differences..