Macey Brotherton
Jeanne Hansen
ENG 210
11 February 2014
Young, Rebellious, and In Love “She cast on more lingering, half-fainting glance at the prince, then threw herself from the ship into the sea, and thought her body was dissolving into foam”. (Anderson) It were these words that The Little Mermaid thought she was going to vanish and die for not winning over the Prince after risking so much to win his love. What would you risk for someone you’ve never met? Maybe a few bucks, a kidney, or how about your voice and extreme pain every step you took? No, The Little Mermaid risked her entire mortal life. She gave the ultimate sacrifice in this story; however, Disney put things in simpler and more subtle terms. Ariel, Disney’s Little Mermaid and Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Mermaid share and differ in many qualities. Hans Christian Anderson’s Mermaid is the youngest of all five sisters. Her age is never distinguished but is portrayed as quite young. This symbolizes how young girls struggle during their transition from a girl into a woman, which is clearly going on in the story. She envies her sisters for all being older than her. Clearly when they tell her all of their stories about the world above, the eagerness sets in more and more. She is also rather discreet and reserved in the story. She is juvenile and longs for an immortal soul. Also, she seems depressed after rescuing the Prince from the ship. She grieves over her unfortunate body almost the whole story unlike Ariel. Hans’ Little Mermaid is portrayed as a self-sacrificing hero. As hero’s do, she risks her life. She chooses not to kill the prince to safe herself; instead she “dies” rather. Nonetheless, Disney’s Ariel doesn’t go to these extremes. Ariel is fifteen years old in the movie. Although portrayed young, Ariel is turned into a lively and curious young woman. She is more focused on being a human and in love than being a woman in the world. She’s just an average teen that falls in love and tries to go for her dreams. Ariel is vibrant, hence the red hair possibly, outgoing, and extremely adventurous. Her adventurous side is shown when they focus on her collection of “thing” from humans. Her focus is not toward her immortal soul but concerned with her self-discovery has a human and