Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is a Mermaid Monday my look at and analysis of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. So, I want to be clear that this story is a very different, much darker, and more depressing tale than its Disney film counterpart. Andersen wrote the story largely as a way to discuss his own disastrous love life and feelings of inadequacy and not fitting in which plagued him for his entire life. This is why we see themes of being a misunderstood outsider so often in his fairytales, for instance, The Ugly Duckling is another great example.
Now, let’s get into some of the deeper meanings found within this Summery and Watery Mermaid fairytale. This is another fairytale that is less about love and more about the growth of the individual female protagonist, alongside Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Maybe that is why this is my third favorite fairytale of all time, after those other two. I do adore a good tale of personal development. The story of the original Little Mermaid goes into detail describing the fact that Mermaids are not immortal, instead, they live for 300 years, and then when they die they turn into sea foam, becoming one with the ocean once more! This sad fact disturbed the Little Mermaid, who was desperately fascinated with the fact that humans died much sooner, but had immortal souls. One day, the Little Mermaid learned that if she married a human and gained his true love then she would become a human and earn an immortal soul of her own!
It is then that the Little Mermaid makes the decision to go to the Sea Witch, who is not really evil in the original, but rather more of an ambivalent character who firmly warns the Little Mermaid of how dangerous it is to attempt this sort of magick to gain a soul. But the Little Mermaid would not be dissuaded, and she gave forth her tongue (not just her voice) and was willing to be in utter pain during the entire time when she would be living among the humans. This pain would be that of knives cutting into her feet with every step! Her physical pain was immense during the whole of her attempt to gain the attention of the human Prince. Not to mention that part of the deal with the Sea Witch stated that if she did not win the Prince’s love, she would die. At the beginning of her time on land, the Prince does show interest in her for her beauty and innocence, but given her inability to speak, he could not truly fall in love with her. So, he fell in love with another woman and married her!
On the day of the wedding, the Little Mermaid was mournful over the fact that he did not love her and that she would die in the morning. Her sisters actually meet her on the side of the boat, as just like in the Disney version the wedding is taking place at sea. The Little Mermaid’s sisters reveal that they had given their own hair to the Sea Witch in order to procure a special blade that would save the Little Mermaid’s life. However, the Little Mermaid did not have the heart to kill the Prince, who she was still fond of, so she allowed herself to die instead! After she died and her body turned to sea foam, the Little Mermaid’s spirit ascended to meet a group of Air Spirits who told her that if she served humanity as a sort of Guardian Angel for 300 years she had a chance to earn her own immortal soul since she had not taken the chance to kill the Prince. This ending is stated to be a later addition, as the original ending of her simply turning to sea foam was seen as a bit too hopeless.
Of course, this ending is one that has a lot of Christian overtones, Mermaids are seen as not Christian so they have no immortal souls but can earn them, almost reading like the way a Christian missionary who was trying to convert people in other countries may have thought about them. The Little Mermaid was good so she gained a chance to one day earn a soul by working as essentially a Guardian Angel for three centuries. In fact, this ending reminds me a great deal of the belief held by some people practicing the early Christianized version of the Celtic Faery Faith that states that the Fae are Fallen Angels. Essentially, this belief ties in with the Fall of Lucifer, stating that those who fell into Hell became Demons, but those who fell onto Earth became Faeries. After all, in the end, the Little Mermaid is working essentially as a Guardian Angel to earn her own soul! I love this bittersweet ending because it shows that even if plans do not work out, you may still end up triumphing in unexpected ways. I also think it makes perfect sense why Eric was always such an unlikable Disney Prince, this tale was never about the love story, but rather about the personal growth of the Little Mermaid!
I hope you have enjoyed reading my thoughts on Andersen’s original version of The Little Mermaid. Do you like the original tale or the Disney version better? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is an illustration from the Little Mermaid. I found the image on https://reactormag.com/the-pain-humanity-and-ascension-of-hans-christian-andersens-the-little-mermaid/.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading/Watching
- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
- The Little Mermaid (1989)
- The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey