The Ugly Duckling as a Metaphor for Enlightenment

“The ugly duckling is a misunderstood universal myth. It’s not about turning into a blonde Barbie doll or becoming what you dream of being; it’s about self-revelation, becoming who you are.” ~ Baz Luhrmann

Much like Jack London’s story of White Fang, The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson is a modern fairytale that explores the transformation of a swan mistaken for a duckling from birth to adulthood. It explores themes on misapprehensions over who we really are and what our true nature really is.

Many interpretations may focus on the identification with a specific family or crowd and the discovery of our true people when we come of age, or even go a step further and draw parallels with the salmon swimming against the current its whole life in order to return home. But, like White Fang, The Ugly Duckling doesn’t appear to be simply about discovering our true selves.

It represents the whole misunderstanding of our full potentials and divine nature. We believe we are mortal when in fact we are one with the Divine; expressions of pure love who have become lost on the journey and mistaken ourselves as inferior imposters, and those who don’t deserve any form of love… adoptive or otherwise.