The Little Mermaid Comparison Essay

The ‘The Little Mermaid’ by Hans Christian Andersen written in 1836 tells the tale of a young girl who longs to have an immortal soul by becoming a human and to do so must marry the prince, eventually, costing her life. This story was adapted by Disney in 1989. It contains many changes to make it a touch more ‘family friendly’ to say the least, however it seems to take away some of the more interesting twists. As Jack Zipes writes that “Whereas Andersen’s tale is disturbing and ambivalent about the meaning of happiness, the Disney films about the Little Mermaid are sentimental, romantic, and one dimensional”. On the whole this statement is correct, the original is a lot darker and some parts do not fit the classic fairy tale we have all been shown by Disney. Of course the Disney version follows a similar plot to the majority of other fairy tales changed by Disney in order to cater to their audience.

The original aim for The Little Mermaid in the book is to gain an immortal soul. As she finds out from her Grandmother that mermaids only live around 300

years and after this their soul disappears into the ocean. However humans have an immortal soul, even if they do live for a lot less. She is seemingly determined to obtain an immortal soul ‘I would gladly give all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being for only a day’. This contrasts to the film as her only real goal is love. This supports the statement by Zipes in that the movie is romantic but also in the fact that the book is ambivalent about the meaning of happiness. Although the two are intertwined, in order for her to gain her immortal soul she must fall in love. At the time this fairy tale was written love was not the most important thing in a marriage, people married for power and status which is possibly why Andersen starts with the idea of gaining an immortal soul.
The portrayal of the witch in these stories is very different; Ursula in the film actively goes out of her way to interfere with Ariel and her pursuit of the prince. Ursula tells Ariel how she can make the prince fall in love with her knowing full well that it is very unlikely to happen, ‘King Tritons headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my garden’ this garden being made of shrivelled mermaids and mermen that have previously failed to keep their contracts. The contract that Ariel makes with Ursula states that she will become hers, however in Andersen’s version The little Mermaid will turn to foam and not become immortal. In the original the witch is merely a facilitator for The Little Mermaid to gain her immortal soul, she does not actively go out of her way to hinder this task. Instead the Little Mermaid takes out the contract to turn her tail into legs of her own free will. In Andersen’s version she is the architect of her own downfall which may be disturbing for a fairytale but it brings in some morals that were relevant for the time, one notably that she is warned by her Grandmother that she will be happier in the sea.
The way in which the changing of the Little Mermaid’s tail to legs is described in the original and lack of description in the movie is interesting. The original seems to show the cost of this transformation, being extremely painful for the Little Mermaid to walk compared to ‘treading on the points of needles, or sharp knives’. In order to get what she wants it will be painful, this agrees with Zipes’ argument that the meaning of happiness is ambivalent. The Disney version does not show any transformation and it certainly does feel like she is treading on knives, this again backs up Zipes in that the film is one dimensional.
Andersen’s version has a very harsh ending for the Little Mermaid, not only does she not marry the prince but she also loses her life in order to save his.

This is rather disturbing as this does not give much of a happy ending like most fairytales generally do. It does however show some true love that is prevalent in the Disney version. The Little Mermaid has the option to kill the prince in order to save her own life and turn back into a mermaid but she is unable to. ‘She flung it (the knife) far away from her, into the waves’. The Disney version has a happy ending following the regular, one dimensional plot. Ursula transforms herself into a princess that the prince will marry but she is found out at a crucial moment. Ariel is rarely at fault throughout the film and the ending is no different the evil witch hypnotizes the prince, so she unlike the original cannot be blamed and is then saved eventually by the

prince.
Zipes statement holds much truth. He excellently sums up the story and its variation, especially regarding the Disney film as ‘one dimensional’. A lot can be learned from Andersen’s original especially at the time it was written. The grandmothers’ warning that she will be happier in the sea is ignored by the Little Mermaid and she pays for it in the end. The warning by the grandmother is common in some fairytales however it is ignored in this one, the Little Mermaid would have been happier in the sea but she longs an immortal soul. So is essence she would be content living in the sea but in the end her true happiness lies with the prince.