Thoughts about ‘ The Little Mermaid’

 

 

 

 

 

‘The Little Mermaid’ is a fairy tale from the Hans Christian Anderson collection, and perhaps most famously known as the loosely based Disney animated film, which has equally enchanted audiences and readers around the world.

It is a story about a young mermaid princess, who wants more from her life and escape her limitations. Having fallen for and saving a human prince from drowning, she makes a bargain with a sea witch. She gives her voice away for two legs, and needs to have her feeling returned or else perish with the rising sun. Not to be loved and not to attain a soul. She chooses to be the self-sacrificing person and even if she doesn’t the prince, she gets what she truly wants, a soul.

‘The little Mermaid’ in the simplest form is a recount of unrequited love. It’s about not getting what you want, perhaps a selfish or greedy journey, but what stands out is the emotional investment and the sacrifices that go in the way for that dream. It is something that speaks to the private feelings of the personal lives of people, who hide their hurt, and make way by sublimation, by destroying the past. But the young girl does with all her desire, all her pain, does not let the bitterness or defeat corrupt her.

In that sense the story is more of a hero’s journey, of self actualization, a path for a painful loss of innocence and change. It is both tragic and beautiful, because she gets what she wants just not how she wanted it.

The story may not always be a feminist favorite, since she willingly leaves everything for a man, and her love involves a lot of suffering and she doesn’t get what she wants, which narratively contrasts with how male characters are able to pine for a get the girl. Symbolically also the color red is associated with the male in the story. The coral around the statue that the mermaid idolizes is a bright red, and when she dies the sun is a burning red flame, showing a victory or overpowering of the male over the female. People also generally take issue with the protagonist being a questionable role model, stating she is silly, for giving up her life. They take issue with the fact she runs away from home, falls in love with someone she doesn’t know and par takes in black magic. So obviously conservative society and parents don’t want their daughters doing the same.

I personally don’t feel that way. I think what Anderson did was inverse a generally anti-woman trope into something humane and heart-felt. He turned Sirens into mermaids. A siren is basically the sea version of what witches were on land, the images and lives of women demonized and disrespected through the male gaze. Be it Medusa, Homer’s fight with the sea witches or general stories of sailors being brought down to death at the voices of bewitching sirens, it’s hard to see how female sexuality and romantic feelings have always been seen as something worthy of punishment. And they in the biblical sense must be cursed and become a symbol for all other women to not do the same. And that it only men who can actively battle and fight for love, that also outside the consent or control of the women that they love. They must fight those in their way and she must accept the victor, because he is the winner. Not because she can decide for herself.

 

 

‘The little Mermaid’ does not exist in the same context. Here is have a child who will through her encounter with the world become who she was always meant to be. She is not evil, wicked or filled with any jealous intentions, she is just young, innocent and in love. Instead of bringing the prince down to die, she saves him from death, but is not recognized for it. There is a selfless quality in her actions. And even when she leaves her family, home and makes a deal with the devil, we forgive her. We don’t feel the need to watch her pay for her sins, because she is brave enough to willfully suffer if she is able to be with the boy she comes to love. Every step she takes with human legs is like walking on knives, and without a voice she is unable to confess her feelings. And when is left out in the cold by the prince she still decides to spare him his life, for her character and her spirit out ways his ignorance and existence. The heavens at last do not strike her for having a heart but it blesses her. She becomes an angel like being, literally rising above the mess.

 

The story overall has very strong Eco-feminist tones to it. The girl is raised by her wise grandmother, who makes sure the child gets her education. She has older sisters to look up to, she is able to get legs through a sea witch. The women dominate the story, and the only place we feel a lack feminine care, is that the mermaid does not have a mother, and that she has this obvious fascination and love for the male spectacle. This also follows the mermaid as a character who is able to transcend all the divided parts of society, probably because she wants to actually more than what society deems acceptable.She moves from the sea, to the land and finally to the ethereal realm.

It is a story of dynamic magic, transformation, growth and following one’s dream and being what we all are as young star-crossed people. We are alone in our personal battles against destiny.

Written, November 1,2014

​I suppose the best thing to do when you have been hurt or wronged by other people – is to improve oneself or to focus on a goal.

It becomes hard in life to rightfully know what to do in situations which you have little insight for. You wonder if you have been for your goodness or for a bad thing you have done .

