!Fairy Tale Discussions: The Little Mermaid
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avonleastories95
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Fairy Tale Discussions: The Little Mermaid
Very much like the Cinderella thread, this is also one where people can express their thoughts of another classic Fairy Tale. This time, it is obviously The Little Mermaid. This is my second favorite fairy tale (with The Little Match Girl being the first, a thread for it will be appearing shortly!). I think the original by Hans Christian Andersen has sort of a sensual beauty to it (meaning it has beauty that provokes all the sences.). While it may be sad, it is a very beautiful story. I think it is full of splendid descriptions and it is such a Stellar fairy tale. If you like or have read The Little Mermaid, please share your thoughts here. I look forward to reading them !
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Escapay
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I like the original Andersen tale. I'm not too fond of Disney's version, though I enjoyed it as a kid.
Andersen's The Red Shoes is amazing. The Powell & Pressburger film is equally amazing.
albert
Andersen's The Red Shoes is amazing. The Powell & Pressburger film is equally amazing.
albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
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Wonderlicious
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I love the original version of The Little Mermaid. It's a very sensual tale, partly due to the descriptions employed by Andersen, but also as it's essentially about the rite of passage from girlhood into womanhood (as a number of other somewhat sensual stories are).
I know that this is probably the most controversial of all of Disney's fairy tale adaptations. There are lots of people who somewhat justifiably think that Disney warps the messages of the original tales, and this one really does when you think about it; it goes from being about an uneasy and ultimately tragic progression into a story about a rocky yet ultimately joyous progression. What makes this one potentially more prone to criticism as well is that it's essentially an original story of Andersen (though using folkloric themes) as opposed to being a folk tale so easily bendable by whoever tells it. The original tale and the Disney film are pretty much two different things that simply use the same premise. I like the Disney version a lot, though. I think that it's probably better overall than Beauty and the Beast (not that that's bad though).
Here on some related topics on Andersen and his stories, which you all may want to read.
http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrMermaids.html
http://www.endicott-studio.com/jMA03Summer/hans.html
I know that this is probably the most controversial of all of Disney's fairy tale adaptations. There are lots of people who somewhat justifiably think that Disney warps the messages of the original tales, and this one really does when you think about it; it goes from being about an uneasy and ultimately tragic progression into a story about a rocky yet ultimately joyous progression. What makes this one potentially more prone to criticism as well is that it's essentially an original story of Andersen (though using folkloric themes) as opposed to being a folk tale so easily bendable by whoever tells it. The original tale and the Disney film are pretty much two different things that simply use the same premise. I like the Disney version a lot, though. I think that it's probably better overall than Beauty and the Beast (not that that's bad though).
Here on some related topics on Andersen and his stories, which you all may want to read.
http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrMermaids.html
http://www.endicott-studio.com/jMA03Summer/hans.html
Agreed.Escapay wrote:Andersen's The Red Shoes is amazing. The Powell & Pressburger film is equally amazing.
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Disney Duster
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Fairy Tale Discussions: The Little Mermaid
Ever since I was little my favorite fairy tale was Cinderella, and I had read the original The Little Mermaid a while back, but recently I wondered if the original The Little Mermaid might be my favorite fairy tale. I decided my favorite's still Cinderella, but the original The Little Mermaid still means immensely to me.
Wonderlicious, I actually came across the site you provided, but I came upon the section about the 17th century French salon tales.
That site seems to indicate Hans wanted to say women shouldn't be sexual, yet at the same time that a man prizing them is all they should care for.
First off it seems Hans was gay and he really wouldn't care about either of those things. Well, there is the possibility he didn't want to see women being sexual since he was gay, but I don't think he would really want women not be especially when he put himself into the mermaid, she was him.
I also don't think it's suggesting you should never go after someone you love, rather it is simply a tale of the fact - life and love can be so painful. I could see the tale as saying you should never go after someone who clearly doesn't love you, especially sacrificing so many things just to be with them when you don't know if they love you, which is why some say Disney's version is bad for seemingly promoting the opposite.
But unlike Ariel, in the original version the mermaid had nothing much worth to lose by sacrificing her tale and voice. An eternal soul matters infinitely more than a beautiful life that ends. I don't think I can avoid talking about religion briefly here. Of course a happy life where you don't get remembered by everyone else is still of great value, but if you believe in the afterlife, what matters most is living forever literally, which includes remembering your happy life on Earth yourself, not by everyone else on Earth.
