Love for the little mermaid was tainted by her ulterior motives. She really wanted an immortal soul and she tried to use the Prince to achieve her goal. The sea witch also aided the little mermaid and therefore spoiled the love she sought. The sea witch is easily seen as a parallel to the biblical depiction of the devil. Not only does she cozy up with snakes, but she makes a mean bargain too. Despite their obvious differences, both the sea witch and the Prince are examples of the little mermaid’s eternal life depending on the power of someone else. Considering how happy the little mermaid is when she becomes a daughter of the air, in the end, she was really searching for control. Control over her life, over her destiny. Making a deal with the devil gave her control of her land legs and pursuing the prince’s love would give her control over her destiny with her immortal soul. Laughing while her feet were bleeding and every instance in which she endures pain are choices she makes in order to get a grip on where she is going in life and beyond.
Thinking about death and the concept of afterlife is a very universal theme – cultures worldwide have religion, institutions committed to convincing patrons of their contingent answers to the universal question: what happens when we die? In The Little Mermaid, different groups have different post-death destinations. Ironically in the story, humans die and maintain their immortal soul without any qualifications. Daughters of the air earn it, and mermaids pretty much become sea foam. The little mermaid questions her predetermined fate like many people question their culturally bound destiny. After trials and tribulations, she has earned the opportunity to have an immortal soul through honest work.
There are many morals in the fairytale as displayed through the actions of the little mermaid, but it’s interesting that the final is so non-sequitur. From out of no where, the closing includes a warning for children to obey and deserve the love of their parents in order to help the angelic beings reach the kingdom of god. The little mermaid didn’t obey her parents, she was a runaway. This ending is a re-clarification: children, the mermaid ran away and everything turned up roses, but for you, obey your parents – or make her cry.
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2 comments:
I really think Hans was pounding on women. The sea witch did correlate with the serpent/devil and the mermaid as Eve however Eve is therfore represented as half-bestial. She could be considered a serpent herself with her long scaley tale. And he basically portrays her as out to get this man for her own motive and cause him to sin (he will love her more than his mother and father, foresaking them for her).
Nice connection to grander themes, Erica, including universality and contingency.
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