mfernando

The Disney version of The Little Mermaid has had a bad rep today, especially among feminists because she seemingly chooses to become human to meet Prince Eric and potentially be with him. But she was already curious about humans before meeting Eric and what actually made her want to change forms was her father’s punishment. If he was more accepting of her curiosity and provided her a space to explore, she may not have pursued becoming human.
So thank you – this helps remove the stigma around Ariel. You have indeed presented good philosophical breakdown and analysis of the Andersen’s version which sends a message that sacrifices, while they are emotionally and physically excruciating and can result in failure, does open doors to an unexpected but satisfying outcome. In retrospect, maybe Ariel was better off being a Daughter of the Air and more deserving of the role since was better than average to begin with.

100% agreed on every word you’ve written! Cool, cool, cool, no doubt, no doubt!
Nice work 😀

This is a good read, thank you!
I see a similar parallel with Brave New World, where hope fails with the protagonist’s actions at the end. Hope is just a stepping stone, however it needs to be combined with optimism and effort backed by a like-minded rebellion to defeat the system. It takes a lot of faith in humanity to achieve this.

You make a good point about people wanting to break barriers set for them without a valid explanation. Curiosity and freedom to explore literature should not be repressed by any means.
Thanks for a well written article 🙂