26. A Great Author’s Awkward Compulsion
In his free time from writing fairy tales that would go on to feature prominently in the childhood of billions around the planet, Hans Christian Andersen liked to play with himself. He liked to play with himself a whole lot. As in, pleasure himself compulsively. When he was not pleasuring himself, he liked to talk with prostitutes – and then rush back home to touch himself. A celibate (which perhaps sheds some light on things), Andersen not only liked to… pleasure himself a lot, he also liked to keep meticulous records of his sessions. He described and listed them in his diary with a pair of plus signs (++). For example, one descriptive entry read: “When they left, I had a doubly sensuous ++“.
In Paris, Andersen liked to visit prostitutes and talk with them, then rush back to his hotel to put more ++ sign entries in his diary. He also had a maudlin and needy streak, and repeatedly fell in love with people – both men and women – who did not reciprocate his feelings. He often wrote cloyingly mawkish love letters to the objects of his affection. He frequently penned long and awkward emotional tracts, in which he gushed about his feelings to women whom he knew were uninterested and would turn him down. In a way, he throve on rejection. Then he would rush back home and earn more ++ entries for his diary.