Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Item

The Little Mermaid: The Transformation that Comes with Time

Nolfi, Alice Catherine
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
This thesis is the result of the question, “What did ‘The Little Mermaid’ say about gender roles when it was first published, and what do two of its future adaptations add to that discussion?” It was born out of a curiosity on how fairy tales change with time, altered by the values and taboos of the societies that created them. In order to answer this question, I have selected three versions of ‘The Little Mermaid’ to discuss: the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the Disney cartoon, and the Northern Ballet production. First, each version was summarized. Then, in order to better understand the social and cultural context of each version, I researched the countries and time periods that these versions found themselves in. Then, I discussed gender roles in each setting. Finally, I related the topic of gender roles in each time setting to its respective version, thus concluding how the view on women’s roles has changed over the course of two centuries. The general conclusions are that stories and societies are very tightly linked, constantly influencing and reflecting each other. By extension, ‘The Little Mermaid’ has changed numerous times since its initial publication. Its more spiritual elements were removed and its more graphic details were diluted, but its core premise has remained the same. Despite obvious differences separating these three versions, they all depict what the time period considered to be strong female qualities. The first portrayed the protagonist as a strong-willed creature who seeks spiritual ascent and achieves it through love and sacrifice. The second casts the mermaid into a hopeless romantic who sacrifices everything for the man she loves, and is rewarded with his love. The third stars a fusion of its predecessors, with a heroine who falls in love with a prince and endures constant, unyielding pain in order to be with him, and it is this love that gives her the strength to kill the sea god and ascend to the heavens, encapsulating both physical and emotional fortitude.
Description
Thesis (B.A. in English Literature, Minor in Creative Writing)--John Cabot University, Spring 2019.
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Ariel (Mermaid), Mermaids, Man-woman relationships, Little mermaid (Motion picture : 1989), Hans Christian Andersen, 1805-1875, Ballets
Citation
Nolfi, Alice Catherine. "The Little Mermaid: The Transformation that Comes with Time". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2019.
DOI
URL
Embedded videos