Reading Notes: Andernsen Fairy Tales Unit, Part B

(Little Mermaid (1937) by Ivan Bilibin, taken from Wikimedia Commons)

Vivid descriptions by the five mermaid sisters. A fascination with a world they delight in observing, yet cannot take part in due to their nature as sea creatures.

Not only that, trying to partake in it appears to hurt more than it helps, as our little mermaid ends up with more sorrows than comforts after saving a life whom she cannot stand beside on dry land.

Now that's interesting, mermaids live around 300 years, yet their souls degrade into dust after death. Contrasting, while humans live a much shorter life period, their souls persist from the body when they die.

Little mermaid forbidden from even thinking of being something other than what she already is due to social customs. Sounds very similar to how people assign a label to something, and become uncomfortable when notions or elements of subjects labeled go beyond the comfort zone.

Why does the Sea Witch live in such a decrepit place, made out of bones and laden with gray sand? And how is she so perceptive to the little mermaid's request? It's said the little mermaid feared her ever since she was a child. Is there some implied history between the kingdom and the Sea Witch?

Well, she decided to accept the Sea Witch's help quite quickly. Imagine if you were caught between two worlds. Both with their own wonders and tragedies. Which would you choose? What would you be prepared to give up? Can you even make such a decision in the first place?

What if it were not the mermaid who made the decision to transcend the border between the worlds of land and sea? What if it were the prince who paid the price to go below the waves?

The idea of exploring the boundaries between forms and the world around them is an interesting idea. What form could a person take that drastically affects perceptions in the world around them?

Bibliography

Mythology & Folklore: Andersen Fairy Tales Unit, stories written by Hans Christian Andersen