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A statue dedicated to The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson in Copenhagen, Denmark | Photo: Flickr/Maria Eklind
Racists on the internet are up-in-arms about Disney’s decision to cast black R&B artist Halle Bailey as Ariel in their live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid, claiming it won’t be ‘accurate.’ Yet, it’s important to note that the original version of the story was a lot different to Disney’s in general.
Hans Christian Anderson
The Little Mermaid was originally written by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson in 1837. In this version, Prince Eric doesn’t fall in love with a sea witch pretending to be human (which Ariel exposes, leaving them happily ever after). Rather, he actually falls in love with a human. This leads Ariel to essentially kill herself, leaving her body to dissolve into foam. Definitely too graphic for a Disney tale!
But something that’s lesser-known about the fairy tale is that Anderson wrote it after his failed attempt to woo Edvard Collin, a straight man. Many biographers and historians claim that Anderson was bisexual, expressing attraction for both men and women. Collin was a man out of Anderson’s reach, being of a higher class. Collin also apparently rejected Anderson’s feelings toward him and one of his sisters, whom Anderson was also attracted to.
Literary and cultural history critic Rictor Norton wrote:
‘In letters written to his beloved young friend Edvard Collin in 1835–6 Andersen said “Our friendship is like ‘The Mysteries’, it should not be analyzed,” and “I long for you as though you were a beautiful Calabrian girl.” In the fairy tale [The Little Mermaid], written when Collin decided to get married, Andersen displays himself as the sexual outsider who lost his prince to another.’
The ‘real’ Little Mermaid
So, when people try to argue that Ariel has to look a certain way to be true to the ‘real’ story, maybe remind them that the true version of the story was a sad tale of unrequited love, written by a bisexual author.
WOW – 1st some people don’t know #TheLittleMermaid was originally written by Hans Christian Anderson (before Disney put the story in the Caribbean), & now some people don’t realize #Mulan was a Chinese legend for literally HUNDREDS OF YEARS before Disney’s animated movie?! pic.twitter.com/kaOpvdUUu1
— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) July 7, 2019
I don’t think we’ve talked enough about how the original story of The Little Mermaid had her committing suicide at the end and how traumatizing that was to me, personally, at eight years old when my dad gave me a collection of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales to read.
— Jane Conducts the Electric City (@sgtjanedoe) July 6, 2019
Just a reminder that the Little Mermaid wasn’t a Disney creation and is, in fact, a harrowing fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson where the only element of whiteness I can recall is when she turns to foam on the sea at the end, thus ending the titular character’s suffering.
— Frankie Ward (@getfrank) July 4, 2019
Wasn’t the original little mermaid an analogy for Hans Christian Anderson’s unrequited love for another man? Imagine the screaming if Disney did that version…
— Ben Bastian (@bastian_ben) July 4, 2019
See Also
11 gay, bi or trans actors who would slay as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid
Facebook, Disney, and more companies declare support for LGBTI employees
Amazing pictures from Magical Pride, Disney’s first official LGBTI event
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