Comparing Rune Mountain And The Little Mermaid

Not everything is what it seems likes when reading a story. Usually an author has an underlying message or thought that he or she wants to project onto the readers when they write a fairytale. The clarity of each underlying message or thought varies per tale. Each story can either reinforce traditional modes of thought or challenge it . It takes careful analyses of a tale to truly understand what the author intended to convey to us without getting caught in the imaginary cloak that hides this underlying message with other details. In both Ludwig Tieck’s “Rune Mountain” and Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”, the authors are trying to push their religious views onto the readers. While they may use different methods to get their agendas

For example, through the little mermaid's interactions with her grandmother, Andersen introduces the idea of immortality and the importance of immortality through the possession of an eternal soul. The grandmother tells little mermaid she can only obtain an eternal soul if she marries a human who loves her dearly. If so then his “soul would flow into” (Andersen 76) the body of the little mermaid and she too would have an immortal soul. Andersen shows that sacrifices are sometimes required to obtain salvation. She makes a deal with the sea witch who symbolizes the devil, offering her voice in return for human legs. This act resembles the saying “making a deal with the devil” which falls in favor of the devil. Instead of turning into seafoam for failing to marry the prince she was accepted into the world of air spirits. Because she didn’t commit the sin of murdering the prince in order to save herself from turning into seafoam. One of the air spirits assures the little mermaid “through good deeds, you too can create an immortal soul for yourself in three hundred years” (Andersen 86). Because the little mermaid behaved like a Christian she now still has a chance of going to heaven if she performs more good deeds. Hence Anderson is successfully able to convey how one can also obtain an immortal soul and go to heaven if they behave like a good