The Little Mermaid Character Analysis

When analyzing The Little Mermaid, Giroux holds Ariel under scrutiny with her relationship with the men in her life and how her perfect body might lead little girls to idealize unhealthy body standards for themselves. Giroux describes Ariel as “modeled after a slightly anorexic Barbie Doll,” due to her slim figure, large breasts, and wide eyes, all which seems like too much for a sixteen year old. The two main male relationships that Ariel has are between her father, King Triton, and her love interest, Prince Eric. With her father, Ariel is defined by, “the struggle to gain independence from [him],” which means that she is only relevant when she is trying to go against what her father says, such as disobeying his request of not going to the …show more content…
Ariel is a young girl who, “takes her voice for granted, as many girls do,” and gives it up without a second thought (Girl Bawk). Ariel doesn’t realize how “meaningful and important” her voice is until she realizes that it’s the one thing that could solve her situation (Girl Bawk). Ariel learns that she shouldn’t give up her voice to pursue a man because having no communication with someone does not form a healthy relationship or a relationship at all. Teenage girls are allowed to make mistakes, just as they are also allowed to learn from …show more content…
Ariel’s hobby of collecting human objects is a separate entity on its own that was established at the beginning of the film, her father’s adversity to it is a reaction to what she identifies as her own interest. In an interview with Ron Clements and John Musker, the two directors of The Little Mermaid, Lauren Duca learns how the father-daughter relationship is important to the story, because one of the themes is, “parents wanting the best for their children but maybe having a different idea about what that is than what the child does.” A parent caring for their child does not define that child’s entire life; children grow up, and so do their parents. King Triton is scared of his daughter’s interest in humans because it’s something that’s unknown and seems dangerous, and he doesn’t want his daughter getting hurt. Ariel doesn’t see this dangerous side of the human world because she’s seen all the amazing things this world has produced. The father-daughter relationship is not about one over the other, they both learn to accept and see the other side’s point of view to better understand each other, which is a part of growing as a family and as a