Commentaries
Wullschlager observes that in "The Princess and the Pea" Andersen blended his childhood memories of a primitive world of violence, death, and inexorable fate, with his social climber's private romance about the serene, secure and cultivated Danish bourgeoisie, which did not quite accept him as one of their own. Jack Zipes, researcher, said that Andersen, during his lifetime, "was obliged to act as a dominated subject within the dominant social circles despite his fame and recognition as a writer." Because of this, Andersen developed a feared and loved view of the aristocracy. Others have said that Andersen constantly felt as though he did not belong, and longed to be a part of the upper class. The nervousness and humiliations Andersen suffered in the presence of the bourgeoisie were mythologized by the storyteller in the tale of "The Princess and the Pea", with Andersen himself the morbidly sensitive princess who can feel a pea through 20 mattresses.
Maria Tatar notes that, unlike the folk heroine of his source material for the story, Andersen's princess has no need to resort to deceit to establish her identity; her sensitivity is enough to validate her nobility. For Andersen, she indicates, "true" nobility derived not from an individual's birth but from their sensitivity. Andersen's insistence upon sensitivity as the exclusive privilege of nobility challenges modern notions about character and social worth. The princess's sensitivity, however, may be a metaphor for her depth of feeling and compassion.
"The Princess and the Pea" was not uniformly well received by critics. Toksvig wrote in 1934, " seems to the reviewer not only indelicate but indefensible, in so far as the child might absorb the false idea that great ladies must always be so terribly thin-skinned." Tatar notes that the princess's sensitivity has been interpreted as poor manners rather than a manifestation of noble birth, a view said to be based on "the cultural association between women's physical sensitivity and emotional sensitivity, specifically, the link between a woman reporting her physical experience of touch and negative images of women who are hypersensitive to physical conditions, who complain about trivialities, and who demand special treatment".
Researcher Jack Zipes notes that the tale is told tongue-in-cheek, with Andersen poking fun at the "curious and ridiculous" measures taken by the nobility to establish the value of bloodlines. He also notes that the author makes a case for sensitivity being the decisive factor in determining royal authenticity and that Andersen "never tired of glorifying the sensitive nature of an elite class of people".
“The Princess and the Pea” spurred on positive criticism, as well. In fact, critic Paul Hazard pointed out the realistic aspects of the fairy tale that make it easily relatable to all people. He believed that “the world Andersen witnessed—which encompassed sorrow, death, evil, and man's follies—is reflected in his tales,” and most evidently in “The Princess and the Pea.” Another scholar, Niels Kofoed, noticed that “since they involve everyday-life themes of love, death, nature, injustice, suffering, and poverty, they appeal to all races, ideologies, classes, and genders.” Moreover, Celia Catlett Anderson realized that one of the things that makes this story so appealing and relatable is that optimism prevails over pessimism, especially for the main character of the princess. This inspires hope in the readers for their own futures and strength within themselves.
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