And when it comes to hate or indifference people will rarely tell you how they feel . when its love they waste no time and say it likes it means nothing – but the hate they carry stays silent in their heart like lava in a valcano it only comes out at a weak moment .

So you must never let that hate hurt your will-it is hard but stay constant make yourself – improve yourself .

Be it a good deed – habit- skill – your looks or a business and even children or family work for them which in result brings you good words and fortune . 

But do not grow cold be always willing to reconcile and forgive .

FENCES WITH ROSES

​I know where she lives 

The snow queen 

Just behind my house 

With a white fences 

And ugly wasted rose bushes 

I know what she does in her free time

She pretends with great grace to be busy 

Busy with being bored of her life

Like a peacock all alone in a crowd 

The center of attention 

I know that she has a pet too many 

They can be heard miles away 

Like a siren in the night 

She also likes flashy speed 

All acts dangerous 

All nights on the stiff edge of a cliff 

I worry but remain silent 

Because time is moving too fast 

We have one too alive knocking on the door of death 

And one just breathing waiting for lightning 

Strange and  dark 

Times played out in the dark 

You know what I’m thinking 

This may be 

The first time 

In a long time 

That I haven’t talked about myself 

When Legends Die

​

What does it matter 

When legends die 

Why is the world is shock ? 

Did they expect them to live forever ?

Is it out of love or grief 

Or maybe respect 

But I should not be asking 

I know how it is 

When you hope someone will be there 

Right by your side 

When it rains to when it hurricanes 

I never expected you to die 

Even if death looked close 

And all we ever talked about dieing 

Between baths and homeopathic medical tests 

When your hair fell when you brushed it in the back of the house 

You knew you were late for work 

And then your soft than a cloud white hair grew  back 

And you loved it 

I never dreamt of you dieing 

But when you did 

I knew before they told me 

And the day you did leave

I saw you when I slept 

And you were younger  

And happy

Wide that familiar smile 

And I woke up smelling out the dirt 

Evil laugh

​Im one of those people 

Who’ll try to get on your nerves

And I’ll feel as if I know what I’m talking about 

Like a fox after a group of chickens 

silly chickens are decent people 

And decent people are often terrible 

Just terribly stupid 

Its how they just are 

And often they will be young 

They will be clean good people 

Who get robbed 

Who get cheated and left bleeding on the sidewalk 

But because they don’t know 

The rest of the dumb world 

Can’t help them

Won’t help them 

Will laugh at them 

And that’s life 

And pure evil despite legend does not have  an evil laugh 

It just does 

And no one hears it 

So the joke is on them 

Political Prozac

​

Rattle on , on random rants 

Rats don’t make good conversation 

Lots of logs clog up the sink 

Dirt gets caught on plastic walls 

And his breath smells like acid 

And the dogs eats bricks 

I thought it strange 

For waste to turn into junk 

And for junk to turn into biodegradable white matter 

Why don’t they see it 

Political prozac 

And there used to be coke in coke 

Then again plenty of people 

Have coke alongside coke 

Then they freeze like  Disney 

Its a sad world 

Its a mad world 

And I try not to give a damn while rolling gangster dice 

Less words and lesser sounds 

Lots of cash and a lottery crush 

Broke up and broke 

Stroke hair and hope for not a stroke 

Oh well 

I wish you well 

THE Night Time

Pass over of princely states

Underdogs of the last revolution

Shadow people

All come alive

When the sun goes down

And drowns into the blackness

Of the tiny milky way of waste

Then the moon falls full

Over our eyes

Under our feet

A silver disc of the racing ravens

The light of the night

The love of my life

Burning without a sound or sirens

But even the love of my life

Can’t fight the blankness

The time of the beasts

And dont you find it also strange

That all ghosts feel visible in the night

All vampires walk in the night

Werewolves rise with the moonshine

Spirits curse in the shadows

And thieves plot also

And sins of the flesh taste better in the night

Murders of brothers are safer by winter nights

And breaking hearts feel heavy with the summer set

All grounds seem witch held by dusk

And all children must be home or else

And yet what difference is there between night and day

But a temporary loss of light

White days in Black Lives

Based on a few differences 

Personally I look at several times 

And sigh thinking 

Why would these idiots do such a thing

Or how come nobody ever told them better 

Or could they not see what was going on 

All of humanity 

Seems to be hanging over a pile of mistakes 

Personally I think its stupid that they came up with the idea of equality among citizens 

How could they be 

Not everyone is smart 

Not everyone has exposure 

Not everyone is a clever sociopath 

Not everyone is the good girl that ends up with a jerk 

Just because she has no idea how to tell which is which 

Because to her they all look the same 

But if she complains 

Some smart ass is going to say ‘ you should have know better ‘ 

Now if she did – she would not have asked 

Show the religious a square and they see a circle 

Show a liberal a circle they’ll see fifty other things but not the circle 

So how do you deal with situation of different lives ..

