Hans Christian Andersen Little Mermaid Comparison
Living Life Under the Sea
Mermaids, witches, and parallel universes are a part of human creativity that’s told all over the world for various reasons. Most people today are familiar with the modern version of most fairy tales, and don’t know the dark origins behind these kid-friendly stories. The original versions have deeper, malevolent meanings behind them; while modern tales are more positive, and inspirational. This happens especially in Disney’s adaption of Hans Christian Andersen’s the Little Mermaid. Disney’s movie ends with Ariel’s dreams coming true and living happily ever after. Well, that’s not exactly the way the story was written.
Hans Christian Andersen wrote the Little Mermaid in 1837. This is around the time that Europe was going through some significant changes. Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was coming to light, Napoleon Bonaparte was ruling, and women’s role in society wasn’t veryu evolved (Teacher Web par. 1) All of these events going on affected Andersen’s writing in some way, his alternate universe could have …show more content…
come to life because of Darwin’s theory. (Hile 14). Andersen’s lifestyle was also a huge factor when it came to his writing. He hadn’t originally planned on writing fairy tales; his stories were directed more towards an older audience (Biography par. 5). This could be why his fairy tales tend to have darker origins and adult themes. The point is that his writing was affected in some way by outer aspects of his lifetime.
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is the heartbreaking tale of a young mermaid looking for her happiness. Mermaids live for 300 years, but their souls don’t live on, unlike human souls. This made the Little Mermaid curious; she wanted to live her life above the sea and be with the prince. She wanted it so badly that she sacrificed everything she had for the opportunity to do so. She learned the only way to gain an immortal soul was to win a human’s love, so she made a deal with the sea witch and traded her melodious voice for a pair of legs. The catch was that she would die if she didn’t succeed in winning the prince’s love. She suffered every day to gain the prince’s love. Unfortunately for her, the prince only sees her in a sisterly way, so she isn’t able to obtain his love. Her family did try to interfere with her punishment by giving her the chance to kill the prince in exchange for her life. The Little Mermaid refused and tossed herself into the ocean. She was given the chance to win an immortal soul by serving a sentence as a Daughter of Air. Despite its bittersweet ending, the Little Mermaid has important life lessons to teach society. This story teaches the significance of taking risks, and going after the best parts of life, “I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day...” (Andersen par.) The Little Mermaid isn’t daring or bold, she’s quiet and curious.
Her plan to become human wasn’t a rash decision; for her it was years of planning. She sacrificed everything; her family, her long life, her voice, she gave it all up for a chance to have what she believed was true happiness. She experienced unbelievable agony while with the prince, “every step you take will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives” (Andersen par. 25). She withstood that pain to the end, choosing to save the prince’s happiness over her own without regret. As a result, she’s given the chance to acquire an immortal soul. The Little Mermaid’s heart-rending tale goes to show that true happiness is worth the risks and
suffering. On the other hand, the modern version was a result of several changes going on at the time of its adaption. Two major events were feminist movements and new writers. Walt Disney had passed away a few years back, and different writers had to step up. (Duca par.1) New writers means fresh and creative ideas, which is how the renovation of the Little Mermaid came to be. Feminism was on the rise and it definitely affected Disney’s writers because Ariel’s character was not the typical quiet princess seen in previous movies. She’s adventurous, and independent; she goes after what she wants with a vivacity that inspires many girls to this day. (Cruz par. 4). Disney’s adaption was impacted by many changes going on at that time and it’s clearly shown in the modern movie. Ariel is a rambunctious teen mermaid who falls in love with Eric, a human prince. Ariel admires humans and wishes to leave her life under the sea to become a part of the human world. Her father, King Triton, doesn’t approve of Ariel’s wishing and does his best to squash her dreams. Consequently, Ariel ends up going to the evil witch, Ursula, and making a deal with her. She trades in her beautiful voice for legs and goes out to the human world with the help of her two friends, Flounder and Sebastian. Ariel meets the prince and even though she isn’t able to speak the prince slowly falls in love with her. Ursula ruins their romance by casting a spell on Eric to make him believe he loves another woman, which just so happens to be Ursula in disguise. King Triton steps in before Ariel dies and relinquishes his powers to Ursula. Ursula attempts to take over the sea and the human world but is defeated by Eric. The King then gets his powers back and uses them to turn Ariel into a human so her and Eric could live happily ever after. Ariel’s happy ending veers away from Andersen’s original story, but stays true to Disney’s inspirational