book / 1837
The Little Mermaid
Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale follows a mermaid whose longing for love and an immortal soul turns transformation into suffering.
Verified facts
- Author
- Hans Christian Andersen
- Published
- 1837
- Language
- Danish
PlotGeeks explainer signals
Why read this explainer
The mermaid wants the prince's love and an immortal soul. Those aims initially depend on the same bargain but separate after his marriage.
PlotGeeks note
The knife offers a return to her former life at the prince's expense. Refusing it gives the final transformation a different basis from the sea witch's bargain.
Connected knowledge
Connected in PlotGeeks
Related explainers and browse pages for The Little Mermaid.
- Compare with The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
Compare what changes between the 1837 book and the 1989 film.
Timeline
Major events
- The mermaid longs for the human world
Curiosity and desire pull her beyond life under the sea.
- She saves the prince
A rescue gives her longing a personal focus.
- The sea witch demands her voice
Transformation requires silence, pain, and the risk of losing herself.
- The ending changes the reward
The tale turns away from romance toward spiritual consequence.
Story in 60 Seconds
The short version
The Little Mermaid follows a young mermaid fascinated by the human world and by a prince she saves from drowning. She visits the sea witch and trades her voice for human legs, accepting pain and danger in the hope of gaining love and an immortal soul. On land, she cannot speak her devotion, and the prince loves her kindly but not in the way she needs. The story is more sorrowful and spiritual than many later versions, focusing on sacrifice, silence, and the cost of wanting to cross from one form of life into another. Its drama comes from longing that cannot be made painless.
Spoiler sectionEnding ExplainedShow ending detailsHide ending details
After the prince marries another woman, the mermaid's sisters bring a knife that would let her regain her tail by killing him. She throws it away and enters the sea, expecting to dissolve into foam. Instead she rises among the daughters of the air, who can earn immortal souls through good deeds. Her refusal to kill preserves the prince's life and gives her a possible path to the soul she wanted, independent of marrying him. The tale closes by linking the spirits' period of trial to children's conduct.
Original context
Why it matters
Romantic love and a soul are separate desires
The bargain makes marriage a path to immortality. The closing transformation creates another possibility after the romance fails, requiring a further period of good deeds.
Key turning points
The bargain removes her voice
On land she cannot tell the prince that she rescued him. The bodily transformation gives access to his world while taking away her means of explaining herself.
Character links
Who connects to whom
Character motivations
She wants a life beyond the sea
Her fascination with humanity begins before the rescue. The prince gives that longing a personal focus alongside her wish for an immortal soul.
Adaptation