Who do you Decide like gods to try and save ? 

Or do you stand there thinking it is a part of their destiny and better call to be abused and misunderstood  , and heavily misused ? 

Do you look upon the  evil hands and shadows , with shame ? Wonder? Or disregard?  

Even God loved the devil 

And He let the devil , the fallen angel,  fall free and fall to waste ; 

And He let this fallen from grace being , break and steal those God loved above all others;  

So do where do we decide to battle the wolves 

And save a flock from danger , only to have them laugh and mock at us ; 

The whistle blowers,  the third eyes , the tormented,  the experienced , the seers,  the seekers , the oracles , the magicians , the poets,  the glass doors — the ones that doubt they know better ; 

What do you  do ? In the face of ignorance 

The number 5

When I was nearly four ,
Seven or nine ;
At the middle of the country side I pinned and I pinned ;
Crying crocodile tears as large as duck eggs while the show moved on in a line ;
But eventually a broken horse pulled around from the dark alley and I hitched a ride ;
At home,  that cursed night , I tried to write , a sorry note , to my dear enraged mother – one at a time ;
Had I been older , a lover there would probably have been, to whom I would have been merrily engaged with – letter upon letter – all the time ;
But that was not the case , and till now it is not the case , and perhaps it is with grief and mellow misfortune that we slowly lose our minds ;
It was the number five !
I had tried and been unable to write or draw the number five,  much to my simple panic – and much to my mother’s loud cries ;
Suspicion went on my behavior,  and the household of candles hailed that I lost the ability because I pinned and I pinned ;
Why ? Oh ! Why ?
Had I not just tried ?
I did what any child does – believe parents over the world,  believe your parents over yourself and look for a deserted island to land and hide ;
And not much has changed,  since the witches with looming eyes became rulers and the knights led the war on my land – I can barely think twice ;
Cries , wails , broken rails have only shattered me more – like they feed on the flesh they enslaved like a bought bride ;
But lets try not more , let us not cry or pine over poison and over  victory that is not ours – if we just smile and sleep with what little we have this body and soul might not collide with darkness  ; and I will not wish any longer to pine or hide ;

A Fire and Pluto

1 —  One two three
It was winter  suffering from frost bite
It was alone  and together at night
No fogs  no lights  perfectly alright
You almost fell in the river
Lucky actually it was really a gutter
Your father did not understand you
And mother was an adsent voice
She was your mother and nothing else
You laughed loud , gentle,  but loud , but soft — I always thought why without saying and you saw it on my face
There on the road ,down on your back , legs and wide wide open , eyes closed – you laughed
And I stood there watching and smiling
Cars white , black and red passed us by , flashing rays of gold right on the side
I was out of words and so were you
The basketball field was wet and slippery
And parks empty so its best that I not mention your secrets
The  world  was  falling  apart
We  were kids  shooting  for the long shot
Dangling  on  failure
Waiting for time  on that swing  your neighbors through  out
That  you mounted on your roof
Then The Wind Blew hard in the market side
Shaking the bulds
And I was afraid  A Fire would break loose …… a fire did break loose

2 — On a air plane
To another planet
Really really far away
Further than pluto
Is a package
Covered in dry dusty news papers
Its below the hard luggage
And is crushed beneath all of it actually
In in tha package
Are all of our pictures
Like from the waterfall
Under the rainbow
At the train station
At the mosque
Near the woods
At the weddings
At the old school
The one they tore down to build a university over
I did not need them any longer
So without telling a single soul
I hand picked the ones I loved the most
Put them in slowly one by one
Pulled the sheets over
And gave to a pilot that knew the way
And I watched him drive away into the distance
A few tears here and there
And by now all of us
Is nearing  pluto
Controversial pluto
Dissappearing and reappearing pluto