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Deconstruct Narrative Using Scene, Time, Tone, and Revealing Character
The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christen Andersen
The art of deconstructing narrative into craft elements takes practice. Fables and fairytales are
not overly complicated so they allow us to find the elements more easily. Let’s look at another
classic fairytale, this one by Hans Christen Andersen with a slightly more modern feel than
Brothers Grimm.
Read the included fairytale. As you read, think about what scene work the narrator uses, how
time is structured, tone, and how characters are revealed.
After the fairytale, there will be analysis of the techniques.
Finally, we’ll end on some suggestions for more modern fairytales to explore.
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The Emperor’s New Clothes
K
by Hans Christian Andersen
Many years ago, So the two pre-
there was an Emperor tend weavers set up two
who was so very fond looms. They worked
of new clothes that he very busily, though in
spent all his money on reality they did noth-
them. He did not trou- ing at all. They asked
ble about his soldiers. for the finest silk and
He did not care to go the purest gold thread.
to the theatre. He only They put both into
went out when he had their own knapsacks.
the chance to show off Then they pretended
his new clothes. He to work at the empty
had a different suit for each hour of the day. looms until late at night.
Most kings could be found sitting in council. “I should like to know how the weavers are
It was said of the Emperor, “He is sitting in his getting on with my cloth,” said the Emperor
wardrobe.” to himself one day. When he remembered that
One day, two fellows calling themselves a simpleton, or one unfit for his job would be
weavers came to town. They said that they unable to see the cloth he began to worry. To
knew how to weave cloth of the most beau- be sure, he thought he was safe. However, he
tiful colors and patterns. The clothes made would prefer sending somebody else to bring
from this wonderful cloth would be invisible him news about the weavers, and their work.
to everyone who was unfit for the job he held, All the people in the kingdom had heard of the
or who was very simple in character. wonderful cloth. All were eager to learn how
“These must, indeed, be splendid wise or how foolish their neighbors might be.
clothes!” thought the Emperor. “If I had such “I will send my faithful old wise man to
a suit, I might at once find out what men in the weavers,” said the Emperor atlast. “He will
my kingdom are unfit for their job. I would be best able to see how the cloth looks. He is a
be able to tell the wise men from the foolish! man of sense. No one can be better for his job
This stuff must be woven for me immediate- than he is.”
ly.” He gave large sums of money to both the So the faithful old wise man went into the
weavers in order that they might begin their hall where the thieves were working with all
work at once. their might at their empty looms. “What can
——
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The Emperor’s New Clothes By Hans Christian Andersen
be the meaning of this?” thought the old man, that was given them into their knapsacks. They
opening his eyes very wide. “I cannot find the went on working with as much effort as before
least bit of thread on the looms.” However, he at their empty looms.
did not say his thoughts aloud. The Emperor soon sent another man
The thieves asked him very kindly to be from his court to see how the weavers were
so good as to come nearer their looms. Then, getting on. Now he wanted to know if the
they asked him whether the cloth pleased him. cloth would soon be ready. It was just the
They asked whether the colors were not very same with this gentleman as with the wise
beautiful. All the time they were pointing to the man. First he looked closely at the looms on
empty frames. The poor old wise man looked all sides. He could see nothing at all but the
and looked. He could not see anything on the empty frames.
looms for a very good reason. There was noth- “Does not the stuff appear as beautiful to
ing there. you, as it did to my lord the wise man?” asked
“What!” thought he again. “Is it possible the thieves of the Emperor’s second advisor.
that I am a fool? I have never thought so myself. “I certainly am not stupid!” thought the
No one must know it now if I am so. Can it be, man. “It must be, that I am not fit for my good
that I am unfit for my job? No, the Emperor job! That is very odd. However, no one shall
must not know that either. I will never tell that know anything about it.”
I could not see the stuff.” And so he praised the stuff he could not
“Well, Sir!” said one of the weavers still see. He declared that he was happy with both
pretending to work. “You do not say whether colors and patterns. “Indeed, your Imperial
the cloth pleases you.” Majesty,” he said to his emperor when he re-
“Oh, it is excellent!” replied the old wise turned. “The cloth which the weavers are pre-
man, looking at the loom through his specta- paring is extraordinarily magnificent.”
cles. “This pattern, and the colors, yes, I will tell The whole city was talking of the splendid
the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful cloth, which the Emperor had ordered to be
I think them.” woven.
“We shall be much obliged to you,” said Finally, the Emperor himself wished to
the thieves. Then they named the many col- see the costly material while it was still in the
ors and described the pattern of the pretend- loom. He took many officers of the court and
ed stuff. The old wise man listened with care the two honest men who had already admired
to their words so he might repeat them to the the cloth. As soon as the weavers saw the Em-
Emperor. The thieves asked for more silk and peror approach, they went on working faster
gold saying that it was necessary to complete than ever although they still did not pass even
what they had begun. Once again they put all one thread through the looms.
