The Emperor 's New clothes - wikipedia The Emperor 's New clothes This article is about the story by Hans Christian Andersen. For other uses, see The Emperor 's New Clothes ( disambiguation ). Not to be confused with The Emperor Wears No Clothes. `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen, Andersen 's first illustrator Author Hans Christian Andersen Original title `` Kejserens nye Klæder '' Country Denmark Language Danish Genre ( s ) Literary folktale Published in Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. Third Booklet. 1837. ( Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. Tredie Hefte. 1837. ) Publication type Fairy tale collection Publisher C.A. Reitzel Publication date 7 April 1837 Preceded by `` The Little Mermaid '' Followed by `` Only a Fiddler '' `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' ( Danish : Kejserens nye Klæder ) is a short tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about two weavers who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that they say is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent - while in reality, they make no clothes at all, making everyone believe the clothes are invisible to them. When the emperor parades before his subjects in his new `` clothes '', no one dares to say that they do not see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid. Finally, a child cries out, `` But he is n't wearing anything at all ! '' The tale has been translated into over 100 languages. `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' was first published with `` The Little Mermaid '' in Copenhagen, by C.A. Reitzel, on 7 April 1837, as the third and final installment of Andersen 's Fairy Tales Told for Children. The tale has been adapted to various media, and the story 's title, the phrase `` The Emperor has no clothes '', and variations thereof have been adopted for use in numerous other works and as an idiom. Contents 1 Plot 2 Sources 3 Composition 4 Publication 5 Commentaries 6 Adaptations and cultural references 7 Use as an idiom 8 See also 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links Plot A vain emperor who cares about nothing except wearing and displaying clothes hires weavers who promise him they will make him the best suit of clothes. The weavers are con - men who convince the emperor they are using a fine fabric invisible to anyone who is either unfit for his position or `` hopelessly stupid ''. The con lies in that the weavers are actually only pretending to manufacture the clothes ; they are making make - believe clothes which they mime. Thus, no one, not even the emperor nor his ministers can see the alleged `` clothes '', but pretend that they can for fear of appearing unfit for their positions, and the emperor does the same. Finally, the weavers report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him, and the emperor marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk uncomfortably go along with the pretense, not wanting to appear unfit for their positions or stupid. Then, a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all, and the cry is taken up by others. The emperor realizes the assertion is true but continues the procession. Sources Andersen 's tale is based on a 1335 story from the Libro de los ejemplos ( or El Conde Lucanor ), a medieval Spanish collection of fifty - one cautionary tales with various sources such as Aesop and other classical writers and Persian folktales, by Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena ( 1282 -- 1348 ). Andersen did not know the Spanish original but read the tale in a German translation, titled `` So ist der Lauf der Welt ''. In the source tale, a king is hoodwinked by weavers who claim to make a suit of clothes invisible to any man not the son of his presumed father ; whereas Andersen altered the source tale to direct the focus on courtly pride and intellectual vanity rather than adulterous paternity. There is also an Indian version of the story, which appears in the Līlāvatīsāra by Jinaratna ( 1283 ), a summary of a now - lost anthology of fables, the Nirvāṇalīlāvatī by Jineśvara ( 1052 ). The dishonest merchant Dhana from Hastināpura swindles the King of Śrāvastī by offering to weave a supernatural garment that can not be seen or touched by any person of illegitimate birth. When the king is supposedly wearing the garment, his whole court pretends to admire it. The king is then paraded about his city to show off the garment ; when the common folk ask him if he has become a naked ascetic, he realizes the deception, but the swindler has already fled. Composition Andersen 's manuscript was at the printer 's when he was suddenly inspired to change the original climax of the tale from the emperor 's subjects admiring his invisible clothes to that of the child 's