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Beauty of Form and Beauty of Mind

From Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen is best known for tales told to children, but this is a philosophical story for adults, exploring the difference between outward beauty and the kindred soul. First published in the nineteenth century, it reflects the Romantic era's fascination with artists, aesthetic ideals, and the conflict between appearance and substance. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. Andersen offers no easy moral: the sculptor's first rapturous speech is not retracted, and Sophy's reply—grounded in Christian eschatology—leaves the question unresolved. The tale is worth a reader's time because it dramatises, with wit and pathos, a perennial human question: what ought we to value, and why?

Band: Silver · First-year university levelTypical starting range: adult
Length: long · about 1591 words in 4 sections · 1 picture
Source: Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, H. C. Andersen
First published: see the About page in the reader
Regions: Canada · United States

Included formats

· Web reader and PDF
· EPUB for e-readers
· Home-print sheet
· Folded booklet
· Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
· Worksheet
· Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
· Read-aloud script
· Teacher’s Edition (members)

Lesson at a glance

Reading: about 11 minutes at this band
Pause questions: none — the story runs straight through
Words to Know: 10
Quick Check: 10 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk: 1 question for afterwards
Worksheet: questions, an activity and a drawing prompt

About 35 minutes with one story, all of it.

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