The Disney adaptation of The Little Mermaid lacks one thing… women. This is not a good thing (when would it be?). Ariel, the film’s semi-protagonist and the main character lives “under the sea” with her other sisters and father. She hopes to fulfill her dreams of marrying a prince on shore, but in doing so must strip herself of her voice. There could be an entire two-thousand-word blog post about the symbolism of the threshold of the water and the land being a woman’s subconscious mind and the threshold of being a good and “tame” wife, but this blog post is 200 words maximum, and I will save that for an essay (it is not a bad point). I think that the isolation of Ariel as the only woman (with screen time, if this makes sense) makes viewers feel a sense of sadness towards her plight. We feel prepared to be in her corner in her fight to achieve her goals, whatever they might be. I believe that the reason we feel so strongly for her is that she is isolated in a world of men, even if they are only her goofy sidekicks.

Before reading Roald Dahl’s version of the Little Red Riding Hood, I could have never pictured this version of the “sweet and innocent” little girl that is typically portraited in media. I loved how she wasn’t given the typical treatment that young girls usually have, instead, she had agency. My jaw physically dropped open when I read that she pulled a “pistol from her knickers”. Flipping the typical script to have Little Red Riding Hood as a cold-blooded killer completely shocked me. Instead of a man rescuing her, or barely being able to slip away from the wolf, she was walking around with a wolf-skin coat and pistol underneath. The imagery of this is incredible. No longer wearing her iconic red hood but instead covered in the skin of the animal that ate her grandmother. I don’t think this tale will elicit the same reactions within every reader. Some may prefer the classic Grimm or Calvino stories, but I think the revenge in this version is so satisfying to read.

I believe both versions of The Little Mermaid—written and the Disney adaptation—attempt to elicit the same feeling toward the main character. Both want us to root for the little mermaid as she tries to be with the prince, be frustrated when things go wrong, and have sympathy for her when she seems to be losing him. In the movie adaptation, Ariel’s persistence, Ursula’s trickery, and the scenes of Ariel crying prompt these feelings. In the written version, these feelings are similarly elicited through the princess’s persistence through the pain she feels when on land and the ultimate loss of the prince. 

Despite the similarities between the two stories, I have different feelings towards each version of the little mermaid. In the written version, the princess is much more passive to me despite her active role as the protagonist. She is not given a name in this version and repeatedly described as quiet, silent, and thoughtful. Even in the beginning, when she could speak, she did not leave a strong impression on me. On the other hand, Ariel is strong, standing up to her father and exploring dangerous ships. Albeit, she does become more passive as she loses her voice.