Week 7 – The Little Mermaid

Posted on by
1

After reading Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” I noticed a huge connection between the human world and the unknown world of the environment. There is a common theme of curiosity present in this story that I have found to connect mermaids to people. This is the first story I have found to paint mermaids in a completely positive light. Andersen describes the little mermaid as lovely and delicate. She is very curious about the unknown which to her is the human world. This connects her to humans immediately as we have been learning through past stories, such as the Siren Story and Melusine, that humans have been curious about exploring the unknown world of creatures like mermaids. The Little Mermaid’s curiosity shows the readers that these unknown creatures are not as different from humans as one might think. The Little Mermaid is desperately awaiting the day she gets to go up to shore and experience part of the human world, similar to humans who have hundreds of tales told about their curiosity about mermaids and other creatures.

The Little Mermaid’s curiosity leads her to take control of her own life as she gets older and becomes more independent. She is just turning 15 when she is allowed to go up to shore. She learns to care for the prince, saving him from death, despite their differences. She does not fear going to help him or what the consequences of that could lead to. This part of the story also contributes to this new way of looking at mermaids in a positive light. “His arms and legs began to feel powerless, his beautiful eyes were closed, and he would have died had not the little mermaid come to his assistance” (115). A creature who has so often been looked at as a “monster” is now being shown as the hero. Rather than gaining power from saving his life, as men would typically do in these types of tales, she just becomes more curious. She acts just like a human girl, becoming completely enthralled with the prince whom she loves so dearly. The love for the prince leads her to take her curiosity to the next level and entwine their souls. She takes the risk of listening to the witch to fulfill her desires. The little mermaid is okay with the fact that she will die if it means she has a chance at love with the prince. Her curiosity took her far and she still ended up gaining an immortal soul because she sacrificed herself instead of the prince.

Week 7: Little Mermaid

Posted on by
Reply

So I read “The Little Mermaid” for the first time, and I was blown away from all of the imagery, to be honest. The way that things get described, like the ocean kingdom, it was very breathtaking. “The soil produces the most curious trees and flowers, whose leaves and stems are so flexible that the slightest motion of the water seems to fluster them as if they were living creatures. Fishes, great and small, glide through the branches as birds fly through the trees here upon earth.”(page one hundred and eight)*

This was what intrigued me, as well, because here we see the connection between human and nature. We can establish here that, at this point, we would imagine merpeople to have a similar sort of world as our own, given how the merpeople have things such as trees and flowers. We see the comparison between them and us, drawing similarities and parallels. Some things are done differently, of course, but when we imagined the merpeople, we imagined them similar to us. Granted, you can say that maybe the trees are different, but we don’t GET any of that. What this is giving is that its giving “they’re more like us”.

Ok then I want to talk about the last bit, where the little mermaid goes to Heaven(?)/ascends after her death. First of all, she’s way better than me. Second of all, the ending felt really weird to me. So she’s told, “You have suffered and endured, and have raised yourself into an aerial spirit, and now your own good works may obtain you an immortal soul after the lapse of three hundred years.” (page one hundred thirty). and THEN she’s also told that her 300 years is contingent on children???? Is this supposed to be like religious propaganda or something? Does this mean that nothing matters???

*my number one key on my laptop is sticky so I had to use the actual word for the numbers.

Week 7: Victorian Standard: The Little Mermaid

Posted on by
1

When studying The Little Mermaid with a more intense focus on close reading, it is evident that there are things I missed when I’ve watched it in the past. Ever since we discussed the marriage that was seemingly transactional, it seems to be a common trend in what they call romance. I am still fascinated, yet confused about the idea of receiving a soul in a mermaid, human relationship. What else does that have to say about the relationship? In this case, even though she doesn’t lose her ability to sing in a deal with the prince himself, it is for him that she looses this. It is almost frustrating how the characters often leave behind a part of themselves in order to gain the acceptance and validation of the other. This makes me eager to dive deeper into the ideals of love and romance that come from literature.

In addition, I think this story perfectly exemplifies the female-male relationship in the maritime industry. As I have mentioned in class discussion, a boat is always considered to be a female. According to Clipper Marine, “By referring to boats as female, sailors believed that they were connecting with the nurturing and protective roles traditionally associated with women” . In all honesty, I thought the reasoning behind this had stemmed from misogyny, but it seems the connotation takes the opposition. The female is considered secure and protective in this case, rather than objectified. In the text, it is clear that the little mermaid is the reason the prince survived the wreck. This is the first time in the literature I have recognized this trait in a mermaid, and it is interesting that it can be connected to the real world sailing world. Excited to discuss more of this going forward.

Why Are Boats Female? 

Coming of Age-The Little Mermaid

Posted on by
2

The main thing that I wanted to focus on for this week’s post is the concept of, “Coming of Age” and what that means for a woman. The story follows that all of the sisters can visit the seashore at the age of 15. Fifteen is a transformational age, especially for young girls who experience personal events that expose them to becoming a “woman.”

In this blog post I wanted to explore the ways in which cultures honor the age of fifteen, what fifteen means, and how that aligns with the little mermaids, coming of age story.

