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Marxism In The Little Mermaid

881 Words4 Pages

Numerous schools of criticisms have attempted to find the meaning behind most of our favorite childhood stories. From Marxist who pursue the idea of social classes portrayed in literary works, to Psychoanalysts who depict the sexual tensions and desires that are subconsciously embedded behind characters’ motives and actions, to Historicists who try to show the preservation of tradition in stories, many different concepts exist for each fairy tale. The Feminist school of criticism greatly focuses on unveiling the patriarchal system and sexist roles that are displayed in stories, and more specifically, fairytales. Four versions of the well-known fairytale of The Little Mermaid will be compared and discussed while focusing on many distinctive …show more content…

Taking into consideration the first and main version of The Little Mermaid, author Han Christian Andersen’s, Little Mermaid, written in 1837, has different characters than the 2006 interpretation of the short story, Aquamarine. From an addition of two new female characters to the subtraction of the royal titles that each character possessed, Aquamarine is based on a twenty first century setting. The plots between the two also greatly differ and even lead up to different endings. Similarly, both mermaids are searching for love and both mermaids asked to be human. Both mermaids have a due date that forces them back into the ocean if they do not find love. While Anderson’s mermaid’s failure would lead her to her ultimate death, Aquamarine’s would lead her to go back to the ocean and marry whomever her father desires. The ending greatly differs for, in Anderson’s original tale, The Little Mermaid fails to find love and sacrifices herself for the Prince. She is then required to live off her life as a spirit, doing good deeds to humans for her to regain her soul back. Similarly, Aquamarine does not find love with the lifeguard, Raymond, which causes a huge ocean storm due to her father’s rage. Her two best friends, Claire and Hailey jump into the water to save her, and it is their

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