In the painting “The Fisherman and the Syren” (1858) by Frederic Leighton, a striking image of a mermaid holding onto a fisherman is front and center of the canvas. A provocative oil on canvas painting of a half nude mermaid, her pale white skin contrasting to the Fisherman’s tanned toned body. Her long golden hair falls past her waist reaching the start of her dark blue, serpent like tail. The mermaid’s hair is adorned in pearls and pieces of subtle coral, a nod to her sea origins. With the jewelry and half braided hair signifies both her similarity to women on Earth, and the “otherness.” The tail is wrapped around the fisherman in a way that’s possessive, and he is being pulled down to her to the dark moving waters. The painting captures a single breathtaking moment of danger, creating a vision of what it looks like to succumb to the lure of a mermaid, the painting both dynamic and still. The sensual nature of the picture makes the theme apparent, there is power and destruction in female sexuality. 

Victorians took a strong interest in mermaids, a contrast to their rigid societal structure. Women were bounded in corsets, restricted in their movement and to breathe freely in the name of beauty. There were strict social hierarchies, which fully determined the way one lived, from jobs to marriages and education. Women were typically expected to stay home to fulfill their duties as mothers and housewives, they were deemed to be physically weaker therefore unfit for employment. Even in modern times, where female sexuality is becoming more acceptable in some parts of the world, women are still subjected to criticism for it. Female sexuality is either hyper-sexualized or condemned, and is villainized in mermaid or siren  form. The mythical mermaid becomes a symbolism of female sexuality freed, she is not chained to a house, gender role, or by any other societal role. She has agency in those whom she loves, those she lusts for. She is free to swim anywhere in the vast sea. The ocean is mostly unexplored, and a mermaid represents that exploration of the seemingly fearful unknown. 

When looking closely at the painting, the fisherman’s body is held upright, and his arms are spread across as if in a crucifix position. This similar position to Jesus crucified is allegorical, painting the man out to be a holy figure suffering in the arms of the “unholy” mermaid. She lures him into danger, an imminent death because of her sexual agency. As if he is paying for the perceived sins of women. 

Even in Hans Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, the classical children’s story can be interpreted as the consequences of female sexuality. There is a sort of liberation when the little mermaid leaves her home out of her own volition to pursue the prince. Before her introduction to the prince, the little mermaid shows a liking to “a pretty statue, representing a handsome youth hewn out of pure white marble” that ended up sinking to the bottom of the sea (pg. 109). 

The story describes her blossoming into womanhood, when turning fifteen she gets to explore her agency, adventuring onto land where her siblings would rather not. When being enamored by the prince, the little mermaid faces consequences for her lust and yearning. Despite her exercise of agency in this tale she had to make destructive sacrifices, giving up her voice and ability to move without pain. At the end, she ultimately meets a sad ending in which love isn’t reciprocated. 

Mermaids are forces to be reckoned with, they are mysterious, alluring creatures that serve as a reflection of society’s fears of unrestrained women’s sexuality. A mermaid can be seen brushing her long hair, a form seen as self-gratification. She lures men in with her seductive qualities and her sexual freedom is deadly.