To illustrationsudkast til H.C. Andersen, "Dynd-Kongens Datter" 1869

Lorenz Frølich made this sketch for H.C. Andersen’s “The Marsh King’s Daughter”. Frølich, who lived between 1820 and 1908, was working in a period defined by its national romanticism. We see tentative outlines hinting at the narrative's core themes of identity and transformation. A woman reclines, seemingly lifeless, while a monk gestures dramatically, confronted by a figure of the marsh. Below, another scene sketches a woman cradling a child. Representations of women at this time often oscillated between the Madonna and the Magdalen. Andersen's tale, and Frølich's illustrations, engage with these archetypes, exploring the complexities of female identity when confronted with the monstrous and the maternal. The sketch invites us to consider how identity is not fixed but is something formed in relation to our environment and history, challenging us to reflect on the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.