Untitled Document

Andersen's Version of "The Little Mermaid"

Synopsis:

Begins with a description of the ocean and the sister's personalities. Explains the youngest sister's situation about wanting to explore the world.
Explores the fact that the girls all have gardens to tend and care for but the youngest sister would rather let hers grow wildly and tangle.
Youngest mermaid finally turns fifteen and is able to swim to the shore.
On the first trip up to the shore the mermaid sees the young prince and falls instantly in love.
The ship is sinking in the storm so the little mermaid rescues the prince and takes him to shore and swims back out to sea.
Youngest mermaid tells her sister the events of the night when she rescued the prince and they find out where he lives and how she can find him.
The mermaid watches him closely every night without him noticing her.
She becomes desperate and retreats to the sea witch in order to help grow legs to live on land.
The sea witch demands that mermaid must cut off her tongue and bare the pain of a knife cutting into her feet in order to grow legs.
The young mermaid agrees in her desperation for the prince.
The prince takes her to the palace where they find they have a connection.
However, the prince must meet the princess to whom he is arranged to marry. When he meets her he believes that the princess is the one who saved him the day of the storm.
The mermaids heart is broken and she believes she is going to die.
The sisters hear of the terrible events that have been happening on shore, and they go to the sea witch in order to save their youngest sister. The older sisters all cut off their hair and give the dying mermaid a knife to kill the prince in order to get her mermaid tale back so she can live underwater again.
The youngest mermaid's heart is too pure to kill the prince and she throws the knife into the sea and sher herself, plunges into the sea.
At this, the "daughters of the air" appear and tell the youngest mermaid that she can be immortal if she completes three hundred years of good deeds.

Analysis:

Shows the young female mermaid's desire to explore the world further as she is not satisfied with what is right in front of her. Wants to experience adventure. Not common in stories about females as their law abiding domesticality often ruled societies expecations. The story was perhaps so popular in the era of Andersen as the female mermaid tends to break the boundaries which wasn't a commonly occuring event in that era. The youngest sister isn't a typical female doing the same thing as the other sisters. This isn't only explored in Andersen's story through the fact that the mermaid risks all she has to go on land, but is also subtly explored in other ways such as possesions. "The little mermaid would gladly have swapped her heavy garland of pearls [to show she was a princess] for some of the red flowers from her garden, which would have suited her much better" (Andersen,1998:41) . The fact that the mermaid doesn't really want all the glamorous "princess" things which her sisters have and would settle for a flower, really shows the independant thoughts of the character. This notion is also explored when the youngest sister doesnt tend for her garden the way the older sisters do. "She never tended the floweres, and they grew wild and tangled, climbing and interweaving until they shut out all the light from the garden" (Andersen, 1998:45).
Due to the fact that the youngest sister has her own independant thoughts she is considered very different in a negative light. "She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtfull" (Andersen, 1998:36). The text seems to imply that by having independant thoughts you are an eccentric person
The text can be read as a creation myth or a metaphore for the females place in the patriachal society (Tseelon, 2006:1)
The colors of the illustrations are very much symbolic. The blue represents the underworld and the sea, while the red represents life on the land. It is clear that red is apparent in all of The Little Mermaid's things, such as her garden. This is a reprsentation of her desire for life above the sea. (Heiner, n.d:2)
The conclusion of Andersen's tail clearly reflects the expectations of society of the era. Andersen concludes his story by exploring the fact that the young mermaid girl could live forever, and have an immortal soul if she completes three hundred years of good deeds. This image may be intended by Andersen to influence the younger readers to do good deeds, and to follow the rules. Furthermore, it is generally said that adults such as a child's parent or grandparent are the buyers of books. If Andersen has not included a good influential ending then the book may not have been so popular amongst all readers.
It can be said that the story of "The Little Mermaid" represents Andersen himself, as he was believed to be a quiet and strange child himself, just as what the little mermaid is refered to as in his text.

Strengths and weaknesses:

The fact that the text and images created by the author are brutal and very much to the point can be considered a strength and weakness depending on ones individual belief. I believe that the descriptions such as "enormous eels were writhing about, exposing their gross, sallow underbellies. Here the witch had built her house from the bones of shipwrecked men" (Andersen, 1998: 49) are much too harsh to be read to children. I found it too brutal for even myself to read. I feel that there is a limit to what children need to know. Simple scaffolding and preparing children for what can happen in life is o.k, but brutal images such as that would give children nightmares.
This version of "The Little Mermaid" is very engaging because of the poetic language use and the intimate details. It seems children would love to listen to the story over and over again. Other versions are simply fact, after fact, after fact. This version draws the reader in slowly and moves the plot along a lot slower than other texts of "The Little Mermaid", especially the picture book adaptations.
The story is a lot more wordy than other picture book adaptations and may not be easily read by younger children. However, it would be accessable if it was read to the younger child.
I thought the ending, although steriotypical in the sense that it was ment to perhaps influence the child in a positive light, was rather intruiging. It was neither positive or negative. It just stated if you do that right thing, you may get what you want. There was no fairy tale happy ending, or no brutal death.

