The Ideal Woman In Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid

From a new historicist perspective, every text exhibits the cultures and values of its historical context. It reflects the attitudes and beliefs of their time, providing a critical insight of society’s structure. The success of an appropriation is seen through its capability to transcend the original values of a text, recreating them for a modern day audience. The original texts of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ and Bernard Shaw’s ‘Pygmalion’ expose the societal beliefs of the ‘ideal woman’ and the necessity to conform one’s self to meet these expectations. The protagonist in ‘The Little Mermaid’ finds the importance of changing herself to meet the expectations of the prince whereas ‘Eliza’ from ‘Pygmalion’ takes lessons from a nobleman in hope to change her status in society. These iconic texts help a contemporary reader to recognise the standards regarding the ‘ideal woman’ and its impact on the social hierarchy. Ari Sandel’s ‘The Duff’ and Walt Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ have utilised the original text’s use of plot and characterisation to form these new texts to interrogate
The film, ‘The Duff’ reflects the stereotypical social groups within a high school that essentially defines a person’s status and personality. The protagonist, ‘Bianca’ discovers that she is the considered ‘duff’ in her group, an acronym meaning ‘designated ugly, fat, friend.’ Upon this discovery, Bianca, like Eliza in Pygmalion, asks for help from her neighbour, Wesley, to transform her into someone that is considered “date worthy.” Her refusal to accept the role as ‘The Duff’ ultimately causes disruption and chaos within the school cliques. Sandel redefines the image of what is considered the ‘ideal woman’ amongst teenagers, by showcasing Bianca’s sense of uniqueness, humour and