The Little Mermaid (Fairytale) Theme
Tagged under Fairy Tales.
In the original fairytale, the Mermaid falls in love with a prince whom she rescues during a storm. Obsessed with the
human world and the prince, the Little Mermaid enters a contract with the Sea Witch: in exchange for her beautiful
voice, she will gain legs and the ability to walk on land (even if each step causes her immense pain).
The prince is enchanted with the Mermaid but ultimately marries the princess of a neighboring kingdom, whom he
(mistakenly) thinks is the one who rescued him. On the night of the wedding, the Little Mermaid's sisters visit and
present her with a knife from the Sea Witch: if she kills the prince with it, she will regain her tail and be able to
return to her kingdom. Still in love with the prince, the Mermaid is ultimately unable to kill him, and jumps into the
sea as dawn breaks. There are two outcomes to this ending: in one of them, the Little Mermaid turns into sea foam and
disappears completely, while in the other she becomes a "daughter of the air" and is given the opportunity to eventually
gain an immortal soul by doing good deeds.
The Disney version differs from the fairytale in several
aspects, such as the presence of sidekicks (Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder), the clear evilness of Ursula (compared to
the neutrality of the Andersen Sea Witch), the Mermaid having a name (Ariel) and becoming Ursula's slave if she fails to
get the prince to fall in love with her. Most significantly, the Disney version has a definite "good triumphs over evil"
happy ending, while your mileage may vary on the happiness of the fairytale's ending.
Note: only use this
tag if the fairy tale is explicitly shown. Otherwise, use Mermaids.
Description: pandemonium91
