The Emperor's New Clothes

Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is one of his most widely-read and anthologized fairy tales. The story deals with authority, conformity, deception, and the corrupting nature of power. “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was first published in 1837 in Andersen’s Fairy Tales Told For Children. This collection features several of the most celebrated stories in the fairy tale genre, including “The Little Mermaid” and “The Princess and the Pea.” This collection, along with others, helped to establish Andersen as one of the most acclaimed and prolific fairy tale authors in history.

This guide refers to Jean Hersholt’s English translation from the Canterbury Classics 2014 edition of Hans Christian Andersen’s Complete Fairy Tales.

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is set in a mythic ancient past in an unspecified fictional kingdom. The characters are one-dimensional and archetypical, as is common in fairy tales. The setting is likewise nondescript. The story uses an omniscient third-person narration, which is crucial in framing the dishonest actions of the weavers and the folly of the emperor.

The story opens with an introduction of its central character, the emperor, who presides over the unnamed kingdom. He is described as having a singular obsession with clothing, even having “a coat for every hour of the day” (Paragraph 1). This obsession causes him to neglect his responsibilities to his realm and its people, caring only about being seen in the finest outfits.

Despite the emperor’s neglect of his kingdom, the people of the capital city in which he lives are always happy, and the city frequently welcomes visitors. One day, two “swindlers” arrive in the city claiming to be weavers. The swindlers say they are capable of manufacturing “the most magnificent fabrics imaginable” (Paragraph 2). The properties of these fabrics are alleged to be both spectacular and magical. The swindlers claim that the fabric is exceedingly beautiful, but that it is invisible to “anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid” (Paragraph 2).

The emperor, upon hearing of this fine fabric, employs the swindlers to craft an outfit for him. The fabric excites the emperor’s vanity and fascination for new clothes. He also believes it will enable him to discern which members of his court are unfit for their station.

As the two swindlers pretend to work at their looms, the emperor wishes to check on their progress. Fearing embarrassment if he is unable to see the fabric, he sends a trusted minister in his stead. The minister immediately realizes that he is unable to see the fabric, but fearing that he may be exposed as a fool, he pretends to be highly impressed with the work of the swindlers. The swindlers then ask for more money and supplies, which they then keep for themselves while doing no work.

The minister reports back to the emperor, repeating all of the swindlers’ lies about the beautiful colors and patterns of the fabric. Soon after, the emperor sends another trusted official to inspect the progress of the weavers. The same pattern repeats: the official sees that the looms are empty but pretends to be impressed with the beautiful fabrics so that he will not be thought a “fool.” He then delivers a second favorable report to the emperor, who rewards the weavers with more riches.

At last, the emperor himself wishes to see the fabric, as everyone in the city has now heard talk of its beauty. Along with a group of trusted officials, the emperor visits the weavers to inspect their work. Like his officials before him, the emperor does not see any fabric. Instead of admitting this fact or scolding the swindlers, the emperor instead declares that the fabric is “very pretty.” All of the members of his court likewise stare at the empty looms and offer praise for the work of the swindlers. The emperor’s officials advise him to wear the magnificent cloth for his upcoming grand procession through the city. The emperor agrees to this and rewards both of the swindlers with a cross and the title of “Sir Weaver.”

On the day of the procession, the emperor returns to the weavers with his “noblest noblemen.” The swindlers pretend to show the individual garments to the emperor and his noblemen, boasting of their magnificence and claiming that the fabric is so light that the emperor will feel as though he is wearing nothing.

The swindlers help “dress” the emperor in front of a long mirror. The swindlers and noblemen continue to praise the emperor’s new outfit, and he in turn pretends to be impressed with it. Even as he looks at his unclothed reflection in the mirror, the emperor declares it a “remarkable fit.”

The emperor’s noblemen pretend to lift the fabric’s train from the floor as the procession commences, refusing to admit that they are empty-handed. As the procession begins, the gathered crowd initially pretends to be impressed with the emperor’s fine clothes as well, since nobody wants to expose themselves as a “fool.” At last, a small child in the crowd calls out that the emperor is not wearing any clothes at all. The child’s words quickly make their way through the crowd before the whole town declares in unison that the emperor is, in fact, not wearing any clothes.

The emperor is distressed, as he suspects the townspeople are correct. In spite of this, he continues to walk on “more proudly than ever” (Paragraph 31), still unwilling to admit his foolishness.