The Little Mermaid contained a lot of Christian imagery and ideology, but I found the contrast between air spirits and mermaids really fascinating. The two different creatures were representations of heaven and hell where souls were either present or not. Mermaids are described many times as not having an immortal soul which signifies that they cannot live in an afterlife. For instance, the grandma of the little mermaid explicitly tells the little mermaid that their “souls are not immortal. [They] shall never enter upon a new life” (Andersen, p. 116). This means that a mermaid’s soul is returned to the earth and is not meant for anything further than that. In Christianity, a person who has been “saved” by Christ is seen as having an eternal soul that will continue to exist in another plane after death. However, people who are not saved by Christ are not allowed to experience eternal life. In this way, mermaids represent those who were considered unholy and destined for hell at the time. Their souls will never be able to experience the “greatness” of the “unknown and favoured regions” (Andersen,p. 116) humans enter after death. 

Comparatively, the air spirits are a clear representation of heaven and godliness. The imagery of the air spirits resembles angels who are messengers of God in Christianity. The aerial spirits exist to do good deeds for humans and are given the chance to live in the human afterlife. It is explained to the little mermaid that “the daughters of the air, although not possessing an immortal soul by nature, can obtain one by their good deeds” (Andersen, p. 128). This opportunity to get an immortal soul is the closest that un-human entities can get to being human. From my understanding, this is a representation of becoming “saved” in Christianity. In the religion, a person must follow God and do good deeds, which is what the aerial spirits are doing. They depict the people who at the time were considered to be righteous and who would do God’s work. 

This dichotomy also made me think of the discussion in class we had about verticality. The mermaids are underwater which hints at hell because it’s below and the only way to get an immortal soul would be through duplicity. The air spirits are in the air which hints at heaven because it’s above everything and the only way to get an immortal soul would be from doing good in the world.