FAIRYTALES UNLOCKED: The Little Mermaid

One of the most interesting adaptations into film is The Little Mermaid (aka The Little Sea Lady) by Hans Christian Andersen.

The actual fairytale was first published in 1837 and while there are some similarities between it and the animated film later produced by Disney there are some key plot changes that alter the tone of the story entirely (and would definitely not work well as a kids animated movie).

In the original story, the daughters of the MerKing all swam to the surface when they were 15 and then when they were older spent a year living among humans. It was these tales that influenced the little mermaid and made her curious about humans and their lives.

Her grandmother explains to her about the different lifespans and while merpeople live much longer, once they past away they cease to exist. Unlike humans, according to her grandmother, who had a shorter life span but then when they passed their souls went to heaven and lived eternally.

When the little mermaid visits the surface she does in fact see a human who she falls in love with and rescues from a shipwreck, leaving him on the shore of a temple.

From this, the little mermaid desires to be human, to have a soul, and to be with the prince that she fell in love with. She does go to a sea witch who gives her a potion to give her legs. However, the change will be excruciatingly painful (feeling like she has been cut in half with a sword and is constantly walking on glass) and she will only gain a soul if she can find true love's kiss. Through all of this, she will remain a mute.

Though the prince does become infatuated with her when he meets her as a human he marries the girl from the temple that he met after he was rescued, believing that she rescued him and that she is his true love. Once they marry, the little mermaids heart breaks and she knows she will die. She is given an opportunity to become a mermaid again if she kills the prince and allows his blood to drop on her legs, but she doesn't kill him because she still loves him.

She instead throws herself into the sea and instead of ceasing to exist like her grandmother explained, she becomes a spirit of the air and learns she will also be able to join the kingdom of God by doing good deeds.


This version is far less the happy ending you would expect from a Disney movie however the story does touch upon some important differentiation between infatuation and finding true love. It isn't enough for the little mermaid to be beautiful and a wonderful dancer, but the prince finds love with a woman he believes deeply cared for him (though it was actually the mermaid that saved him). It has a unique way of being optimistic without actually giving the story a fairytale ending. The mermaid may not get the prince, but she does find that she does in fact have a spirit that will last after death.