Category Archives: Week 2: History via Mermaids_Vaughn Scribner

What Distinguishes Merpeople from Humans?

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The question about what distinguishes us as humans has puzzled many scholars throughout the history of mankind. When talking about the history of merpeople, the question of what is a human and what is an animal is often worried about. In addition, mermaids and mermen are hybrids that stand between animal and human. More than even hybrid mermaids, they stand between what is normal compared to what is monstrous. This idea of human is an important matter in what we classify hybrid studies and in monster theory- human, they reveal how we define ourselves by facing the new.

The idea of what it is to be human is a question that has also been discussed throughout the ages. In the Introduction chapter of Merpeople: A Human History, author Vaughn Scribner references a historian Erica Fudge who says the following: “Reading about animals is always reading through humans … paradoxically, humans need animals in order to be human.” Scribner writes about another historian, Harriet Ritvo, who made a statement about how when establishing the definition of humanity, the individuals who make the determination matter more than the subject, based on who or what carries out the assessment. When we view the perspective of those who inhabit the combination of having human-like and inherent sea and water qualities, we are better able to understand that the myths, stories, and divisions that have been built around this group to represent deeper human concerns and issues.

Monstrous entities within Western culture such as merpeople have challenged the way human-animal boundary is perceived. While merpeople are partly human, do they contain all the essential qualities that make humans who they are? These include, reason, dignity, and even spirituality. Or, were their animal traits socially lower on the “natural order,” and due to this their human superiority is reinforced? All these questions have made people reconsider what it truly means to be a human, and the way natural order actually is supposed to work.

The study of merpeople shows how the dividing lines of what dictates humanity are continually uncertain. Our sense of human identity purely relies on what we define as human, nonhuman, civilized, or wild, and that the human domination of nature is not absolute.

Week 2, Merpeople: A Human History

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Before I start my blog post, I want to recommend a song I listened to while reading this introduction, which made the reading experience more magical! The song is instrumental (I cannot listen to words while reading), and I think it fits the mystical, magical aspect of mermaids. I did play it on repeat, but I will say it made me feel like I was in the water with the Merpeople. The song is called: Elevenses by Lena Raine. I believe it is part of a soundtrack to a video game, as I listen to video game music when studying! Okay, now on to the post!!!

This introduction was magical, not only because of the song I listened to, but also because of the amount of information I got from just a short twenty pages. Something that caught my eye and interest the most was the amount of Christian background there is to Mermaids and Mermen. That was something I truly had no idea about, when the introduction stated that, “Sometimes, mermaids would hold a fish instead of a comb, which probably further symbolized her link to the fish as an early symbol of Christianity” (14). This was something that absolutely shook me to my core. Seeing as how Christianity used Mermaids as a kind of “symbol” of worldly temptations was unexpected. The idea that her femininity is inherently full of lust, sin, and used for temptation was very interesting. Seeing how, in that time, women’s beauty was seen as men’s temptation and frowned upon, it makes sense that the symbol of the Mermaid would be used as such a symbol. Which is even more interesting because of the later statement that, “hybrid creatures of myth and lore–symbolized the early Christian Church’s willingness to hybridize itself” (15). Seeing how Mermaids went from being a symbol of sin and lust to being a big part of Christian hybridity is hilarious in and of itself.

I do, however, enjoy how merpeople went from an evil symbol to “notions of exploration, growth and national prowess” (18). Seeing the different ways Merpeople are depicted is very cool to me; to see how many different viewpoints and lenses they were seen through. I also love the term “mer-mania” (20), and I cannot exactly explain why, but I do. I, however, am not surprised that the Mermaid became a symbol of “sex, media, capitalism and profit” (25) because of the inherent greed of humans. This introduction actually made me excited to continue reading more about the history of merpeople. I definitely recommend a song, similar to mine, to listen to while reading, it made everything so much more magical.

Mermaids: Monsters and Women

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The classification of mermaids as monsters rather than mythological creatures has a lot to do with variation in perception of women. The introduction discusses the existence of all hybrid creatures in ancient literature as being seen as both cautionary and also exciting. When it comes to creatures like unicorns, their fantastical existence made them a staple for children, versus centaurs seen as freaks of nature for their unnatural mesh between human and horse. Horses natural undesirability as animals made them something humans would never want to be associated with, versus unicorns being entirely one species with these concepts understood as beautiful attached to them.

