While reading The Little Mermaid, I focused on how the mermaid’s life changes throughout the story. She falls in love with a human prince at first sight and gives up her voice to the sea witch in exchange for a potion that allows her to obtain human legs. I believe this story is not just a tragic love tale but a description of how the mermaid, as a part of nature, goes through a painful process to enter human civilization. Among all the elements in the story, the potion plays the most important role in this transformation.

At the beginning of the story, Andersen describes the sea where the mermaid lives as “Far out at sea, the water is blue as the prettiest cornflowers, and as clear as the purest crystal.” Through this line, the author portrays the sea as a pure and peaceful place, an environment untouched by human desire. However, the mermaid does not remain in that serene world. Instead, she tries to reach the human world. When she visits the sea witch to obtain the potion, the witch warns her, “Your tail will then disappear, and shrivel up into what human beings call neat legs. But mind, it will hurt you as much as if a sharp sword were thrust through you.” This scene reminded me of the traditional image of ancient mermaids who were often drawn with two split tails. In old depictions, such mermaids held their tails apart, showing both temptation and natural vitality. Yet in Andersen’s story, the splitting of the mermaid’s tail shows the painful moment when a natural being is separated from nature and absorbed into human civilization. In this way, the story highlights the growing distance and tension between humans and the natural world. In the end, the mermaid sacrifices herself to save the prince. This final act shows that nature ultimately yields to humanity and that their relationship is far from equal or balanced.

In conclusion, The Little Mermaid can be read as more than a love story between the mermaid and the prince. It shows a relationship between humanity and nature that is maintained through the sacrifice of one side. The story criticizes the human desire to dominate nature and reveals how that ambition destroys nature’s purity and harmony.