cry. There are many theories about why he made this change. Most scholars agree that from his earliest years in Copenhagen, Andersen presented himself to the Danish bourgeoisie as the naïvely precocious child not usually admitted to the adult salon. `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' became his expose of the hypocrisy and snobbery he found there when he finally gained admission. Andersen 's decision to change the ending may have occurred after he read the manuscript tale to a child, or its inspiration may have been a childhood incident similar to that in the tale. He later recalled standing in a crowd with his mother, waiting to see King Frederick VI. When the king made his appearance, Andersen cried out, `` Oh, he 's nothing more than a human being ! '' His mother tried to silence him by crying, `` Have you gone mad, child ? '' Whatever the reason, Andersen thought the change would prove more satirical. Publication Andersen in 1836 `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' was first published with `` The Little Mermaid '' on 7 April 1837, by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, as the third and final installment of the first collection of Andersen 's Fairy Tales Told for Children. The first two booklets of the collection were published in May and December 1835, and met with little critical enthusiasm. Andersen waited a year before publishing the third installment of the collection. Traditional Danish tales, as well as German and French folktales, were regarded as a form of exotica in nineteenth century Denmark and were read aloud to select gatherings by celebrated actors of the day. Andersen 's tales eventually became a part of the repertoire, and readings of `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' became a specialty of and a big hit for the popular Danish actor Ludvig Phister. On 1 July 1844, the Hereditary Grand Duke Carl Alexander held a literary soiree at Ettersburg in honor of Andersen. Tired by speaking various foreign languages and on the verge of vomiting after days of feasting, the author managed to control his body and read aloud `` The Princess and the Pea '', `` Little Ida 's Flowers '', and `` The Emperor 's New Clothes ''. Commentaries Jack Zipes, in Hans Christian Andersen : The Misunderstood Storyteller, suggests that seeing is presented in the tale as the courage of one 's convictions ; Zipes believe this is the reason the story is popular with children. Sight becomes insight, which, in turn, prompts action. Alison Prince, author of Hans Christian Andersen : The Fan Dancer, claims that Andersen received a gift of a ruby and diamond ring from the king after publications of `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' and `` The Swineherd '' -- tales in which Andersen voices a satirical disrespect for the court. Prince suggests the ring was an attempt to curb Andersen 's sudden bent for political satire by bringing him into the royal fold. She points out that after `` The Swineherd '', he never again wrote a tale colored with political satire, but, within months of the gift, began composing `` The Ugly Duckling '', a tale about a bird born in a henyard who, after a lifetime of misery, matures into a swan, `` one of those royal birds ''. In Hans Christian Andersen : The Life of a Storyteller, biographer Jackie Wullschlager points out that Andersen was not only a successful adapter of existing lore and literary material, such as the Spanish source tale for `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '', but was equally competent at creating new material that entered the human collective consciousness with the same mythic power as ancient, anonymous lore. Hollis Robbins, in `` The Emperor 's New Critique '' ( 2003 ), argues that the tale is itself so transparent `` that there has been little need for critical scrutiny. Robbins argues that Andersen 's tale `` quite clearly rehearses four contemporary controversies : the institution of a meritocratic civil service, the valuation of labor, the expansion of democratic power, and the appraisal of art ''. Robbins concludes that the story 's appeal lies in its `` seductive resolution '' of the conflict by the truth - telling boy. In The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen ( 2008 ), folk and fairy tale researcher Maria Tatar offers a scholarly investigation and analysis of the story, drawing on Robbins ' political and sociological analysis of the tale. Tatar points out that Robbins indicates the swindling weavers are simply insisting that `` the value of their labor be recognized apart from its material embodiment '' and notes that Robbins considers the ability of some in the tale to see the invisible cloth as `` a successful enchantment ''. Tatar observes that `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' is