While I was reading the introductory part of the reading, all I could think was “dang, there are a LOT of different interpretations about mermaids”. And thats not really the half of it- there seemed to be a different definition, a different vision of what a mermaid was, what they looked like, and what they did. I liked that. I liked seeing how different cultures took different ideas about the mermaid, even though some of them I definitely did not agree with. It’s interesting to consider how many people used the mermaid as a symbol, even when different groups and cultures had clashing ideas.

Seems to me that growing up in certain areas or growing up with certain ideas colors the symbolism of the mermaid. While the ideas can change over decades or centuries, some things still remain- positive or negative connotations with the mythical creature. And it’s so fun to see the change. Going from monstrous, to beautiful, and from different flavors of dangerous. Like how some mermaids were almost completely monsters, like Scylla and Charbydis, but then much later in other cultures they became more and more human. I think that speaks to how more modern audiences begin to view the mermaid itself.