The Little Mermaid
By Dr Amineh Hoti
The importance of ideas that shape us during childhood must not be overlooked in a serious discussion on culture and ideas. We live in a society that is largely dependent on and shaped by culture – especially popular culture. What children – the future citizens of nations – experience matters. Therefore, it is worth examining what children are exposed to, why and how.
Disney is a household name now – every parent and child will know characters of every cartoon figure from Ariel to Jasmine. There is no better place than Copenhagen, Denmark, to explore who the Little Mermaid, now called ‘Ariel’, is and how she was created. Ariel is a fictional character from a fairytale written by Hans Christian Anderson who lived in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark where I visited for research. It is a story of love and self-sacrifice.
The statue of the Little Mermaid, unveiled in 1913 in Copenhagen, is an iconic symbol and major tourist destination that depicts the main character of this fairy tale published a hundred and seventy-eight years ago. Our team of Journey into Europe stood before the bronze icon while Professor Akbar S Ahmed addressed the world on camera regarding Islam and Muslims in Denmark. He made a point to mention the cartoons of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) published here in 2005.
Disney was inspired by the story of the Little Mermaid, but animation director Ron Clements thought the ending of the original story was too tragic, and so he changed it to make Ariel the rebellious youngest mer-princess in line with a modern day feminist context. In Disney’s happy ending, Ariel marries Prince Eric. Disney’s paint lab produced the blue-green color of Ariel’s fin and this hue is named “Ariel” after the character. Even her hair was disputed – some argued for blonde, others for red, the latter eventually got the vote as it matched the fin’s color. Today, Ariel is a household name, yet it is also important to look into the original ending specifically to understand its meaning for humanity in today’s world which is full of moral and ethical challenges for us human beings.
Anderson’s original Little Mermaid is a mer-princess who lives in the depths of the sea with her grandmother and her five sisters, each born one year apart. Anderson intended the story to have fable-like qualities which gave a strong moral message to young people. The youngest sister is fascinated by the stories told by her older sisters about the world above water (as a mer-person is only allowed to visit the surface at the age of 15). Upon her turn, she sees a handsome Prince in a ship and falls in love at first sight. The Little Mermaid saves the Prince from drowning when a storm hits the ship and delivers him to shore near a temple, without the Prince knowing who his rescuer truly is. The Prince thinks that a young girl from the temple saved him.
With the Prince in mind, the Little Mermaid asks her grandmother if humans can live forever and if they can breathe under water. The grandmother warns that they have shorter lives than mer-people (300 years). The difference is that when mer-people die they become sea foam and do not exist any more. But human souls are eternal and live in Heaven. The attraction of an eternal soul and her deep love draws her to sacrifice her most precious gift – her beautiful voice – in exchange for human legs, even though her legs prick like knives and the potion the Sea Witch gives her feels like a sword.
Only true love’s kiss and marriage with the Prince can save her when his soul flows into hers. She meets the prince – the Little Mermaid’s beauty mesmerizes him but he is in love with the girl who he thinks saved him at the Temple and marries her. The Little Mermaid is heartbroken and in despair – she had given up everything for him who, as human nature is, does not focus on what is precious and right in front of him but chases after something else. Her sisters try to rescue her by giving the Little Mermaid a knife from the Sea Witch in exchange for their long hair to kill the Prince, which will free the Little Mermaid. Yet when she sees her love with his new bride, she cannot bring herself to take another life even though it pains her physically and mentally. She decides nobly that his happiness is her happiness. At dawn, she throws herself into the sea and her body dissolves into foam. She has made the ultimate sacrifice of her own life in order to save another. By this good deed, she earns a soul and rises up into the kingdom of God in Heaven.
Our team of Journey into Europe – Professor Akbar Ahmed, Zeenat Ahmed, Frankie Martin, Harrison Aikins, and myself – stood by the bronze statue of the Little Mermaid looking wistfully into the sea just off the land of Copenhagen. Her story is a strong message for men and women, young and old – of great bravery, courage, and profound love in very hard times. Stories can help us see the world in an empathetic way and make us strong with God’s own virtues of wisdom and compassion.
In the light of the heartbreaking Peshawar massacre a strong and clear message must be formed. Letting children have the freedom to use their imagination and to live both physically and mentally free is letting them live fully as God intended us to live. Letting the younger generation live fully, must also be inextricably interlinked with respect for young children. It is important to see them as individuals, and not simply as a part of ourselves/their parents as we culturally have the habit to do in South Asia. The values of this story will continue to guide humankind on dealing with others’ decisions with respect and humility. Now more than ever in our increasingly fractured world we need to spark off the imagination of young minds and encourage them respectfully towards higher ideas of humanity through creativity, open mindedness and learning.
(Dr Amineh Hoti is the only female academic in the project Journey into Europe. For more details, please see journeyintoeurope.com)