I first started with angel number, because I think it is important to understand the philosophical side before diving into the concrete representations. The number 15 is said to represent positive change, which is either already in progress or soon to be in progress. As a spiritual number, 15 means that we possess the wisdom and skills to pursue or life missions, reminds us to make positive choices, and most importantly to manifest our personal desires through action. This is extremely important for the Little Mermaid as she is a 15 year old who is going through a transformational period and leads herself through through her personal desires.

In hispanic culture, the Quinceanera, is a traditional coming-of-age celebration on a young woman’s 15 birthday. The purpose of the Quinceanera is to put an emphasis on religion, family, friendships, music, culture, etc. As a prequel to this instance, Aztecs would be considered for marriage when they turned 15 years old. This celebration of “coming of age” began to become a celebratory event for young girls developing into woman. This tradition later developed into the Quinceanera that is practiced all over the world, and developed fully in Mexico.

In general coming of age and puberty is celebrated/ honored in many cultures. I found the selected age important in this story and believe that it is an intentional piece to the story itself.

Week 7: Symbolism of Pearls in the Little Mermaid

Posted on by
1

There were many ideas I was interested in in The Little Mermaid–Christianity, coming of age, familial love versus romantic love, Sirens, deformed monsters, beauty standards, the color red, ‘dumb’–but I was most intrigued by the symbolism of the pearls. It was not explained in this story beyond noble lines and status (unless I greatly missed something), so I decided to do a bit of research on the meaning behind pearls and how it may tie into this week’s reading. When the little mermaid’s grandmother is described, she is described as having the most pearls: “The sea-king had been a widower for many years, so his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, but extremely proud of her noble birth, which entitled her to wear twelve oyster shells on her tail, while other well-born persons might only wear six” (p.108). One part I found noteworthy in this description was the number–is this related to the 12 disciples of Christ? Later, the little mermaid is given half pearls in her wreath when she comes of age.

So after looking online, I found this website that talked about symbolism of pearls https://www.gemsociety.org/article/history-legend-pearls-gems-yore/ (if anyone is inclined to read it). There are a few relevant points on this website, one of which is that pearls come from natural origins (formed in mollusks), which sets them apart from other precious gems (which are formed as minerals under the earth). As we have discussed in class, mermaids have a strong connection to the environment and often represent historical perspectives toward the environment. If pearls are a symbol of mermaids in this story, then we might assume that Anderson is stating that mermaids are part of nature/environment (also supported by the lack of soul), which also follows along with influence from Undine. Pearls and mermaids both have natural origins from nature. 

There are also lunar associations with pearls, due to their shape, which is circular when in salt water. This may represent the little mermaid’s obsession with the human world and the sun. Since the sun and moon are opposite, and she doesn’t like wearing the pearls, and is constantly thinking of the sun, then these pearls may represent the moon and everything opposing her. When describing the little mermaid’s plot of ground for gardening, Anderson states: “the youngest planted hers in a circle to imitate the sun, and chose flowers as red as the fun appeared to her” (p.109). Later, when she turns 15 and adorned with pearls and other accessories, she thinks: “how gladly would she have shaken off all this pomp and laid aside her heavy wreath–the red flowers in her garden adorned her far better” (p.113). 

Interestingly enough, the website also says that in Western culture pearls are often used as gifts for brides, and can keep newly wed brides from crying. One trait that stays consistent with the little mermaid in water and on land is that she cannot cry. “When the sisters rose up arm-in-arm through the water, the youngest would stand alone, looking after them, and felt ready to cry; only mermaids have no tears, and therefore suffer all the more” (p.113). This is when the little mermaid is still underwater. Later, when she is living among humans, she also cannot cry: “And the mermaid heaved a deep sigh, for tears she had none to shed” (p.125). If we continue to see pearls as a symbol for mermaids, then we can also see how pearls preventing brides from crying may also prevent mermaids from crying. It also gives a limited display of emotion for these merpeople, which makes them seem less human, even though they feel just as much. 

Week 7: The Little Mermaid

Posted on by
2

Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid” covers a lot of what he have learned about different mermaid myths so far. The first thing I have noticed is how a connection between mermaids and sirens were made in the text, “Like her story ancestors, the Sirens, this little mermaid has the most beautiful singing voice, but she trades it for legs so she can be with the prince in the human world, and entertains him by dancing” (p. 107). Giving up something which is quite literally defining herself shows us a lot about what it means to be a mermaid and what it could mean to become human like, which is why I think that this part is definitely one of the strongest metaphors in this tale I want to elaborate more on.

The Little Mermaid wants to transform herself to find a sense of belonging in a human like environment. She is willing to give up her whole identity to find love and affection of the Prince and believes that she could not assimilate into human society without doing that. The question now is, whether that now has to be seen as a sacrifice for what we now understand of romantic love or whether it rather is a sacrifice. More possibly the metaphor shows us a hierarchical structure of natural beings on our earth showing that humans are believed to most powerful with everything else being inferior. But is it really worth to give up everything and not find happiness in what you are? I felt like this part of the story has definitely have to be read as some part of cautionary tale.

