I found the story of The Little Mermaid by Han Chistian Anderson very intriguing, although I cannot compare it to the Disney film because I have never watched it. While reading through the story, I found it had some religious and environmental relevance.
A major religious connection was towards the ending when Ariel became an air entity. At first, I thought she may have been turned in to a Siren, but after reading, “…your own good works may obtain you an immortal soul…thus we shall glide into the Kingdom of Heaven…” I though different (Anderson 130). Although, the “daughters of the air” do not possess an immortal soul like humans, they can obtain one and enter heaven by doing good deeds, similar to what we are taught in Christianity. The story describes the daughters of the air by the following, “Their language was melody, but too ethereal to be heard by human ears, just as no human eye can discern their forms. Though without wings, their lightness poised them into the air.” (129). This description is comparable to that of a ghost’s and given she is in neither heaven nor hell can mean Ariel may be in Purgatory which is present in Catholicism.
The connection I made from the story to the environment is also towards the end. One line that caught my attention was, “We fly to warm countries, and fan the burning atmosphere, laden with pestilence, that destroys the sons of man.” (129). During the 19th century, when The Little Mermaid was published (1837), there were many deaths caused by illnesses including Smallpox, Typhus, and Yellow Fever, I’m assessing this would be connected to the “pestilence” mentioned in the quote. Also, the Industrial Revolution was in motion during the time of this publication and had harsh effects on the environment due to the pollution which can be connected to the “burning atmosphere” description. If my assessments are correct, I wonder why Anderson decided to include this in his story, where these wingless air entities that can neither be seen nor heard seems very different than that of a mermaid and human.
Hi Jonah,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post this week, as it elaborated some of the ideas I had previously conjuring up in my mind while reading this chapter. I also thought there was many Christian values present in this story. You hit on some that I inferred as well, but I also thought these values were prevalent in the way that if Ariel would have been successful in becoming a married woman the first time around, access to Heaven would have been much easier for her. It’s almost as if you are not married by a man on earth, you then must prove yourself to God in order to get in that way; either way a woman gets no free rides when it comes to attempting to obtain that golden ticket. It’s incredibly tiring and arbitrary that women time and time again must be 2nd to men in order to gain the same experiences and opportunities. When I sit and ponder it all I like to think that maybe life is this way because of how powerful woman are (the ability to bring life, beauty, strength, wit, etc) that its almost evening out the playing field to put us down. Although I still think its bs at the end of the day you can only think positively and wait for the world to catch up. I really liked your connections; great post!
I think your most interesting point is about the mermaid’s transformation from aquatic to air faery is, in fact and based upon our readings, a return of the mythic mermaid to her origins as siren. I have never thought of that, but that is so true and so fascinating!