[LIFE OF A MERMAID AND THE DEFINITION OF LOVE]

‘The Little Mermaid’ is a beloved fairy tale that has accompanied us ever since girlhood to womanhood. In every stage of life, we will have different feelings and perspectives regarding the core values of this 20 centuries old story. There are many variations and different cinematic productions of the ‘Little Mermaid.’ At times, we are told that the little mermaid is an infatuated girl, willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of love and a life by the prince’s side. On other occasions, we are grief-stricken for the poor little mermaid’s fate, who had sacrificed her all yet was still met with death. By going back to the original work of Andersen, we see that his tale is much more than just a mere ‘kids’ fairy tale,’ as there are intrinsic values hidden in between the pages.

The Little Mermaid, with skin as smooth and fair as rose petals and eyes as deep blue as the sea, had to wait fifteen years to rise to the ocean’s surface. Born the daughter of the Sea King, surrounded by the boundless love of her grandmother and sisters, she spent those fifteen years sheltered and cherished—gifted with the most beautiful voice in the world, a gentle, enchanting song that flowed like a miracle bestowed by God. A mermaid so beautiful, courageous, compassionate, and capable of such a profound love—yet in order to pursue that love, she drank the Sea Witch’s potion, a draught that would make her feel as though a sword were piercing her body. Every step she took would be like walking on sharp blades, her feet bleeding with pain. She sacrificed her tender voice—every note and lyric she once sang—to gain a pair of legs, to endure each agonizing step on land, as if pierced by thousands of needles, turning her into a crimson hibiscus—vivid yet without fragrance. At first, it seemed this would become a beautiful love story: “holding her tightly,” “kissing her forehead,” “kissing her red lips,” “pressing her head to his chest.” Yet the prince still claimed the right to cast aside the pitiful girl he had drawn close, choosing instead to love and marry a neighboring princess—simply because he believed she was the one who had saved him on the shore, without doubt or inquiry. The Little Mermaid had given up everything to be by his side, only to receive a shattered heart—the heartbreak of first love, laden with hidden hopes and quiet devotion. What she sacrificed was likely beyond anything he could ever imagine. From a noble mermaid—the Sea King’s daughter, complete in beauty and talent—she dissolved in an instant into sea foam, fading into nothingness. She relinquished her final chance at life, a chance her sisters had bought by sacrificing their long hair; she gave up the three hundred years of happiness she might have lived beneath the sea. She could no longer live as long as a mermaid, nor would she ever possess the immortal soul of a human. And so, we are left with a question: Is it truly wrong for women to take the initiative—to live fully, and to pursue love?
To this day, we realize ‘The Little Mermaid’ is simply not just a story about a young maiden, blinded by love and eventually met a tragic end. We realize it actually reflects the essence of feminism, the human yearning for happiness and a fulfilling life. The little mermaid was not simply chasing the prince’s love, but was also looking for a life worth living for (to live a rewarding life with no regrets, and to anchor the soul in the haven of rest). Perhaps, the little mermaid was discontented with her life under the sea, with the idea of leading such a long passionless life only to die. Therefore, she had sacrificed and fought for a life worth living, for a taste of love, notwithstanding the slim chances. We can ask ourselves: ‘ Why can’t women take charge of their own liking? Why should we hold out for men to make the first move?’ And perhaps, our little mermaid is like that. For a chance to live a human life, to travel to a place where only the immortal souls lie. Thus, this fairy tale may not have been the tragic love story as perceived- about a little mermaid so obscured by love that exchanged everything for the sake of love, yet still died as the salt sea foam. Rather it is advocating for women to live by their heart’s desire, to love passionately and to live fulfillingly. 

The love here is the desire for a content life with no regrets, filled with various emotions, a life where she trades passion and love just to end up as nothingness. The chance to get what we wish for is not always present right in front of us; therefore, seeing the opportunities and seizing it ourselves is what makes our lives more meaningful and complete. Our little mermaid was torn between two difficult choices but she never once backed down because of fear. It was not that she could not feel scared or be hurt, and definitely, it was not that she did not treasure all the starry nights with her sisters holding hands and singing on the sea. Rather, it was because her love for the prince and her yearning for love are the strongest feeling of all. She chose to sacrifice all the wonderful things to have a new life. Maybe everything did not go the way she intended, and her heart shattered into pieces after knowing her love chose a stranger over her. With a knife in her hands, watching the man she loved be with another woman, she, painfully, gave up. No rage, no grudge. She pushed all of her greed and jealousy aside to get to another world. In the end, she, with her wholehearted love, became bubbles. “After taking one final glimpse of the prince, she threw herself into the sea, and gradually blended in with the bubbles.” She became one with the sea who did everything for her life with courage and kindness. Although she did not receive anything from the prince, that did not become the reason for her to harbor a grudge, she still died for love, that was what a woman with altruism and precious love would do. That is the love of a noble person. Normal people maybe cannot see it, but it was acknowledged by the Gods and they fulfilled her wish.

“Every little girl once dreamed of becoming a princess.” But we hope that before waiting for the prince to come and hold you, please be the one to embrace yourself first. We hope every one of us women can become the princess in our very own stories, with no need to depend on anyone. 

Authors: Nguyen Thuy Nga, Dao Thi Minh Hong