one of Andersen 's best - known tales and one that has acquired an iconic status globally as it migrates across various cultures reshaping itself with each retelling in the manner of oral folktales. Scholars have noted that the phrase, `` Emperor 's new clothes '', has become a standard metaphor for anything that smacks of pretentiousness, pomposity, social hypocrisy, collective denial, or hollow ostentatiousness. Historically, the tale established Andersen 's reputation as a children 's author whose stories actually imparted lessons of value for his juvenile audience, and `` romanticized '' children by `` investing them with the courage to challenge authority and to speak truth to power. '' With each successive description of the swindlers ' wonderful cloth, it becomes more substantial, more palpable, and a thing of imaginative beauty for the reader even though it has no material existence. Its beauty, however, is obscured at the end of the tale with the obligatory moral message for children. Tatar is left wondering if the real value of the tale is the creation of the wonderful fabric in the reader 's imagination or the tale 's closing message of speaking truth no matter how humiliating to the recipient. Naomi Wood of Kansas State University challenges Robbins ' reading, arguing that before the World Trade Center attacks of 2001, `` Robbins 's argument might seem merely playful, anti-intuitive, and provocative. '' Wood concludes : `` Perhaps the truth of ' The Emperor 's New Clothes ' is not that the child 's truth is mercifully free of adult corruption, but that it recognizes the terrifying possibility that whatever words we may use to clothe our fears, the fabric can not protect us from them. '' Adaptations and cultural references Vilhelm Pedersen illustration Monument in Odense Graffiti in Tartu Various adaptations of the tale have appeared since its first publication, including a 1919 Russian film directed by Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, a 1987 musical starring Sid Caesar, and numerous short stories, plays, spoofs, and animated films. On March 1, 1957, Bing Crosby recorded a musical adaptation of the story for children which was issued as an album Never Be Afraid by Golden Records in 1957. In 1972, Rankin / Bass Productions adapted the tale as the first and only musical episode of ABC series The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye series, featuring Danny Kaye, Cyril Ritchard, Imogene Coca, Allen Swift, and Bob McFadden. The television special features eight songs with music by Maury Laws and lyrics by Jules Bass, and combines live action filmed in Aarhus, Denmark, animation, special effects, and the stop motion animation process `` Animagic '' made in Japan. In 1980, computer scientist C.A.R. Hoare used a parody tale, The Emperor 's Old Clothes, to advocate simplification over embellishment, for clothing or computer sorting algorithms. In 1985, Jack Herer published the first edition of `` The Emperor Wears No Clothes '', which uncovers the history of industrial hemp through civilization, culminating in a propaganda campaign in the U.S. in the early 20th century. The book is now in its 11th edition. The 1987 Japanese war documentary film, The Emperor 's Naked Army Marches On, by director Kazuo Hara, centers on 62 - year - old Kenzo Okuzaki, veteran of Japan 's Second World War campaign in New Guinea, and follows him around as he searches out those responsible for the unexplained deaths of two soldiers in his old unit. In 1989, Roger Penrose parodied artificial intelligence as having no substance in his book The Emperor 's New Mind. In the 1997 television drama,... First Do No Harm, Lori ( played by Meryl Streep ) is shown reading this story to her young son, Robbie ( played by Seth Adkins ). In 2011, Tony Namate, an award - winning Zimbabwean cartoonist, published a collection of political cartoons entitled The Emperor 's New Clods. This collection features cartoons published in Zimbabwean newspapers between 1998 and 2005, highlighting some landmark moments in a troubled period of the country 's history. In 2014, the online game Final Fantasy XIV introduced a gear set prefixed The Emperor 's New, which is composed of gear pieces ( e.g. The Emperor 's New Gloves ) that do not have an in - game model, effectively displaying a character in underwear when the whole set is equipped. This followed requests from the player base to be able to hide a piece of equipment they do not want displayed, using the in - game glamour system that allows gear appearance alteration. The flavour text of the gear pieces is a tongue - in - cheek reference to the tale : `` The most beautiful handwear you never have seen ''. An OVA episode of the anime franchise Bikini Warriors humorously adapts the tale, wherein