The Little Mermaid November
17, 2013
"The
Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen is a much loved fairy tale in
which the heroine of the story, "a sea-princess," makes a choice to
grow up quickly and pays the ultimate price for her actions. The little mermaid
is an impetuous and strong willed individual with a humanist's heart. The sixth
daughter of royal "sea-folk." She possesses all the same charm,
beauty, and grace of the most popular classic fairytale heroines. Hers is a sad
story of unrequited love, and a heroic tale of overcoming seemingly impossible
obstacles to achieve her lofty spiritual goal of immortality.
Critics
have long disagreed on whether or not Andersen wrote this fairy tale as a tragic
love story or a more sympathetic story of Christian redemption and forgiveness.
A close examination of the final fourteen paragraphs as they relate to the rest
of the story must surely reveal the author's true intentions. In Andersen's
original version, the story was written for a ballet production (Royal Theatre
in Copenhagen, 1837). The story's intended theatrical audience is obvious when
the little mermaid is depicted as a ballerina.
"... The little mermaid lifted her little white arms, raised
herself on the tips of her toes, and floated lightly across the floor."
This romantic portrayal of the daughter of a sea king is rooted in Greek
Mythology. A tragic character of adult theatre unable to achieve the goal of
becoming truly human. The marble white statue of a young boy is another
classical prop that hearkens back to ancient times. A pre-Christian era in which
a sea deity’s desire to be human eventually leads to a violent struggles, painful
self-sacrifice, and the inevitable evaporation into "sea foam." Andersen's
original story satisfies the assumption that her inhuman origins can only lead
to a violent end. Yet, so much of the story's most crucial imagery and action
reinforces the little mermaid's triumph over death. Andersen edited his
timeless classic tale for a paying theater audience, but published the story
with his deeply Christian beliefs well entrenched.
Early
in the story, Andersen's "sea-princess" plants a suggestive metaphor in
the shape of a "rosy-red weeping willow tree" A precursor to the
heroine's inevitable transformation.
Among the Chinese, " the willow is an herb of immortality. For safe passage into another life, one must
plant a willow during their life so it will still be alive at their death. Bear
a sprig of this plant and you will be free from the fear of death." *
The life affirming sun, the pure white statue of a boy, and the willow of
immortality (draped over the son of God) suggests that Andersen is devoted to a
Christian story where the heroine overcomes her earthly torments and is
afforded the opportunity to earn her immortality. Indeed, the sun does rise on
our heroine in the end.
The
prince is a fundamental element in the little mermaid's salvation. The little mermaid rescues the young noble
and delivers him to "a holy temple." The nuptial undertones are
obvious. If the little mermaid is no more than a sea serpent, as is suggested
without the final fourteen paragraphs; her failure to become human is indeed
only infatuation and not a deep enduring love of mankind. The prince's deliverance
from drowning is a symbolic baptism. The holy place "where many young
girls were worshiping" is the earthly equivalent of the "ethereal
daughters domain." The prince has a
golden tongue that charms the little mermaid with words like, "...my good
fortune has sent you to me instead, and we will never part." His eloquence is the antithesis of the mute
mermaid. Unfortunately, he is blind to the truth. As if some worldly witch (the
sister of the sea witch) has tricked him into trading his spiritual insight for
the hierarchy of class and status. Thus, he disregards the little mermaids as a
mere "foundling" when, in her expressive eyes, he should be able to
see his own soul.
The
prince dresses her in a male costume so "that she might ride out with
him... and followed him till they saw the clouds sailing below them like flocks
of birds departing to a foreign land." A sermon of sorts by Andersen.
Preaching to his devoted congregation about the coming of the "daughters of
the air". The angels that fly to "the hot countries, where the
sultry, pestilential air destroys the children of men."
Ending
the story with the mermaid's suicide might seem more poetic, more dramatic, and
a fitting end to her suffering. However, when we consider Bruno Bettelheim's
view:" A fairytale is a narrative form which represents a society's
collective concerns with some aspect of growing up, and it explores these
concerns at the level of magical thought." we must conclude that
Andersen's intent was to tell a story of Christian self-sacrifice, as well as,
provide the reader the satisfaction of witnessing a magical assent into
immortality. If Andersen's intention was to tell a sad love story, the heartbroken
mermaid would have met her end with the jump from the prince's ship. Instead,
the magical moment of salvation occurred, not when she plunged from the ship,
but when our heroine refuses to murder the prince. At that moment she becomes a
worthy recruit as an angel in training.
She is no longer the daughter of a pagan Poseidon but a worthy Christian
icon.
In
the final fourteen paragraphs, the little mermaid regresses back to a fantasy
world where she becomes one with the "daughters of the air." An
allusion to the adolescent world she shared with her sisters of the sea. Her
childhood world pierced by the quivering knife forged in that same magical
undersea kingdom. "They shone red where it fell, as if drops of blood
gurgled up from the water." The bitter bargain her salty sister's negotiated
with the sea witch comes back to severe the heroine's connection with her past
life. She is transported into a deeply Christian universe. Her rewards are many
and her faith is born. She receives a
new body, "and it rose higher and higher out of the foam." Her longevity is rejuvenated (300 years). Her
beautiful voice echoes the strength of her character "was all melody...so
ethereal that no earthly music could possible equal it." Her evolution includes the reward of mature
human emotions. "For the first time, she felt tears in her eyes."
If
there is a departure from the original storyline it occurs in the final two
paragraphs. Here, the narrative seems more like a revision and doesn't
necessarily satisfy the ending to Andersen's fairytale. Apart from revealing
the heroine's arrival into adulthood and the inherent maternal duties: the
economics of both redemption and punishment create a discounted and budget
minded allegory. These checks and balances in an accountant-like spread sheet
of salvation serves no particular purpose other than to invoke a less than
meaningful moral to the story. In other
words, "when it's windy (daughters of the air are present) and when it's
raining (tears from heaven) someone's child must be misbehaving."
Since
the time of early mythology fantastical creatures of the sea have had a place
in the oral traditions of folklore. In this grand tradition, Andersen's
"Little Mermaid" is a fairy tale that has endured. Inviting young
mariners to set sail into a dream world of enchanting "water as blue as
the loveliest cornflower and as clear as the purest crystal." Be it,
ballet performances for the King of Denmark (in 18th century Europe) or the
more recent Disney adaptation, the classic tale of the "Little
Mermaid" will find a way to be reinvented to suit an ever changing
audience. "For three hundred years we shall float and float and float till
we glide right into God's kingdom." A magical journey of biblical
proportions.
* www.spiritlodge.yuku.com Spirit lodge Symbolism
Library Willow Tree
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