The human half of mermaids reflects the almost selfish view people tend to have; if it’s not happening to us, we cannot begin to understand it. When we don’t understand, it arises fear and these representations become “monsters” because of their inability to relate to the experiences that only our brain actualizes. Their non-human existence and how its impacted by the environment becomes imminent for us to be able to place ourselves in the aquatic world, in the real world that fish and other animals suffer in as a result of the incredible issues facing the ocean as climate change worsens.

In the same light as centaurs and unicorns, but alternate views, mermaids original beginning as mermen allowed them much more freedom to be seen as powerful and forces of nature. Following that, artistic interpretations skewed the eventual Greek creation of mermaids as Triton’s wife became more of an additive than a standalone character, and made mermaids a reflection of these sexualized ideals of women. Religion then utilizing these characters to squash any of humanity’s belief in femininity’s benefit, painting them as lustful creatures who intended to bring humanity’s destruction, thereby added to the mountain of rhetoric against womanhood.

Their eventual sexualization additionally has to do with this societal perception when it comes to women, and how femininity immediately signifies a difference in the subject at hand. Going from mermen that focused on anything but their beauty and stories of Triton to women seducing men and glorious creatures trivialized them to the standards women must comply to . It creates the conclusion that regardless of being seen as monsters, they will always be considered women above it, and that’s their actual issue.

Fight Or Flight The Merpeople

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In these first few pages of the book Merpeople: A Human History by Vaughn Scribner, has already brought so much new knowledge to me about mermaids. In particular, the idea of humans building sympathy towards the ocean is based on the half-human aspect of mermaids. Scribner writes, “like the mirror which the medieval mermaid often clutched in her delicate hand, merpeople serve as a symbolic reflection of humankind’s changing conceptions of myth, religion, science, and capitalism” (27). Here, I would expect Scribner to showcase the various allegories mermaids have taught humans about the environment, emphasizing the importance of preserving the environment. To demonstrate how humans have built a connection of sympathy towards the ocean, but this is not where this story begins.

In the first chapter, Scribner begins the discussion of mermaids in Christian beliefs using mermaids as a fear tactic for sin. As Scribner describes, Christians’ “ultimate goal remained tethered to decentering the feminine” (39-40). The inherent sexism blames women for the lack of men’s self-control with over-sexualized images, and they also created fear within their “siren song”. To first highlight that women have always been reduced to their sexual nature, and have been looked down upon, but to add that a woman’s voice was dangerous calls to hold a big mirror to men. This mirror reveals that Christian men have created the belief that a strong woman with a powerful voice is dangerous, showcasing their fear of a dominate woman. This fear begs the question, so why would a man listen to woman (mermaid) speak about the environment? Why should we care about the ocean if it’s dangerous to us? How does the fear bring us to have empathy towards the environment?

Fear can trigger fight or flight within people, and how do these responses contribute to our choice in action. This instilled fear towards the ocean leads to neglectful behavior (Flight). Often time when someone is in fear of something, some place, or someone, there is an innate feeling of needing protection from the source of fear (Fight). There may also be actions of a lack of acknowledgment or a need to save the source of danger. For example, as someone deathly afraid of spiders, I have never read Charlotte’s Web simply because I am too scared! Due to my fear, I have no idea of a possible great story I could be missing out on! In addition, because of my fear, I do not feel like I need to protect spiders; my instinct is to first scream and then throw my shoe at it. Meanwhile, spiders are so important to our ecosystem, but I am so caught up in fear that I do not think about how my neglect of spiders in the moment could have a great impact on the environment. So, if people have such great fear of meramaids in the ocean, this could lead to neglectful behavior towards our ocean.

Now I understand we are only in our first chapter of learning merpeople history, but I cannot help to think if the widespread belief of mermaids to already be dangerous and frown down upon feminity, How can we convince people the beautiful mermaid is our protector? I hope to see the mermaid gain her voice!

The Duality & Double Duty of Mermaids

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I was not familiar with the presence of mermaids in the Christian Church’s imagery before reading the Introduction chapter of Vaughn Scribner’s Merpeople: A Human History. In his book Scribner links the hybridity of merpeople with the hybridity the Christian Church used by carrying over Pagan symbols to convert more people into Christianity. With the emphasis of Christian scripture concentrating on the historical presence of a supreme being and their disciples, I had assumed that mythical creatures would have always been excluded in Christian religious teachings. Adopting other religious practices to a new religion has been an effective method of reaching and appealing to more congregants. The mermaid image kept familiarity in new spiritual ground. The predominance of images helped when literacy was not as common, so an image intertwining the spiritual worlds would make a stronger impression than words.

