The figure of a mermaid who strives to gain an immortal soul was made famous by Hans Christian Andersen in his ‘Den lille Havfrue’ (‘The Little Mermaid’, 1837). The tale is based on the Christian‐inspired folk belief that supernatural beings are not endowed with a soul but will vanish into nothingness when they die. Although sea creatures in folklore tend to be depicted as demonic and seductive, this mermaid reflects romanticism's longing for transcendence. She sacrifices an alluring voice to become human so that she can make a prince fall in love with her, for only then can she gain an immortal soul. She fails in her quest, but when given the chance of returning to her former element—by killing the prince—she refuses. Feeling a love for the prince that he cannot feel for her and acting accordingly, she passes a test and is rewarded by the divine being with the promise of an immortal soul. The story glorifies suffering and self‐denial, and its ending may seem sentimental, but the tale has proved to be tremendously popular. When adapted to other media—such as in the Disney production of 1989, which turned the plot into a close approximation of a magic tale—its philosophical overtones tend to be lost.

Bibliography

• Johansen, Jørgen Dines, ‘The Merciless Tragedy of Desire’, Scandinavian Studies, 68 (1996).
• Zipes, Jack, Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion (1983).

— Niels Ingwersen