Emily Moran
"The Emperor's New Clothes" is the story of a clothing-obsessed emperor who is
tricked by two swindlers claiming to make some quite incredible clothes. They claim that
these ultra-light clothes cannot be seen by those who are stupid or unfit for their jobs.
When the emperor and everyone else cannot see the clothes, they all pretend to see them
so as not to look stupid. It is not until a child points out that he is wearing nothing that the
emperor realizes what has happened, but he continues to march in the parade as though
he is in fact wearing gorgeous clothing. This paper examines and compares the emperor
in two different illustrations.
The drawing by Ford (Appendix B) shows the point in the story at which the
emperor and some of the members of his staff go to check on the swindlers' progress in
making his new clothes. It is at this point that the emperor realizes he cannot see
anything, thus implying that he is either stupid or unfit for his job. Instead of admitting
that he cannot see, he instead pretends that he can and compliments the swindlers' work
(274). In the image, the emperor is smiling and holding his glasses to his face to get a
closer look at the fabric that is not there. Behind him, you can see the confused face of a
member of the emperor's staff, and another member squinting, trying to see. These two
staff members, positioned behind the emperor, are displaying on their faces what the
emperor is really thinking at this point in the story. Their position behind the emperor's
head makes them appear as though they are the representatives of the emperor's train of
thought. From right to left, you first see a man squinting, which represents the emperor
putting in his best effort to see the fabric. Next, there is a man whose face is confused,
representing the point at which the emperor realizes he cannot see anything. It is
representative of the emperor realizing that he is either stupid or unfit for his position.
Emily Moran
Finally, there is the emperor himself, smiling and looking pleased. This is just a façade so
that the emperor does not reveal to anyone else that he is evidently stupid. This line of
faces is representative of all of the things that the emperor is thinking, and they follow the
timeline of his thoughts in the story.
In the Rackham illustration (Appendix B), the emperor is shown with his servants,
marching in the parade. The servants behind him are pretending to carry a train that is not
there (276). Though the images are blackened in, and no faces can really be seen, the
lines of the emperor's body make it clear that he is trying to look proud. The arch of his
back, the protrusion of his chest, and his upward pointing head are well-known signs of
pride. Of course, at this point, the emperor must look proud. He cannot let it be known
that he cannot see his own clothes, as he does not want the people of his empire to think
him stupid or unfit to be their emperor. As a result, he walks in the parade with pride. It
is, however, quite clear in this image that the emperor is naked. It is laughable to the
viewer, as he is walking entirely naked through a parade route, but he seems proud as
though he is wearing the most beautiful clothes.
In both images, the emperor is a larger man. He is displayed in both of these
images as a typical stupid, oaf-like character. The emperor is not meant to look smart, nor
should the viewer want to be or look like the emperor. No one wants to get so wrapped
up in pride that they have to walk through the streets entirely naked. Both of these
depictions quite accurately portray the moral of the story visually. They show that one
should not be overwhelmed by his or her own pride, much like the written telling of the
story does. They show that pride is a dangerous thing, and that too much pride will not
make one look good, but instead ridiculous and sometimes even unintelligent. The
Emily Moran
emperor's portrayal in either image is not just an artist's representation of this story, but a
warning in accordance with the story's moral. They warn against excessive pride and
promote humility.
Both illustrations also provide an interesting look at the emperor as a person. As
aforementioned, he is portrayed in both images as stupid. What makes these depictions
quite interesting is that the emperor does all of what he does so that he does not look as
though he is stupid or unfit for his job. Unfortunately for him, it has just the opposite
effect. When everyone at the parade realizes that he is, in fact, not wearing anything, he
looks stupid for falling for the swindlers' tricks. In the images, the viewer knows that
there are no clothes, and as a result, the emperor looks like he is unintelligent as a result
of his overwhelming pride, which is exactly the opposite of how he would have liked to
have been perceived.
It is also mentioned at the beginning of the story that the emperor was obsessed
with the newest, fanciest clothing. He would be in his dressing room at almost all times
(270). This description of the emperor is portrayed in the Ford illustration especially. In
this drawing, he is wearing long, intricate robes and a large crown. He looks as though
his clothes are incredibly important to him, if not the most important thing. This
illustration magnifies the emperor's obsession with his clothing, and it shows that he is, in
fact, unfit for his job. The emperor spends almost the entire story trying to look as though
he is smart and fit for the job he is doing, but it is revealed through these illustrations that
both of those things were untrue from the beginning. He was neither smart, nor fit for his
job. The swindlers were able to trick him, thus revealing that to all of the emperor's
subjects.
Emily Moran
The illustrations by Rackham and Ford show the character of the emperor as he
really is, in a way that the words of the story alone cannot. They magnify the pride,
stupidity, and the lack of ability of the emperor. These illustrations bring out the moral of
the story through the character of the emperor. They are very true to the original story,
and display the scenes in a way that enhance the written story.
Emily Moran
Works Cited
Andersen, Hans Christian. "The Emperor's New Clothes." The Annotated Classic
Fairytales. Ed. Maria Tatar. New York: WW Norton & Company, Inc. 2002.
Print.
Appendix
A
B