Hans Cristian Andersen's The Little Mermaid is definitely not for the faint of heart. With tongues being cut off, searing pain being felt due to walking, and a bloody murder plot, the story written in 1837 certainly differs a bit from Disney's timeless adaptation. While the two have the same general story line of a mermaid growing legs in the hopes of wooing a human prince, there are other key differences, aside from the aforementioned occasional grotesqueness in Anderson's story. For one, the Andersen Little Mermaid is quite passive, not talking a lot to her sisters or father while Ariel is the opposite. She's outspoken and dynamic. However, the true difference lies in the protagonist mermaid's end game. For Ariel, she's after love for the sake of love. Andersen's Little Mermaid, however, uses love as a means to gain immortality. I was actually quite surprised at how religious, even existential his story was.
While it was definitely a different perspective, I did enjoy Andersen's story a lot...except for the ending. I hate fru fru, overly cliche endings and Andersen, the great story writer, surprising used one in The Little Mermaid. The protagonist was so noble that she will eventually be granted immortality in heaven because of her kindness? Come on. It's a bit like having a movie end in someone waking up from a dream. No one likes it. Although, Andersen is a staple in fairy tales and it was written a while ago, so I'm inclined to give him a pass, but still...
Short, very stream of consciousness blog post but it's all I've got for now.
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