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Fantasy. it could have been gusseted-up with more modern Science-fiction overtones- but it wasn"t. There were overtones of Sci-Fi in the Andersen tale. It was understood Mermaids have a natural life span of 300 years then they dissolve into the water - this explains a lack of Mermaid fossils or body parts being found by seamen, etc. a neat touch, like aliens that evaporate or worse on contact.. and the plot device discourages inter-species understanding...

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14y ago

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