The familiarity which the Pagans had with mermaids might have helped with converting congregants, but the similarity ended with the Christian Church’s interpretation of them. The Christian Church used the image of the non-monstrous looking mermaid to convey warnings of deviating from the church’s teachings. Mermaids were used as an embodiment of sin, luring (particularly men) towards a life away from the Christian Church. The vanity and power in the mermaid feminine form was not to be trusted, this teaching extended to human feminine forms too.

Perhaps the more recent resurgence of mermaid depictions does stem from a desire to reclaim feminine power in present day. Policy changes and attitudes towards women have reverted to beliefs that are becoming more present in cultural conversation. Coupling this with the threat of global warming and ocean biological collapse, the mermaid seems to be a fitting figure for the movement to aid in repairing both these social and biological threats.

Femininity and Mermaids

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What I found most interesting from Chapter 1 of Merpeople: A Human History by Vaughn Scribner was how the author focuses on gender to showcase how mermaids can reveal the sentiment and values of a certain time period. While people may not think twice about gender when it comes to mermaids, the text highlights that mermaids being female was a deliberate design by the Christian Church in the medieval era to keep women inferior to men. With her alluring nature and provocative form, the mermaid was essentially propaganda to illuminate the dangers of femininity and to “[decenter] the feminine” (Scribner 39-40). If women were allowed to be seen as equal to men, then the foundation of the patriarchy would no longer be stable – which is why the Christian Church formed the “dangerous” mermaid to warn society of the risk femininity posed to the community. By creating a feminine creature who represents a plethora of sins and vices, the church has a reason to keep women out of positions in power and to lower their position in society. In turn, current readers can see that the medieval period champions the masculine but despises the feminine through their portrayal of mermaids as sinful and dangerous creatures who lure men into sin and death. The mermaid becomes a figure which each era in time can put their fears or values upon and allow future generations to understand the issues of the period. During an era in which women were seen as inferior and given few rights, mermaids confirmed the medieval fear that femininity could be the downfall of a patriarchal society. Despite many of us growing up on classic mermaid work such as Disney’s The Little Mermaid, looking at the origins of mermaids allows us to think deeper about the relationship between society and how its depiction of mermaids can speak to a generation’s perspective. The history of mermaids and humans become intertwined as they hold up a mirror to society – beckoning us to understand our fears and desires as humans. As humanity evolves and grows, so do the interpretations of mermaids and what they represent.

Between Myth and Humanity: The Role of Merpeople

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Vaughn Scribner’s “Introduction” to Merpeople: A Human History contextualizes the origins and importance of merpeople. Scribner poses and answers questions about this well-known hybrid creature throughout Western history. Notably, he asks: “How might such a creature change their understanding of humanity’s origins? How might it alter our conceptions of classification, and even humans’ supposed supremacy on the planet?” (Scribner 8-9). Humans have always held a certain level of superiority as the most intelligent life form on Earth. The idea of another life form, merpeople, closely resembling humans puts that superiority into question and forces humanity to rethink its previous notions of our role on earth.

Within literature, there has always been a tendency to anthropomorphize animals, whether as a way to make certain themes more digestible or to comment on our own actions as humans. Think E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web or George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Scribner expresses this through the words of historian Erica Fudge: “reading about animals is always reading through humans…paradoxically, humans need animals in order to be human” (8). On that point, though merpeople may not be certified creatures on Earth, they are arguably the most relatable non-human creature known today. Merpeople are anthropomorphized myths that people fantasize as a way to reach parts of the world we have yet to discover. These hybrids have access to the deepest and darkest parts of the world that people strive to understand, and having access to such creatures even through stories—allow people to question what could be. They are also a window to question our impact on the ocean and its creatures. If humans keep putting toxins into ocean what happens to the sea creatures that live in it? Having a more humanized creature allows for empathy and understanding of humanity’s carbon footprint and climate change. Scribner notes from Harriet Ritvo that the classification of merpeople says as much about the classifier (humans) as it does the creature. Whether one classifies them as sirens, selkies, mermaids, or mermen these hybrids may be myth but, like any form of story, they are also a reflection on humans and humanity.