This week I found the Little Mermaid story to be intriguing and brought back a handful of childhood memories. The main portion I want to dive into is when the grandmother is explaining the difference between humans and merpeople and their souls. She says, “unless a human being loved you so dearly that you were more to him than either father or mother; if all his thoughts and his love were centered in you, and he allowed the priest to lay his right hand in yours, promising to be faithful to you here and hereafter: then would his soul glide into your body, and you would obtain a share in the happiness awaiting human beings” (Bacchilega, Brown, Page 119). I had a few thoughts about what this excerpt could mean with the first being that I believe the author is suggesting that mermaids (or more specifically women) cannot be whole/complete unless they have their male counterpart to provide and care for them. This has been a recurring theme across the mermaid stories we have read so far, especially when considering Melusine. However at the same time I find this ironic because merpeople seem to have other-worldly powers, wouldn’t the man become complete with marrying into power versus the other way around? My second thought–especially after the introduction stating that after a mermaid loses her tail and gains feet that it is a symbol of sexual maturity–is that maybe she will gain a soul after making herself sexually available for a human (or more specifically the prince). My third attraction to this quote is the importance of comparing romantic love versus familial love. I personally have never considered or seen those to be in the same boat, but rather as two separate concepts. I think it would be weird to love your significant other the same way you love your parents, but I guess it’s more so the concept of holding the other in your thoughts and heart at all points of the day. I am interested as to if this was published before or after the romantic era to have a better understanding on views of love at the time.