The Princess and the Pea, one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most popular and enduring fairytales, has long been misunderstood by fans and literary critics alike, scholars have claimed.
Published in 1835, the tale was originally considered to teach children an important moral lesson: that posh people are very sensitive and also better than everyone else. More recently, it has been cited as an illustration of the seemingly endless variety of ways for autistic people to be uncomfortable.
However, academics have proposed that the story is more likely to be about an autistic woman whose bed is full of peas because she is a messy eater who really likes peas.
The theory was suggested first in an article by Avery Mann, 24, an autistic PhD student at Penhampton University. Mann had what she describes as a “eureka moment” while eating her nightly snack of peas slathered in tomato ketchup.
“My previous bedtime snack had been crushed cornflakes with Nutella,” she explained. “A sort of poor man’s Ferrero Rocher. But then that was suddenly disgusting and peas were in.”
“So I was eating my peas and ketchup, with my legs under a duvet cover that has Disney princesses on it, and I thought: ‘I’m every man’s fantasy. I bet men dream of women like me, and write books where I’m the romantic heroine.’”
“Hans Christian Andersen died before I was born, but clearly he longed for a pea-scoffing princess who hardly ever washes her bedding,” Mann added. “I expect that unfulfilled longing was what killed him in the end.”
Mann is currently working on a follow-up article, in which she theorises that The Little Match Girl is about short women on Tinder.
Like what you’re reading? Make us your new special interest! Help us grow The Daily Tism by sharing our articles, following us on Instagram, Bluesky TikTok and Facebook, shouting us a coffee on Ko-Fi or joining our bonus-content-packed Club for Terrible Autistics by subscribing to our Patreon.
You can also watch episodes one and two of our sketch show, The Daily Tism News, in collaboration with Turtle Canyon Comedy and tune into our podcast, Autistic Women Oversharing to find out WAY too much about our writers.
