“The Little Mermaid” was originally a fairy tale written in 1837 by Hans Christian Andersen that portrayed a young mermaid that faces the tribulations that comes with growing up and showcased her struggle to obtain what she wants most in life. Since then, Andersen’s story has inspired several movie adaptations, once of which being “The Little Mermaid” produced by Disney in 1989. In both the movie and book, similar archetypes between characters can be examined, however the mermaid’s ultimate fate and personality is evidently disparate within the two versions.
To begin in Andersen's original story, a mermaid lives in an underwater kingdom with her widowed father, grandmother, and five older sisters, where she soon learns she must be fifteen to visit the upper world. Soon enough, the mermaid comes of age and saves a handsome prince from a storm, during …show more content…
She then goes on to discuss the differences in the afterlife between mermaids (they turn to sea-foam) and humans (they have an eternal soul in Heaven). Determined and in love, she vows to find the prince and goes on a quest to the sea witch where she is offered a powerful potion that transforms her tail into legs on the condition that she cuts out her tongue. Moreover, if the mermaid decides to drink the potion, her feet will feel as if she is walking on knives and she will not return to the sea. Furthermore, she must also win the love of the prince or risk dying of a broken heart and dissolve into sea-foam. With all this in mind, the mermaid drinks the potion and sets out to find the prince. Soon enough, the prince and the mermaid meet and they begin to spend significant time together, so much so that the prince’s parents suggests he marry the mermaid. However, he refuses and says he will only marry the woman who he
To begin in Andersen's original story, a mermaid lives in an underwater kingdom with her widowed father, grandmother, and five older sisters, where she soon learns she must be fifteen to visit the upper world. Soon enough, the mermaid comes of age and saves a handsome prince from a storm, during …show more content…
She then goes on to discuss the differences in the afterlife between mermaids (they turn to sea-foam) and humans (they have an eternal soul in Heaven). Determined and in love, she vows to find the prince and goes on a quest to the sea witch where she is offered a powerful potion that transforms her tail into legs on the condition that she cuts out her tongue. Moreover, if the mermaid decides to drink the potion, her feet will feel as if she is walking on knives and she will not return to the sea. Furthermore, she must also win the love of the prince or risk dying of a broken heart and dissolve into sea-foam. With all this in mind, the mermaid drinks the potion and sets out to find the prince. Soon enough, the prince and the mermaid meet and they begin to spend significant time together, so much so that the prince’s parents suggests he marry the mermaid. However, he refuses and says he will only marry the woman who he