SOURCE: Anderson, Christopher L. “Andersen's ‘The Snow Queen’ and Matute's Primera Memoria: to the Victor go the Spoils.” Critica Hispanica 14, no. 1-2 (1992): 13-27.

In the following essay, Anderson examines the ways in which Andersen's “The Snow Queen” influenced Ana María Matute's Primera Memoria.

Introduction

In a revealing article entitled “Diciembre y Andersen” Ana María Matute recalls her childhood affection for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales: “Si algo ha influido realmente en mi infancia, fue precisamente aquel tomo de cuentos de Andersen, que hace tantos años trajeron los Reyes Magos a mi casa” (159). As Janet Díaz has stated, this attraction did not end with the writer's childhood, for upon rereading the same tome decades later, “she found its magic undiminished” (26). Given Matute's ongoing fascination with Andersen's tales, it is not surprising that on occasion they leave their mark on her adult writings. While I have...