Week 5: Melusine

Posted on by
1

After going over the scheduled story for this week, Melusine, even though an intriguing tale of Raymond discovering his wife’s secret it also came to me as a representation of how women restrain from being their true selves out of fear of their spouse’s thoughts. Raymond’s reaction to the sensitive secret that his wife has been hiding away from him, to me, is though shocking, also filled with fear not of her but for her. “It was not horror that seized him at the sight, it as infinite anguish at the reflection that through his breach of faith he might lose his lovely wife forever” (Lebey 88) I’ve read my peers responses to this, and I appreciate how we agree and take notice of how much Raymond cares about his wife in comparison to the lack of care for the nautical women in other folk tales. Melusina identifies herself as a woman of God, “I am as faithful a Christian as you are.” (Lebey 25) I will assume that though Melusina practiced Christianity, she’s aware of what her true nature meant to those that aren’t like her, which is why she keeps it out of light. This to me represents the darkest desires of women that need to be tied up and put away due to the danger of being categorized as a “monster.” .

Week 6: Undine

Posted on by
3

Reading Undine brought a different perspective to humans vs. merpeople. The different readings we have explored illustrated mermaids as either symbols of sin, vanity, temptation, or as embodiments of higher power such that we saw in Oannes. Undine made their existence seem almost depressing and merely insignificant.

In Undine, Friedrich De La Motte Fouque, draws a connection between various natural elements and these “soulless” creatures while highlighting some fundamental flaws that come with having a soul. Specifically, he notes how these creatures wish to be human because “all beings aspire to be higher than they are” (Penguin, 105). In other words, human life does not really end. Our bodies are just temporary placeholders of our soul/spirit, and upon death we move on to a higher place. Undine explains how unlike humans, other creatures upon death just “vanish into dust,” highlighting how insignificant existence really is for them. Fouque ties nature into it by highlighting that upon death they just remain on earth with the wind, trees, and waves. Their existence ends and just turns into meaningless dust.

Although Fouque illustrates these creatures’ lives being insignificant, he also points out a how flawed humans are by bringing to light Undine’s husband’s betrayal. Even though he accepts her, he ends up betraying her for Bertalda. It poses the question, would you rather metaphysically exist forever with negative elements or would you rather get one life and make the most out of it before turning into dust?

Week 6: Undine (1811)

Posted on by
3

The first version of the story Melusine was published during the end of the Feudal era. On the other hand, Undine was written in 1811. Since the 14th century, the world changed in many ways, including the colonization of the Americas. The development of capitalism was in full swing. Also, the Industrial Revolution is a relevant consideration for the period. I also wonder what the story means in the context of the Black Forest producing many of the modern fairytales that we know of today

After my first read of the story, I noticed that the author has somewhat romanticized the appearance and beauty of nature. This makes me wonder if the separation of Man from nature during the Industrial Revolution is what caused this. When de la Motte Fouque writes, “They wander over the pure sand of the sea”, it makes me think that there is already a disconnect from the natural environment because of the way it is so highly described. I doubt a society connected closely to nature would write this story with such an emphasis on the beauty of nature because they likely see it all the time.

The ending of the story makes me further convinced that this story could be a call to acknowledge the separation of humans and nature that didn’t always exist. When Undine references the natural elements of the world as her family and explains that the soul of her kind is carried on into nature, it highlights that modern humans (in the 19th century) are often living in more urban settings without a connection to the natural world.

In future stories, I am curious to see the continued development of the relationship between humans and the natural environment. I would also like to see some modern stories from non-Western parts of the world and compare the differences between the cultural norms.

From Demons to…Angels?

Posted on by
3

After reading the story of Undine, it is abundantly clear that Melusine’s impact on the image of the mermaid in historical literature has turned the once-damned creatures into pious women, desperate to be ever closer to God.

Undine’s sweet nature and her devotion to Huldbrand directly mirrors that of Melusine to Raymond, giving both mermaids an innocent and pure aura about them. This demeanor is of course further emphasized by both mermaid’s decrees of holiness.

Just as Melusine declares to Raymond that she “is as faithful a Christian as [he is]” (The Romance of Melusina, 25), Undine “entreated [the priest] with an agitated tone to pray for the welfare of her soul” (Undine, 101). Undine is also described as “mild and gentle as an angel” (103), which is a stark contrast to the stories of sinful and villainous sirens that were pedaled by the church in it’s past. In this way, it is clear the iconic influence Melusine had on shaping the newfound saintly view of mermaids that were once used as a comparison to debauchery. These mermaids are good Christians, who are concerned with obtaining and protecting their immortal souls, serving as a means for the church to further maintain control of women’s place in society.

Melusine and Undine together promote messages that women are not entitled to their secrets, as Melusine is punished for keeping hers and Undine rushes to reveal her own. They also communicate that to earn the privilege to be loved, a woman must be serving to both God and to her husband.

By twisting and warping the image of the mermaid, and therefore, the image of women as an obscure species, the church maintains control of how women are to exist—what they will be punished for, and what they will be rewarded for. These stories serve as an underscored warning to women about how they must act if they are to be seen as anything but deranged monsters.