Also, unlike what that site said, I think Hans is not saying you should give up on love and just think of Heaven. It is possible that it was a way of saying you should give up on being gay and be a good Christian, thus giving up on the Prince and earning a soul in Heaven, but I don't think that's it either. I think the mermaid, and Hans, would still want love with a man, but a soul is just more important, and besides, in Heaven you will get all you need, maybe even your true love, even a man for Hans. Hey, Hans wrote a possible way a mermaid could become a daughter of the air and get a soul, Hans could dream of Heaven giving him a man who loves him that way.
His version might be able to be taken as bad to women if only it wasn't so obvious that he is the very mermaid doing all she does, and he, a man, would do it too. Also, this mermaid is doing things all for a good reason, as I said, there is really nothing bad she does, who wouldn't give up a long life that ends for a chance at eternal happiness, and when she realizes she made a mistake, she doesn't do anything bad and then gets another shot at eternal happiness.
Anyway, lately there was a moment when I thought, "I know how the original little mermaid feels." Ar first I had knew how she felt wanting a soul, because I wondered if I even had one when I went through a dark faith crises. Then, I wondered, since Hans was gay, maybe he was in love with a man who couldn't love him back, as that man was straight, and married a woman, so that may have been reflected in the little mermaid's situation, and recently I met a boy who showed romantic interest in me and made me feel wonderful and it made me feel more soulful, and like if he has a lot of soul, I can share his, just like the little mermaid, and possibly Hans, felt. It's also like Sleeping Beauty. Love awakens/saves you from death/darkness, or depression. Yes, fairy tales have to do with real life.
Wonderlicious, I actually came across the site you provided, but I came upon the section about the 17th century French salon tales.
That site seems to indicate Hans wanted to say women shouldn't be sexual, yet at the same time that a man prizing them is all they should care for.
First off it seems Hans was gay and he really wouldn't care about either of those things. Well, there is the possibility he didn't want to see women being sexual since he was gay, but I don't think he would really want women not be especially when he put himself into the mermaid, she was him.
I also don't think it's suggesting you should never go after someone you love, rather it is simply a tale of the fact - life and love can be so painful. I could see the tale as saying you should never go after someone who clearly doesn't love you, especially sacrificing so many things just to be with them when you don't know if they love you, which is why some say Disney's version is bad for seemingly promoting the opposite.
But unlike Ariel, in the original version the mermaid had nothing much worth to lose by sacrificing her tale and voice. An eternal soul matters infinitely more than a beautiful life that ends. I don't think I can avoid talking about religion briefly here. Of course a happy life where you don't get remembered by everyone else is still of great value, but if you believe in the afterlife, what matters most is living forever literally, which includes remembering your happy life on Earth yourself, not by everyone else on Earth.
Also, unlike what that site said, I think Hans is not saying you should give up on love and just think of Heaven. It is possible that it was a way of saying you should give up on being gay and be a good Christian, thus giving up on the Prince and earning a soul in Heaven, but I don't think that's it either. I think the mermaid, and Hans, would still want love with a man, but a soul is just more important, and besides, in Heaven you will get all you need, maybe even your true love, even a man for Hans. Hey, Hans wrote a possible way a mermaid could become a daughter of the air and get a soul, Hans could dream of Heaven giving him a man who loves him that way.
His version might be able to be taken as bad to women if only it wasn't so obvious that he is the very mermaid doing all she does, and he, a man, would do it too. Also, this mermaid is doing things all for a good reason, as I said, there is really nothing bad she does, who wouldn't give up a long life that ends for a chance at eternal happiness, and when she realizes she made a mistake, she doesn't do anything bad and then gets another shot at eternal happiness.
Anyway, lately there was a moment when I thought, "I know how the original little mermaid feels." Ar first I had knew how she felt wanting a soul, because I wondered if I even had one when I went through a dark faith crises. Then, I wondered, since Hans was gay, maybe he was in love with a man who couldn't love him back, as that man was straight, and married a woman, so that may have been reflected in the little mermaid's situation, and recently I met a boy who showed romantic interest in me and made me feel wonderful and it made me feel more soulful, and like if he has a lot of soul, I can share his, just like the little mermaid, and possibly Hans, felt. It's also like Sleeping Beauty. Love awakens/saves you from death/darkness, or depression. Yes, fairy tales have to do with real life.