motto. Disney tends to lean towards inspirational themes as their stories are told. The Little Mermaid encourages its audience to dream big and take risks. Ariel knows about her father’s disapproval, but she still chooses to do her own thing. Yes, while her decision had its repercussions, Ariel’s dream did come true, “Now we can walk, now we can run, now we can stay all day in the sun.” (The Little Mermaid). She didn’t settle for keeping her life the way it is now, she fought for a change. She uses her voice, while she has it, to speak out and even when she lost it she kept fighting. Her tale inspires young girls to dream big and go after their happiness, which in some ways akin to the traditional story. There are quite a lot of differences and similarities between Hans Christian Andersen’s original and Disney’s modern version. In both stories the Little Mermaid loses her voice, makes a deal with the witch, falls in love with the prince, and is cursed to die if the prince doesn’t fall in love with her. Disney did change many characteristics of the traditional tale, one of the biggest modifications was the ending. The movie ended with Ariel and Eric living happily ever after. In reality the Little Mermaid refused to kill the prince and committed suicide by tossing herself into the ocean. Another difference is the part the sea witch plays. Disney describes Ursula as a villain who’s trying to thwart Ariel’s plans. Andersen wrote her as an enabler, who was merely making a deal. The Little Mermaid was responsible for her own actions. Another major difference was the Little Mermaid’s personality, she was shy and passive in Andersen’s tale, but in the movie she was outgoing and high-spirited. She also had friends to help her win her happy ending, in the original she had no one but her family who were surprisingly supportive of her dreams. Some of the main reasons for change were because events going on during the time it was being scripted into a movie. The feminist movements caused for a change in the Little Mermaid’s character (Imbornoni). The story also had to be revised to make it kid friendly. Some of the darker parts of the story like the Little Mermaid’s tongue getting cut off had to be rewritten to make it more appealing to their target audience. Overall, while both stories have some major differences and similarities they both educate their audience in their own way. Hans Christian Andersen’s the Little Mermaid teaches an important lesson about risks and self-sacrifice. Disney’s renovation of this story continues to teach an important lesson about dreaming big. Their origins greatly affected the story and create some of the differences seen in the movie. They are both great stories with deep meaning that affect the world in their own ways. They encourage young girls to take risks, to not stay in the shadows, to dream big and work to make their dreams a reality.
Works Cited
Andersen , Hans Christian. “The Little Mermaid.” Hans Christian Andersen: The Little Mermaid, HCA.Gilead, hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.
Cruz, Lenika. “The Feminist Legacy of The Little Mermaid's Divisive, 'Sexy' Ariel.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 Nov. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-little-mermaid-at-25-and-the-evolving-definition-of-strong-female/382581/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2017.
Duca, Lauren. “How Disney's 'Little Mermaid' Turned A Disturbing Fairy Tale Into A Children's Movie.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Nov. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/the-little-mermaid-fairy-tale_n_6096200.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.
“Hans Christian Andersen.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/people/hans-christian-andersen-9184146. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Hile, Lori Elizabeth. “Mermaids.” Google Books, Capstone Young Readers, books.google.com/books?id=U_16BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26&lpg=PT26&dq=Darwin%27s%2Btheory%2Bof%2Bevolution%2Bthe%2Blittle%2Bmermaid&source=bl&ots=iE-42e5cNV&sig=NXUysVFF2n_VK6kciv0MYbu6CIU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio8L7g36zTAhWIxFQKHXh0A4kQ6AEINDAD#v=onepage&q=Darwin's%20theory%20of%20evolution%20the%20little%20mermaid&f=false. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. “Women's Rights Movement.” Infoplease, Infoplease, www.infoplease.com/spot/womens-rights-movement-us-1. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Kraus. "Teacher Web." Teacherweb.com. N.p., Apr.-May 2014. Web.
“U.S. Timeline.” U.S. Timeline, The 1910's - America's Best History, Americas Best History, americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1910.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
“Moral of the Story.” Moral of the Story - "Little Mermaid" - Both Versi - Www.ezboard.com, SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages, 2005, www.surlalunefairytales.com/boardarchives/2005/nov2005/morallittlemermaid1.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
“The Little Mermaid (Literature).” TV Tropes, TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheLittleMermaid. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Wright, Doug. “The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb).” Little Mermaid, The Script at IMSDb., Disney, nldslab.soe.ucsc.edu/charactercreator/film_corpus/film_2012xxxx/imsdb.com/Little-Mermaid,-The.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.
