In one of the very first of his fairy tales to be published, Andersen adds description to what is an old Danish folktale, known in 15 oral versions.   It is also, of course, a direct analogue of “Aladdin” from the Arabian Nights.  There is also an element of “Ali Baba” in the dog’s deflecting attention from the soldier by duplicating the chalk mark on all the doors in town. “The Tinderbox” was one of the original set of four fairy tales which were published in 1835, along with “Little Claus and Big Claus,” “The Princess and the Pea,” and “Little Ida’s Flowers” (the only truly original tale of the set).
        Note the remnants of its folk origins in the three-fold repetition of the dogs and chests, but the telling is definitely literary - observe the fairly detailed dialogue and the satirical touches.  And Andersen provides a fair amount of social satire; the prince is regarded as a “noble lord” because of his clothing, when he is no different than when he had appeared as a “common soldier”; when he is rich, he makes many friends, but when he has run through his money, “None of his friends came to visit him there, for there were too many stairs to climb”; but when he regains his riches, “All his friends immediately recognized him again”; finally, the whole town is eager to see him hanged when the king throws him in prison.  Much of this social satire, of course, originates in Andersen’s own sense of the roller-coaster ride of public celebrity.  The story ends with a revolution, as the king is overthrown and replaced by the soldier.
 

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