the main characters are stripped nude by an unseen deity under the pretense that it has actually gifted them with a new, legendary bikini armor which only `` idiots '' are unable to see. Use as an idiom As an idiom, use of the story 's title refers to something widely accepted as true or professed as being praiseworthy, due to an unwillingness of the general population to criticize it or be seen as going against popular opinion. The phrase `` emperor 's new clothes '' has become an idiom about logical fallacies. The story may be explained by pluralistic ignorance. The story is about a situation where `` no one believes, but everyone believes that everyone else believes. Or alternatively, everyone is ignorant to whether the emperor has clothes on or not, but believes that everyone else is not ignorant. '' See also Asch conformity experiments The Courtier 's Reply Elephant in the room Groupthink Mutual knowledge ( logic ) Polite fiction Pluralistic ignorance Spiral of silence Wishful thinking Three men make a tiger References ^ Jump up to : Andersen 2005a 4 Jump up ^ In Spanish : Exemplo XXXIIo -- De lo que contesció a un rey con los burladores que fizieron el paño. In English : Of that which happened to a King and three Impostors from Count Lucanor ; of the Fifty Pleasant Stories of Patronio, written by the Prince Don Juan Manuel and first translated into English by James York, M.D., 1868, Gibbings & Company, Limited ; London ; 1899 ; pp. xiii -- xvi. Accessed 2010 - 03 - 06. This version of the tale is one of those collected by Idries Shah in World Tales. Jump up ^ Bredsdorff 312 -- 3 Jump up ^ Wullschlager 2000, p. 176 Jump up ^ Count Lucanor by Don Juan Manuel as Inspiration for Hans Christian Andersen and Other European Writers. HC Andersen Centret. Jump up ^ Anthony Kennedy Warder ( 1992 ). Indian Kāvya Literature : The art of storytelling, Volume 6. pp. 261 -- 262, 268 -- 270. Jump up ^ Wullschlager 2000, p. 177 Jump up ^ Andersen 2005b, p. 427 Jump up ^ Bredsdorff, p. 313 Jump up ^ Frank, p. 110 Jump up ^ Wullschlager 2000, p. 165 Jump up ^ Andersen 2005d, p. 228 Jump up ^ Andersen 2005d, p. 246 Jump up ^ Andersen 2005d, p. 305 Jump up ^ Zipes 2005, p. 36 Jump up ^ Prince, p. 210 Jump up ^ Andersen 2005a, p. xvi Jump up ^ Robbins, Hollis ( Autumn 2003 ). `` The Emperor 's New Critique ''. New Literary History. 34 ( 4 ) : 659 -- 675. doi : 10.1353 / nlh. 2004.0010. Retrieved March 1, 2013. Jump up ^ Robbins, Hollis ( Autumn 2003 ). `` The Emperor 's New Critique ''. New Literary History. 34 ( 4 ) : 670. Retrieved March 1, 2013. Jump up ^ Quoted in Tatar pages 8, 15 Jump up ^ Tatar xxii, xiii Jump up ^ Tatar xxiii Jump up ^ Wood 193 -- 207 Jump up ^ Wood 205 Jump up ^ `` A Bing Crosby Discography ''. BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved October 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Hoare, C.A.R. ( February 1981 ). `` 1980 Turing Award Lecture ''. Communications of the ACM. 24 ( 2 ) : 75 -- 83. Jump up ^ Penrose, Roger & Lord Adrian ( 6 March 1991 ), `` The Emperor 's New Mind '', RSA Journal, JSTOR 41378098 Jump up ^ Chipato, Michael ( 29 July 2011 ). `` Namate cartoons in new book ''. www.newzimbabwe.com. Retrieved July 4, 2016. Jump up ^ `` THE EMPEROR 'S NEW CLODS ''. innov8bookshop.biz. Retrieved July 4, 2016. Jump up ^ Inc., SQUARE ENIX. `` Patch 2.4 Notes ( Full Release ) FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone ''. FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 23. Jump up ^ Ltd., SQUARE ENIX. `` Eorzea Database : The Emperor 's New Gloves FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone ''. FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 23. Jump up ^ Bikini Warriors episode 15 : これが 伝説 の 防具 を 手 に 入れ た 勇者 たち の 姿 で ある ( lit. : `` This is the Appearance of the Warriors who obtained the Legendary Armor '' ) ; December 7, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Idoioms ''. TheFreeDictionary.com. Jump up ^ Graves, Joseph L. ( 2003 ). The Emperor 's New Clothes : Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium. p. 1. Jump up ^ Robbins, Hollis ( Autumn 2003 ). `` The Emperor 's New Critique ''. New Literary History. 34 ( 4 ). Retrieved March 1, 2013. Jump up ^ Zellner, William W. & Petrowsky, Marc ( 1998 ). Sects, Cults, and Spiritual Communities : A Sociological Analysis. p. 13. Like the villagers in the story of the emperor 's new clothes, members of the inner circle were unwilling to reveal their ignorance by challenging... As a result, they suppressed whatever doubts they had an worked even harder to make sense of what, in the final analysis, may have been nonsensical. