Examples Of Sacrifice In The Little Mermaids

Chunyan Su
English 254
Dr. Randi Smith
April 20, 2011
The Little Mermaid’s Self-sacrifice and Growth
In fairytales, female characters are usually associated with self-sacrifice. For example, in the “Beauty and the Beast”, Beauty chooses to stay with the beast to save her father; in the “Goblin Market”, Laura trades her hair, which represents virginity, for the goblin’s fruits; in The Crucible, Elizabeth almost loses her life in saving her husband’s name by lying in the court (Miller 253).The female characters’ choices to devote themselves to love and goals reflect their beliefs and desires. However, their sacrifice and sufferings contribute to their self-development and growth. We also see this in Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little
Her beauty does not give her any power either. To the prince, the little mermaid is just a naïve and beautiful child. He likes the little mermaid because of her innocence and stunning beauty so wants to keep her around. In “Two Tales from Cruel Fairy Tales for Adults,” Kurahashi Yumiko states, “but the idea of actually marrying her had never entered his head; equally, he had no intention of removing her from the palace even when the time came to take a wife” (171). In fairytales, males’ love is usually more rational than females’. A man’s ideal mate needs to have some functionality. In “The Little Mermaid,” the prince speaks of“The youngest, who found me on the beach and saved my life, she was the only one I could ever love in this world” (Anderson 229). In this case, the prince identifies his marital mate is the girl who saves his life. Female characters, by contrast, tend to devote themselves wholeheartedly to love by sense and feelings. About this point, the little mermaid’s grandmother has already warned her upfront about how impossible it is to get an immortal soul from humans. But the little mermaid is so obsessed with her goal that she ignores her grandma’s advice. The little mermaid lacks a sense of human’s society and has a typical Anderson feminine identity: she is a naive and dedicated little girl, powerless but determined. Her lack of knowledge of
The mermaid, as the naïve child she is,is curious and powerless, and lacks experience of an unknown human world. Through her adventure in pursuing love, she pays a dear price: leaving home and enduring physical pain. Finally she obtains the chance to try for an immortal soul, which represents her capability to love selflessly and devotionally, signifying her maturity and courage. In the Anderson fairytale, powerless and naïveas the female charactersis, she is self-determined and has the courage to do everything for her loversand to reach her goals. Her beliefs and endeavors to pursue love and goals facilitate her growth and development. In the little mermaid’s adventure pursuing love, she becomes independent, courageous and