Mermaids, witches, and parallel universes are a part of human creativity that’s told all over the world for various reasons. Most people today are familiar with the modern version of most fairy tales, and don’t know the dark origins behind these kid-friendly stories. The original versions have deeper, malevolent meanings behind them; while modern tales are more positive, and inspirational. This happens especially in Disney’s adaption of Hans Christian Andersen’s the Little Mermaid. Disney’s movie ends with Ariel’s dreams coming true and living happily ever after. Well, that’s not exactly the way the story was written.
Hans Christian Andersen wrote the Little Mermaid in 1837. This is around the time that Europe was going through some significant changes. Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was coming to light, Napoleon Bonaparte was ruling, and women’s role in society wasn’t veryu evolved (Teacher Web par. 1) All of these events going on affected Andersen’s writing in some way, his alternate universe could have …show more content…
come to life because of Darwin’s theory. (Hile 14). Andersen’s lifestyle was also a huge factor when it came to his writing. He hadn’t originally planned on writing fairy tales; his stories were directed more towards an older audience (Biography par. 5). This could be why his fairy tales tend to have darker origins and adult themes. The point is that his writing was affected in some way by outer aspects of his lifetime.
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is the heartbreaking tale of a young mermaid looking for her happiness. Mermaids live for 300 years, but their souls don’t live on, unlike human souls. This made the Little Mermaid curious; she wanted to live her life above the sea and be with the prince. She wanted it so badly that she sacrificed everything she had for the opportunity to do so. She learned the only way to gain an immortal soul was to win a human’s love, so she made a deal with the sea witch and traded her melodious voice for a pair of legs. The catch was that she would die if she didn’t succeed in winning the prince’s love. She suffered every day to gain the prince’s love. Unfortunately for her, the prince only sees her in a sisterly way, so she isn’t able to obtain his love. Her family did try to interfere with her punishment by giving her the chance to kill the prince in exchange for her life. The Little Mermaid refused and tossed herself into the ocean. She was given the chance to win an immortal soul by serving a sentence as a Daughter of Air. Despite its bittersweet ending, the Little Mermaid has important life lessons to teach society. This story teaches the significance of taking risks, and going after the best parts of life, “I would give gladly all the hundreds of years that I have to live, to be a human being only for one day...” (Andersen par.) The Little Mermaid isn’t daring or bold, she’s quiet and curious.
Her plan to become human wasn’t a rash decision; for her it was years of planning. She sacrificed everything; her family, her long life, her voice, she gave it all up for a chance to have what she believed was true happiness. She experienced unbelievable agony while with the prince, “every step you take will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives” (Andersen par. 25). She withstood that pain to the end, choosing to save the prince’s happiness over her own without regret. As a result, she’s given the chance to acquire an immortal soul. The Little Mermaid’s heart-rending tale goes to show that true happiness is worth the risks and
suffering. On the other hand, the modern version was a result of several changes going on at the time of its adaption. Two major events were feminist movements and new writers. Walt Disney had passed away a few years back, and different writers had to step up. (Duca par.1) New writers means fresh and creative ideas, which is how the renovation of the Little Mermaid came to be. Feminism was on the rise and it definitely affected Disney’s writers because Ariel’s character was not the typical quiet princess seen in previous movies. She’s adventurous, and independent; she goes after what she wants with a vivacity that inspires many girls to this day. (Cruz par. 4). Disney’s adaption was impacted by many changes going on at that time and it’s clearly shown in the modern movie. Ariel is a rambunctious teen mermaid who falls in love with Eric, a human prince. Ariel admires humans and wishes to leave her life under the sea to become a part of the human world. Her father, King Triton, doesn’t approve of Ariel’s wishing and does his best to squash her dreams. Consequently, Ariel ends up going to the evil witch, Ursula, and making a deal with her. She trades in her beautiful voice for legs and goes out to the human world with the help of her two friends, Flounder and Sebastian. Ariel meets the prince and even though she isn’t able to speak the prince slowly falls in love with her. Ursula ruins their romance by casting a spell on Eric to make him believe he loves another woman, which just so happens to be Ursula in disguise. King Triton steps in before Ariel dies and relinquishes his powers to Ursula. Ursula attempts to take over the sea and the human world but is defeated by Eric. The King then gets his powers back and uses them to turn Ariel into a human so her and Eric could live happily ever after. Ariel’s happy ending veers away from Andersen’s original story, but stays true to Disney’s inspirational motto. Disney tends