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Hansen, Jens Ulrik ( 2011 ). `` A Logic - Based Approach to Pluralistic Ignorance ''. Academia.edu. Retrieved March 1, 2013. Bibliography Andersen, Hans Christian ; Tatar, Maria ( Ed. and transl. ) ; Allen, Julie K. ( Transl. ) ( 2008 ). The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen. New York and London : W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 06081 - 2. Andersen, Hans Christian ; Wullschlager, Jackie ( Ed. ) ; Nunnally, Tiina ( Transl. ) ( 2005 ). Fairy Tales. New York : Viking. ISBN 0 - 670 - 03377 - 4. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Andersen, Hans Christian ; Frank, Diane Crone ( Ed. and transl. ) ; Frank, Jeffrey ( Ed. and transl. ) ( 2005 ). The Stories of Hans Christian Andersen : A New Translation from the Danish. Durham and London : Duke University Press. ISBN 0 - 8223 - 3693 - 6. Andersen, Jens ; Nunnally, Tiina ( Transl. ) ( 2005 ). Hans Christian Andersen : A New Life. New York, Woodstock, London : Overlook Duckworth. ISBN 1 - 58567 - 737 - X. Bredsdorff, Elias ( 1975 ). Hans Christian Andersen : The Story of His Life and Work, 1805 -- 75. London : Phaidon Press Ltd. ISBN 0 - 7148 - 1636 - 1. Prince, Alison ( 1998 ). Hans Christian Andersen : The Fan Dancer. London : Allison & Busby Ltd. ISBN 0 - 7490 - 0478 - 9. Robbins, Hollis ( Autumn 2003 ). `` Emperor 's New Critique ''. New Literary History. 34 ( 4 ) : 659 -- 675. doi : 10.1353 / nlh. 2004.0010. ISSN 0028 - 6087. ( subscription required ) Wood, Naomi ( 2007 ). `` The Ugly Duckling 's Legacy : Adulteration, Contemporary Fantasy, and the Dark ''. Marvels & Tales. 20 ( 2 ) : 193 -- 207. doi : 10.1353 / mat. 2007.0019. Wullschlager, Jackie ( 2000 ). Hans Christian Andersen : The Life of a Storyteller. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0 - 226 - 91747 - 9. Zipes, Jack David ( 2005 ). Hans Christian Andersen : The Misunderstood Storyteller. New York and Middleton Park : Routledge. ISBN 0 - 415 - 97433 - X. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : The Emperor 's New Clothes Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Emperor 's New Clothes. `` Keiserens nye Klæder ''. Original Danish text `` Keiserens nye Klæder ''. Manuscript from the Odense City Museum `` The Emperor 's New Clothes ''. English translation by Jean Hersholt `` The Emperor 's New Clothes ''. Audio rendition by Sir Michael Redgrave The Emperor 's New Clothes public domain audiobook at LibriVox Hans Christian Andersen Bibliography Collections Fairy Tales Told for Children ( 1835 -- 1837 ) Fairy Tales Told for Children ( 1838 ) New Fairy Tales ( 1843 / 1844 ) Stories `` The Angel '' `` The Elf Mound '' `` The Emperor 's New Clothes '' `` The Fir - Tree '' `` The Flying Trunk '' `` The Galoshes of Fortune '' `` The Garden of Paradise '' `` The Goblin and the Grocer '' `` Golden Treasure '' `` The Ice - Maiden '' `` The Little Match Girl '' `` The Little Mermaid '' `` The Most Incredible Thing '' `` The Nightingale '' `` Ole Lukøje '' `` The Princess and the Pea '' `` The Red Shoes '' `` The Shadow '' `` The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep '' `` The Snow Queen '' `` The Snowman '' `` The Steadfast Tin Soldier '' `` The Story of a Mother '' `` The Sweethearts ; or, The Top and the Ball '' `` The Swineherd '' `` The Tallow Candle '' `` The Teapot '' `` Thumbelina '' `` The Tinderbox '' `` The Ugly Duckling '' `` The Wild Swans '' Novels The Improvisatore ( 1835 ) The Two Baronesses ( 1848 ) Films Hans Christian Andersen ( 1952 ) The Daydreamer ( 1966 ) Hans Christian Andersen : My Life as a Fairytale ( 2001 miniseries ) Young Andersen ( 2005 serial ) Related Hans Christian Andersen Museum Pleated Christmas hearts International Children 's Book Day Hans Christian Andersen Award Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award Novels portal Children 's literature portal GND : 4369876 - 1 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothes&oldid=826685043 '' Categories : Danish fairy tales 1837 short stories Short stories by Hans Christian Andersen Idioms Clothes in politics Fictional emperors and empresses Fictional tailors Fictional characters introduced in 1837 Male characters in literature Male characters in fairy tales Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles containing Danish - language text Articles containing Spanish - language text Articles containing German - language text Pages using div col with deprecated parameters CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Pages containing links to subscription - only content Articles with LibriVox links Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 文言 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 20 February 2018, at 13 : 44. 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Question: in the fairytale what were the emperor's new clothes made from
Answer: a fine fabric invisible to anyone who is either unfit for his position or "hopelessly stupid"