	Andersen's Version of "The Little Mermaid"

	Synopsis: Begins with a description of the ocean and the sister's personalities. Explains the youngest sister's situation about wanting to explore the world. Explores the fact that the girls all have gardens to tend and care for but the youngest sister would rather let hers grow wildly and tangle. Youngest mermaid finally turns fifteen and is able to swim to the shore. On the first trip up to the shore the mermaid sees the young prince and falls instantly in love. The ship is sinking in the storm so the little mermaid rescues the prince and takes him to shore and swims back out to sea. Youngest mermaid tells her sister the events of the night when she rescued the prince and they find out where he lives and how she can find him. The mermaid watches him closely every night without him noticing her. She becomes desperate and retreats to the sea witch in order to help grow legs to live on land. The sea witch demands that mermaid must cut off her tongue and bare the pain of a knife cutting into her feet in order to grow legs. The young mermaid agrees in her desperation for the prince. The prince takes her to the palace where they find they have a connection. However, the prince must meet the princess to whom he is arranged to marry. When he meets her he believes that the princess is the one who saved him the day of the storm. The mermaids heart is broken and she believes she is going to die. The sisters hear of the terrible events that have been happening on shore, and they go to the sea witch in order to save their youngest sister. The older sisters all cut off their hair and give the dying mermaid a knife to kill the prince in order to get her mermaid tale back so she can live underwater again. The youngest mermaid's heart is too pure to kill the prince and she throws the knife into the sea and sher herself, plunges into the sea. At this, the "daughters of the air" appear and tell the youngest mermaid that she can be immortal if she completes three hundred years of good deeds. Analysis: Shows the young female mermaid's desire to explore the world further as she is not satisfied with what is right in front of her. Wants to experience adventure. Not common in stories about females as their law abiding domesticality often ruled societies expecations. The story was perhaps so popular in the era of Andersen as the female mermaid tends to break the boundaries which wasn't a commonly occuring event in that era. The youngest sister isn't a typical female doing the same thing as the other sisters. This isn't only explored in Andersen's story through the fact that the mermaid risks all she has to go on land, but is also subtly explored in other ways such as possesions. "The little mermaid would gladly have swapped her heavy garland of pearls [to show she was a princess] for some of the red flowers from her garden, which would have suited her much better" (Andersen,1998:41) . The fact that the mermaid doesn't really want all the glamorous "princess" things which her sisters have and would settle for a flower, really shows the independant thoughts of the character. This notion is also explored when the youngest sister doesnt tend for her garden the way the older sisters do. "She never tended the floweres, and they grew wild and tangled, climbing and interweaving until they shut out all the light from the garden" (Andersen, 1998:45). Due to the fact that the youngest sister has her own independant thoughts she is considered very different in a negative light. "She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtfull" (Andersen, 1998:36). The text seems to imply that by having independant thoughts you are an eccentric person The text can be read as a creation myth or a metaphore for the females place in the patriachal society (Tseelon, 2006:1) The colors of the illustrations are very much symbolic. The blue represents the underworld and the sea, while the red represents life on the land. It is clear that red is apparent in all of The Little Mermaid's things, such as her garden. This is a reprsentation of her desire for life above the sea. (Heiner, n.d:2) The conclusion of Andersen's tail clearly reflects the expectations of society of the era. Andersen concludes his story by exploring the fact that the young mermaid girl could live forever, and have an immortal soul if she completes three hundred years of good deeds. This image may be intended by Andersen to influence the younger readers to do good deeds, and to follow the rules. Furthermore, it is generally said that adults such as a child's parent or grandparent are the buyers of books. If Andersen has not included a good influential ending then the book may not have been so popular amongst all readers. It can be said that the story of "The Little Mermaid" represents Andersen himself, as he was believed to be a quiet and strange child himself, just as what the little mermaid is refered to as in his text. Strengths and weaknesses: The fact that the text and images created by the author are brutal and very much to the point can be considered a strength and weakness depending on ones individual belief. I believe that the descriptions such as "enormous eels were writhing about, exposing their gross, sallow underbellies. Here the witch had built her house from the bones of shipwrecked men" (Andersen, 1998: 49) are much too harsh to be read to children. I found it too brutal for even myself to read. I feel that there is a limit to what children need to know. Simple scaffolding and preparing children for what can happen in life is o.k, but brutal images such as that would give children nightmares. This version of "The Little Mermaid" is very engaging because of the poetic language use and the intimate details. It seems children would love to listen to the story over and over again. Other versions are simply fact, after fact, after fact. This version draws the reader in slowly and moves the plot along a lot slower than other texts of "The Little Mermaid", especially the picture book adaptations. The story is a lot more wordy than other picture book adaptations and may not be easily read by younger children. However, it would be accessable if it was read to the younger child. I thought the ending, although steriotypical in the sense that it was ment to perhaps influence the child in a positive light, was rather intruiging. It was neither positive or negative. It just stated if you do that right thing, you may get what you want. There was no fairy tale happy ending, or no brutal death.