Hans Christian Andersen
vCreated in 1837
vHe claims it is “utterly his own invention”,
although a lot of themes, such a mermaids, were present at the time.
vThe fairytale was formed around Andersen’s social
and political struggles.
vThis story inspired a statue that was presented to
the city of Copenhagen in 1913.
vThe statue is made of bronze and is 5 1/2 feet tall
and weighs 385 pounds.
vThis statue is one of the most popular tourist
sites in Denmark.
vAndersen was a homosexual and played a role in
society for many years.
vThe Little Mermaid played a role in society, faking
qualities that allowed for her acceptance, much like Andersen did.
v“His story expressed his own discomfort and loss of
voice as he attempted to “pass” in high society.”
vA biographer believed “Andersen was a repressed
homosexual and sees the longing and suffering in “The Little Mermaid” as an
expression of his painful, never satisfied desires.”
“Your fish’s tail, which
amongst us is considered so beautiful, is thought on earth to be quite ugly;
they do not know any better, and they think it necessary to have two stout
props which they call legs, in order to be handsome.”
Andersen Shining Through
vHe writes of a “big city near the coast”- at the
time, Andersen was living Copenhagen on a street that starts at the harbor and
runs along a canal.
vThe one of the sisters also see “beautiful green
hills covered with grapevines” which is reminiscent of Italy, a place Andersen
was found of- it was also the setting for his first novel.
Andersen claims he did not get his mermaid story
from Undine but in a letter
to a friend he writes “I
have not, like de la Motte Fouquet in Undine, let the mermaid’s gaining an
immortal soul depend on a stranger, on the love of another person. It is
definitely the wrong thing to do. It would make it a matter of chance and I’m not going to accept that in this
world. I have made my mermaid take a more natural, divine path.”
vReal versus imaginary
Ø“In this dualistic and hierarchical construction,
the human world can be aligned with the white male system and the water world
situated outside that system.”
vMembers outside the white male system include
Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, Ursula.
vFeminism found in the movie
Ø“Bright young women sick of swimming, ready to
stand.” -Part of a song sung by Ariel
vDisney as a sanitizer
ØThey remove the majority of the violence
ØThe story, overall, is happier than the original.
ØAriel’s choices appear “cost-free”.
v