——
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The Emperor’s New Clothes By Hans Christian Andersen
“Is not the work absolutely magnificent?” their scissors and sewed with needles without
said the two officers of the crown, already men- any thread in them. “See!” cried they, at last.
tioned. “If your Majesty will only be pleased to “The Emperor’s new clothes are ready!”
look at it! What a splendid design! What glori- The Emperor, with all the grandees of his
ous colors!” and at the same time they pointed court, came to the weavers. The thieves raised
to the empty frames; for they imagined that their arms, as if in the act of holding something
everyone else could see this exquisite piece of up. “Here are your Majesty’s trousers! Here is
workmanship. the scarf! Here is the mantle! The whole suit is
“How is this?” said the Emperor to him- as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has
self. “I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible nothing at all on, when dressed in it.”
affair! Am I a simpleton, or am I unfit to be an “Yes indeed!” said all the courtiers, al-
Emperor? That would be the worst thing that though not one of them could see anything of
could happen—Oh! The cloth is charming,” this special cloth.
said he, aloud. “I approve of it completely.” He The Emperor was undressed for a fitting,
smiled most graciously and looked closely at and the thieves pretended to array him in his
the empty looms. No way would he say that new suit. The Emperor turned round and from
he could not see what two of his advisors had side to side before the looking glass.
praised so much. Everyone with the Emperor “How splendid his Majesty looks in his
now strained his or her eyes hoping to discover new clothes, and how well they fit!” everyone
something on the looms, but they could see no cried out. “What a design! What colors! These
more than the others. are indeed royal robes!”
Nevertheless, they all exclaimed, “Oh, “I am quite ready,” said the Emperor. He
how beautiful!” and advised his majesty to have appeared to be examining his handsome suit.
some new clothes made from this splendid ma- The lords of the bedchamber, who were
terial for the parade that was planned. “Mag- to carry his Majesty’s train felt about on the
nificent! Charming! Excellent!” was called out ground as if they were lifting up the ends of
on all sides. Everyone was very cheerful. The the mantle. Then they pretended to be carrying
Emperor was pleased. He presented the weav- something for they would by no means want to
ers with the emblem of an order of knighthood. appear foolish or not fit for their jobs.
The thieves sat up the whole of the night before The Emperor walked under his high cano-
the day on which the parade was to take place. py in the midst of the procession, through the
They had sixteen lights burning, so that every- streets of his capital. All the people standing by,
one might see how anxious they were to finish and those at the windows, cried out, “Oh! How
the Emperor’s new suit. They pretended to roll beautiful are our Emperor’s new clothes! What
the cloth off the looms. They cut the air with a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and
——
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The Emperor’s New Clothes By Hans Christian Andersen
how gracefully the scarf hangs!” No one would
admit these much admired clothes could not be
seen because, in doing so, he would have been
saying he was either a simpleton or unfit for his
job.
“But the Emperor has nothing at all on!”
said a little child. “Listen to the voice of the
child!” exclaimed his father. What the child had
said was whispered from one to another. “But
he has nothing at all on!” at last cried out all the
people. The Emperor was upset, for he knew
that the people were right. However, he thought
the procession must go on now! The lords of
the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to
appear holding up a train, although, in reality,
there was no train to hold, and the Emperor
walked on in his underwear.
——
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Scene
Like Brothers Grimm in Little Red Riding Hood, the narrator of this story uses just enough scene
to orient the reader to the action:
“So the two pretend weavers set up two looms. They worked very busily, though in reality they did
nothing at all. They asked for the finest silk and the purest gold thread. They put both into their
own knapsacks. Then they pretended to work at the empty looms until late at night.”
We aren’t luxuriating in sensory details about the scene. For example, the narrator doesn’t
explain where the weaving is happening inside the castle, doesn’t go into detail about the looms,
or the light in the room. As readers, we aren’t experiencing the weaving.
However, the scene work is not all utilitarian. In a few places, the narrator adds in more detail,
allowing us to see more:
“The thieves sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the parade was to take place.
They had sixteen lights burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the
Emperor’s new suit. They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms. They cut the air with their
scissors and sewed with needles without any thread in them.”
The narrator provides us with just a bit more visuals in that moment because it builds tension
towards the crescendo.
The most impactful scene we see is the final moment, since, unlike Little Red Riding Hood, a
large part of the narrative relies on the visual impact to make the moral point:
“The lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although,
in reality, there was no train to hold, and the Emperor walked on in his underwear.”
The scene is primarily helpful in keeping us oriented about what’s happening in the story, but it
also allows for a few flourishes that emphasize the ridiculousness of the situation.
