In his children’s book The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen explores the human relationship with nature through the nature’s point of view, telling of fictional mermaids who live under the sea. These “other” beings long to be with humans, and desire things we have. However, humans and mermaids have a limited understanding of each others’ worlds, and their actions end up scaring each other away. Through this relationship, Andersen reminds us that we only have surface-level knowledge of the ocean, and the deeper parts remain inscrutable to us. As a result, The Little Mermaid teaches us to fear things we cannot understand.
Mermaids are commonly thought of as an embodiment of not just the feminine body, but of hybridity. They are a result of humans trying to integrate themselves with nature, allowing them to exist in and with the environment. However, the thought of mermaids existing with the human world is something we cannot fully grasp, since the blending of human and non-human traits is considered a violation of the laws of nature. Andersen demonstrates this through the mermaids’ attempted interaction with the humans during a storm. In his story, the mermaids “sang most sweetly of delights to be found beneath the water, begging the seafarers not to be afraid of coming down below. But the sailors could not understand what they said, and mistook their words for the howling of the tempest, and they never saw all the fine things below, for if the ship sank the men were drowned, and their bodies alone reached the sea-king’s palace.” (Penguin 112-113)
The sailors’ misinterpretation of the mermaids’ calls for “the howling of the tempest” illustrates how an irrational mind alters our perception of the world, including our perception of the other. When we panic, our brains prioritize survival over rational thought which incapacitates our ability to think clearly. The mermaids’ calls are drowned out by the “howling” of the storm, as though they were a part of the storm itself. The sailors are implied to be in a state of panic in fear of their ship sinking, and they are too focused on survival to hear the words of these other beings. The “howling” adds to the sailors’ fears because very strong winds can capsize a ship and lead to them drowning.
The imagery of the men drowning and “their bodies alone reach[ing] the sea-king’s palace” captures our incompatibility with the ocean. Humans have not evolved to breathe underwater unlike sea mammals, so we rely on machinery to know what happens in the deep ocean. However, the crushing pressure in deeper parts makes this infeasible, as if it is a boundary we cannot cross. The line, “their bodies alone reached the sea-king’s palace” also emphasizes how most human bodies, like shipwrecks, are never recovered in ocean-related deaths. The bodies of those who have died there are found on the ocean floor, which can be miles below the surface. As such, we are never able to see “all the fine things below” because we would not be alive to see it.
Moreover, the line “the sailors could not understand what they said” highlights the inscrutable nature of these mermaids and the world they live in. To understand something is to comprehend it. If we cannot comprehend it, our mind defaults back to fearing it. Andersen tells the readers that the ocean is home to many “delights” that are only found under the sea, but since we do not have the means to reliably explore the deep ocean, it is unknown if there are any “delights” to be found if at all. This makes us doubt the mermaids’ words, since we do not know if these so-called “delights” are good or bad. And since we cannot comprehend the unknown, we fear what we cannot understand.
Despite being a story for children, Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid features much darker elements compared to the stories we tell today, yet it sends powerful messages. For one, it teaches us that most decisions do not come without a cost. For two, it tells us that a soul is what makes us human. And lastly, it reminds us that the deep ocean remains unknown and uncharted, and that’s why humans fear it so much.