to lean towards inspirational themes as their stories are told. The Little Mermaid encourages its audience to dream big and take risks. Ariel knows about her father’s disapproval, but she still chooses to do her own thing. Yes, while her decision had its repercussions, Ariel’s dream did come true, “Now we can walk, now we can run, now we can stay all day in the sun.” (The Little Mermaid). She didn’t settle for keeping her life the way it is now, she fought for a change. She uses her voice, while she has it, to speak out and even when she lost it she kept fighting. Her tale inspires young girls to dream big and go after their happiness, which in some ways akin to the traditional story. There are quite a lot of differences and similarities between Hans Christian Andersen’s original and Disney’s modern version. In both stories the Little Mermaid loses her voice, makes a deal with the witch, falls in love with the prince, and is cursed to die if the prince doesn’t fall in love with her. Disney did change many characteristics of the traditional tale, one of the biggest modifications was the ending. The movie ended with Ariel and Eric living happily ever after. In reality the Little Mermaid refused to kill the prince and committed suicide by tossing herself into the ocean. Another difference is the part the sea witch plays. Disney describes Ursula as a villain who’s trying to thwart Ariel’s plans. Andersen wrote her as an enabler, who was merely making a deal. The Little Mermaid was responsible for her own actions. Another major difference was the Little Mermaid’s personality, she was shy and passive in Andersen’s tale, but in the movie she was outgoing and high-spirited. She also had friends to help her win her happy ending, in the original she had no one but her family who were surprisingly supportive of her dreams. Some of the main reasons for change were because events going on during the time it was being scripted into a movie. The feminist movements caused for a change in the Little Mermaid’s character (Imbornoni). The story also had to be revised to make it kid friendly. Some of the darker parts of the story like the Little Mermaid’s tongue getting cut off had to be rewritten to make it more appealing to their target audience. Overall, while both stories have some major differences and similarities they both educate their audience in their own way. Hans Christian Andersen’s the Little Mermaid teaches an important lesson about risks and self-sacrifice. Disney’s renovation of this story continues to teach an important lesson about dreaming big. Their origins greatly affected the story and create some of the differences seen in the movie. They are both great stories with deep meaning that affect the world in their own ways. They encourage young girls to take risks, to not stay in the shadows, to dream big and work to make their dreams a reality.
Works Cited
Andersen , Hans Christian. “The Little Mermaid.” Hans Christian Andersen: The Little Mermaid, HCA.Gilead, hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.
Cruz, Lenika. “The Feminist Legacy of The Little Mermaid's Divisive, 'Sexy' Ariel.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 Nov. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-little-mermaid-at-25-and-the-evolving-definition-of-strong-female/382581/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2017.
Duca, Lauren. “How Disney's 'Little Mermaid' Turned A Disturbing Fairy Tale Into A Children's Movie.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Nov. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/the-little-mermaid-fairy-tale_n_6096200.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.
“Hans Christian Andersen.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/people/hans-christian-andersen-9184146. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Hile, Lori Elizabeth. “Mermaids.” Google Books, Capstone Young Readers, books.google.com/books?id=U_16BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26&lpg=PT26&dq=Darwin%27s%2Btheory%2Bof%2Bevolution%2Bthe%2Blittle%2Bmermaid&source=bl&ots=iE-42e5cNV&sig=NXUysVFF2n_VK6kciv0MYbu6CIU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio8L7g36zTAhWIxFQKHXh0A4kQ6AEINDAD#v=onepage&q=Darwin's%20theory%20of%20evolution%20the%20little%20mermaid&f=false. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. “Women's Rights Movement.” Infoplease, Infoplease, www.infoplease.com/spot/womens-rights-movement-us-1. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Kraus. "Teacher Web." Teacherweb.com. N.p., Apr.-May 2014. Web.
“U.S. Timeline.” U.S. Timeline, The 1910's - America's Best History, Americas Best History, americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1910.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
“Moral of the Story.” Moral of the Story - "Little Mermaid" - Both Versi - Www.ezboard.com, SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages, 2005, www.surlalunefairytales.com/boardarchives/2005/nov2005/morallittlemermaid1.html. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
“The Little Mermaid (Literature).” TV Tropes, TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheLittleMermaid. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017.
Wright, Doug. “The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb).” Little Mermaid, The Script at IMSDb., Disney, nldslab.soe.ucsc.edu/charactercreator/film_corpus/film_2012xxxx/imsdb.com/Little-Mermaid,-The.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.