Gnostic Semblances in Disney’s the Little Mermaid
Gnostic Semblances in Disney’s The Little Mermaid At first glance, the suggestion that Disney’s The Little Mermaid portrays Gnostic themes and characters could seem comical. It is a movie from the early 90’s about a rebellious, love-struck mermaid that gets a happy ending. However, my first step towards seeing otherwise was recognizing the similarities between Ariel, the mermaid, and Sophia from the Apocryphon of John. Then I recognized a similar world structure: one above and one below but perhaps not exactly as the Apocryphon suggests. Then, there is the never-ending battle between good and evil, their representatives and their interactions. One other character from the Apocryphon seems to appear in the film as the human with which Ariel falls in love, Prince Eric. These parallels come together in the following essay to highlight the Gnostic qualities present in this film, however, these parallels do not go any deeper to represent the themes in Gnosticism we may consider ‘symptoms’ of the ‘Gnostic syndrome.’
Ariel has characteristics that make her similar to Sophia from the Apocryphon of John. Where Sophia was the last aeon created by the invisible spirit, Ariel maintains a similar position in her story by being the youngest daughter of king Triton (BJn p. 8, Layton 34). Throughout their stories, we see that both characters show a desire for an impossibility. Ariel wishes for a pair of legs that will enable her to live among humans while Sophia yearns to create (BJn p. 9, Layton 35). These two desires seem unrelated; however, they give both characters equally negative consequences once acquired. For both, it meant losing an ability to the villain. For both of these characters, that lost ability was related to light. As collateral for the legs the sea witch gave her, Ariel gave up her voice. As it was extracted from her, the film depicts it as a small ball of golden light. In the case of Sophia, it was her creation, Ialtabaoth that took her power. The text
Ariel has characteristics that make her similar to Sophia from the Apocryphon of John. Where Sophia was the last aeon created by the invisible spirit, Ariel maintains a similar position in her story by being the youngest daughter of king Triton (BJn p. 8, Layton 34). Throughout their stories, we see that both characters show a desire for an impossibility. Ariel wishes for a pair of legs that will enable her to live among humans while Sophia yearns to create (BJn p. 9, Layton 35). These two desires seem unrelated; however, they give both characters equally negative consequences once acquired. For both, it meant losing an ability to the villain. For both of these characters, that lost ability was related to light. As collateral for the legs the sea witch gave her, Ariel gave up her voice. As it was extracted from her, the film depicts it as a small ball of golden light. In the case of Sophia, it was her creation, Ialtabaoth that took her power. The text
Bibliography: Layton, Bentley. "The Apocryphon of John." The Gnostic Scriptures. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987. 28-51. Print.