The Little Mermaid: Of Lust, Loss, and Immortality
Under the sea, in an idyllic and beautiful garden, stands a statue of a young man cut out of cold stone – for the Little Mermaid who knows nothing but the sea, the statue stands as an emblem of the mysterious over-world, a stimulus for imagination and sexual desire, an incentive for expansion of experience, and most predominately, an indication that something great and all-encompassing is missing from her existence. Traces of curiosity and a vague indication of the complexities of adult desires mark the child mermaid; in such a stage of development, the statue will suffice. However, as the Little Mermaid reaches puberty, the statue must allegorically come alive in order to parallel the manifestation of her new-found adult desires – the statue must become a prince in his world of adulthood above the sea. Thus, powered by an insistent and ambiguous longing for self-completion, the Little Mermaid embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and, to her ultimate misfortune, prematurely abandons her child-like self as sexual lust and the lust for an adult life takes hold of her.
The paradisiacal kingdom under the sea is symbolic of childhood. At the onset of the story, the sea kingdom is described: “where the waters are as blue as the petals of the cornflower and as clear as glass, there, where no anchor can reach the bottom,” and where “[one] would have to pile many church towers on top of each other” in order to reach the surface (Andersen 217). The sea describes the deep consciousness of the Little Mermaid as a young child, which is characterized by emotion, beauty, imagination, purity and innocence - representative successively of the water, flowers, the imaginative sim...
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...rom an agonizing mistake offers hope.
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Most women in their childhood had probably dreamt of being a princess and meeting their charming prince. As Walt Disney’s figures have been influential in this sense, the ideal portrayal of princesses still attracts young girls who imitate them, their lifestyle and their physical appearance. In Sleeping Beauty (1959) and in The Little Mermaid (1989) the narration is focused on the search for true love, personified by a prince, for self-accomplishment. It is crucial to differentiate the representation of femininity of the two protagonists in the two movies to better understand if the role of Princesses has changed over those last thirty years. The main figures in both movies
A fundamental element of any childhood is watching a classic Disney movie on the couch and singing along to the catchy musical numbers while simultaneously falling in love with the characters. What many people do not know, is that most Disney movies are adaptations of classic fairytales. One of Disney’s most famous movies, The Little Mermaid, is an adaption of a fairytale written by dutch writer Hans Christian Andersen in 1876, Den lille havfrue. While the two texts share a title, they differ in multiple key elements throughout the story.
Kingsley , Heather . "Fairy Tale Analysis the little Mermaid." Humanities 360. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. .
...and strength to break away from society. Personification is used to describe the sea. "The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation" (Chopin 50-51). The sea also plays metaphorical roles in the story standing as chaos and danger. This comes in to play when Edna goes into the sea and it takes her life.
Rollin, Lucy. “Fear of Faerie: Disney and the Elitist Critics.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly Volume 12. Number 2. 1987. Retrieved 18 Dec. 2013 from < http://muse.jhu .edu/journals/chq/summary/v012/12.2.rollin.html>.
The first thing to pop into one’s mind when they hear The Little Mermaid is most likely the Disney animated movie starring the beautiful red haired mermaid, Ariel. However, as with most Disney films, The Little Mermaid is an adaption of an original story written by Hans Christian Andersen in the 1830s. The creation of this classic fairytale into an animated feature required alterations from the Disney corporation, leading to a final product that is reminiscent of Andersen’s original story with added layers of American culture, sexism, and musical numbers. The initial release of Disney’s The Little Mermaid was highly successful both domestically and overseas, resulting in a total box office revenue of about 180 million. Although the film received rave reviews and substantial profit, I argue that the Disney adaption loses the fundamental elements of Andersen’s original story and presents a new narrative laced with negative values and inferior moral lessons. The changes in the Disney remake are closely connected to cultural and social aspects of America in the late 1980’s, making it arguably more relatable and successful for current audiences of the time. However, Disney’s adaption of The Little Mermaid perpetuates negative American ideals and incorporates classic Disney fairytale elements, ultimately erasing the positive moral overarching theme of Hans Christian Andersen’s original story.
In both Hans Christian Andersons “The Little Mermaid,” and Disney’s version of the story, the main character— a young and beautiful mermaid— waits anxiously for her fifteenth birthday to venture from her father’s underwater castle to the world above the water. As the story carries on the mermaids priorities change; her modest and selfless nature is revealed towards the end in Andersen’s version. However, Disney’s version encompasses a rather shallow ending and plot throughout. The theme found in comparing the two versions reveal that Andersen’s substance trumps Disney’s entertainment factor in fairy tales.
“The mermaid swam with her prince toward the beach. She laid him in the fine white sand, taking care to place his head in the warm sunshine, far from the water. She also had to give up her voice, which she had done so willingly, endure tremendous amounts of pain to have the legs of a human, and give up her life as a mermaid as well as never be able to be with her sisters at the bottom of the ocean again. The little mermaid passed all of the tests that the universe threw at her, but in the end, she did not get to marry the prince and this is a great example of a message from the author that life can be unfair sometimes.
Baker-Sperry, Lori and Liz Grauerholz (2003).The Pervasiveness and Persistence of the Feminine Beauty Ideal in ChildrenÕs Fairy Tales. Gender and Society, pp. 711-726
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Billions and billions of people in the world have had their childhood shaped by the words of a single man from a small European country. He is Hans Christian Andersen, born in Odense, Denmark in the year 1805. From “The Ugly Duckling” to “The Little Mermaid,” his stories filled our lives in the form of the faded pages on books, mother’s gentle voice next to the fireside, colorful Disney animations completed with cheerful songs, and stunning snow-blanketed movie scenes. This essay seeks to discuss this great author in the context of one of his most influential works – “The Princess and the Pea” – by first examining the context of his life, then presenting a brief summary, followed
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
Many people ranging from young children all the way up to adults are familiar with the famous 1989 Disney production of the Little Mermaid directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Most people are unaware that the movie is based on the short story. This short is called “The Little Mermaid” written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837. When comparing the film to the short story, the film is the best version of the fairy tale. The short story has a darker theme and impractical decision making which contributes to the film’s superiority to the short story. The Disney studios helped make the movie more memorable by adding musical numbers. By doing this, it gave the movie opportunities to become musicals and plays. Not only is the film better suited for kids, but it has a more intriguing plot, fun and lovable characters, has a villain with clearer motives, and, like all Disney princess movies have, a happily ever after.
Zipes, Jack. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.