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Time
The story kicks off with summary time. This is when a narrator takes multiple points of time and
tells the reader how things usually are:
“Many years ago, there was an Emperor who was so very fond of new clothes that he spent all his
money on them. He did not trouble about his soldiers. He did not care to go to the theatre. He only
went out when he had the chance to show off his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour
of the day. Most kings could be found sitting in council. It was said of the Emperor, ‘He is sitting in
his wardrobe.’”
This essentially sets the stage for how their life will disrupted, just one sentence later with this
rather direct and classic fairytale start:
“One day, two fellows calling themselves weavers came to town.”
This is an immediate shift into a specific moment in time. From that moment, the narrator will
follow the flow of time forward. This narrator will make quick jumps in time to move us through
to the relevant parts of the story. The narrator uses clear indicators to skip us forward in time:
“The Emperor soon sent another man from his court to see how the weavers were getting on.”
There are about four scenes in the tale, all of them at different moments of time.
Part of the power of this fairytale is that the swindlers made quite a show of their con with plenty
of time to be caught out. We have to see two advisors fail to uncover the con in order to
understand how prideful the Emperor’s entire retinue is. The fact that this con didn’t happen in a
day – that the Emperor spent days and untold amounts of money on this effort – emphasizes the
depth of the Emperor’s vapidity, vanity, and pride.
This narrator moves forward in time, dropping us into specific scenes, then lifts up and flies to
the next important scene further in the timeline.
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Tone
The version of the narrative we’re reviewing has been updated for a more modern aesthetic.
Compare this section of the original version to the current one we’re reviewing.
Here is the opening of the original version, written in 1837:
“The great city where he resided was very gay; every day many strangers from all parts of the
globe arrived. One day two swindlers came to this city; they made people believe that they were
weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest cloth to be imagined. Their colours and
patterns, they said, were not only exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made of their material
possessed the wonderful quality of being invisible to any man who was unfit for his office or
unpardonably stupid.
‘That must be wonderful cloth," thought the Emperor. ‘If I were to be dressed in a suit made of
this cloth I should be able to find out which men in my empire were unfit for their places, and I
could distinguish the clever from the stupid. I must have this cloth woven for me without delay.’”
Versus the more modern version we are reviewing:
One day, two fellows calling themselves weavers came to town. They said that they knew how to
weave cloth of the most beautiful colors and patterns. The clothes made from this wonderful
cloth would be invisible to everyone who was unfit for the job he held, or who was very simple in
character.
‘These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!’ thought the Emperor. ‘If I had such a suit, I might at
once find out what men in my kingdom are unfit for their job. I would be able to tell the wise
men from the foolish! This stuff must be woven for me immediately.’”
What differences do you spot? First, the grammar is simplified: semicolons are turned to simple
periods, and longer sentences are split up. Second, some of the language is switched. The
modern version uses the word “simple” instead of stupid, refocusing the narrative on the moral
failing of simplicity, which implies a voluntary choice to not see what should be obvious. The
classic version suggests a mental deficiency with the words “stupid,” which, to our modern
understanding, is not a moral failing—somebody can’t help if they’re not as intelligent as
someone else.
This reflects how important language can be. Switching out words can have subtle but powerful
effect. With a few changes of words, the modern language supports the larger moral of the story,
which posits vanity and sycophants as a moral failing of leadership, not someone’s innate
intelligence.
With simple, clean sentences the tone of the more modernized fairytale is simple, direct, and
plain spoken.
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Revealing Character
As we discussed in class, one of the key ways that a fairytale achieves the moral point is to
allow the reader to see what is happening inside of the characters so that we can understand the
contrast between the character’s outward behavior and their inner experience.
In this fairytale, the narrator allows us to see each character’s thoughts right after they are shown
the “cloth”:
“I certainly am not stupid!” thought the man. “It must be, that I am not fit for my good job! That is
very odd. However, no one shall know anything about it.”
In order to understand how the characters are falling for the ruse of non-existent cloth, we have
to see the process of convincing themselves to not say anything about it—pride is an internal
phenomena; in order to see it work, the narrator must show us the inner working of the
characters.
Imagine if this story did not show us the interior workings of the character. If all the story
showed us was the old men looking at the cloth and then saying, “yes, it’s beautiful,” the reader
might rightly assume the weavers are magically creating a cloth. The narrator shows us the
interior reaction in order to establish the cloth’s non-existence. We understand the reality of the
con because we can see the con working.
This is a vital part of this story: revealing the character experience through thought. Not all
fairytales rely as heavily on thought, nor do all stories. As we talked about in class, the decision
of how to reveal character is connected back to the type of story you’re telling.
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More References
For even more modern retellings of this classic fairytale, visit SurLaLune’s page about The
Emperor’s New Clothes.
To explore more original stories that use fairytale form, visit discovery’s 20 Modern Fairy Tales
to Make You Believe in Magic Again.
And, for a real-world example of The Emperor’s New Clothes, visit the strange tale of an artist
who sells an invisible piece of artwork: Italian Artist Sells Invisible Sculpture For Real Money.