History Literature / TheLittleMermaid

* SellingOnesOwnHair: After the mermaid's sisters learn of her awful deal in which she is doomed to die after the prince is married, they make their own deal with the Sea Witch: having their long, beautiful hair shorn off by the sea witch as payment for an enchanted dagger that will free the Little Mermaid from the curse if she kills the prince. In Hans Christian Andersen's time, long, flowing hair made a woman beautiful -- short hair was socially unacceptable and utterly taboo. Thus this it meant sacrificing all of their earthly beauty and femininity.

* DiedHappilyEverAfter: Subverted: the mermaid dies despairing but finds happiness immediately after among the Daughters of the Air, with the true happiness of Heaven to come. Andersen wrote several stories where the protagonist dying and going to Heaven was their 'happy' ending.

** The mermaid's older sisters giving their hair to the Sea Witch would have been understood as a great sacrifice by the original readers. In Hans Christian Andersen's time, long, flowing hair made a woman beautiful -- short hair was socially unacceptable and utterly taboo. Thus the sisters cutting off their long hair to save their sister meant sacrificing all of their earthly beauty and femininity.

* TraumaticHaircut: The mermaid's older sisters have their long, beautiful hair shorn off by the sea witch as payment for a chance to save their little sister.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: The mermaid is told she can earn a share in the prince's soul (and permanent humanity) if he marries her. When that falls through and all seems lost, she finds herself on a new path among the Daughters of the Air, working to earn a soul of her own.

* FriendOrIdolDecision: The mermaid has the choice to kill the prince and avert her death, or spare him at the cost of her own. She chooses the latter.

** The mermaid's older sisters giving their hair to the Sea Witch would have been understood as a great sacrifice in Hans Christian Andersen's time. Long, flowing hair made a woman beautiful -- short hair was socially unacceptable and utterly taboo. Thus the sisters cutting off their long hair to save their sister meant sacrificing all of their earthly beauty and femininity.
* HopeSpot: Two -- when the prince tells the mermaid he'd rather make her his bride than the princess to whom he is betrothed, believing that the latter does not resemble the girl in the Temple whom he believes rescued him; and much later (after he marries her), when the mermaid's sisters offer her a chance to save her life.

Merfolk live for centuries but have no afterlife. One of them, a princess, is deeply curious about the world above but isn't permitted to go to the surface until she turns fifteen. She is the youngest of her sisters, and when each of them comes of age, they return with stories about the wonderful sights to be seen up there. When her turn finally comes, she sees a young prince's sixteenth birthday celebration, and she also rescues him from drowning after it ends. She leaves him unconscious on shore, near a temple where he can be found, but she has already fallen in love with him.

Unable to enjoy life below the waves, the mermaid makes a deal with the Sea Witch to become human. The cost is steep: the Sea Witch can grant her legs and inhuman grace, but every step will feel like she is walking on knives. The mermaid must also give her voice as payment. And her humanity is only conditional: if she can make the prince fall in love with her and marry her, she can gain a share in his soul and be truly human, but if he marries another, she will die at the next sunrise.

The prince she loves finds her and takes her in. She becomes his favorite companion, accompanying him on many of his outings and dancing beautifully for him despite the excruciating pain in her feet. But he does not truly love her: he has lost his heart to a temple maiden who (as he believes) once saved him from drowning.

Unexpectedly, the mermaid finds herself rising from the water in the company of the Daughters of the Air, benevolent spirits who, after 300 years of good deeds, will [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn an immortal soul and go to Heaven]]. Whenever they see good and obedient children, their service is shortened, but disobedient ones will make it longer.

----
!!Tropes associated with any adaptation that doesn't have its own page
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the fairy tale, The Sea Witch is a neutral character who has no evil plans and tells the mermaid the consequences of her actions. However, in various adaptations, The Sea Witch is a WickedWitch who sabotages the mermaid's plans of marrying the prince or is simply described as being evil.
* AdaptationalModesty: The mermaid in the fairy tale is topless and various adaptations show her wearing a SeaShellBra.
* AdaptedOut: Many adaptations do not feature the mermaid's grandmother, the Daughters of the Air, or the immortal soul theme.
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The storybook by Van Gool portrayed the merpeople this way. The Mer King was red, his queen orange and daughters 1 through 4 being purple, blue, green and cyan while the title character, though resembling her mother, averts this and has a skin tone like the humans do.
* AnimatedAdaptation: Various animated films and television episodes have been made based on the fairy tale.
* DownerEnding: Many adaptations do not have the mermaid become an air spirit and instead have her die and not return in any form.
* GratuitousAnimalSidekick: Some adaptations give the mermaid a sea animal sidekick. Usually, it is a dolphin.
* HappyEnding:
** Following the release of the Disney adaptation, [[LostInImitation many versions that followed have the mermaid marry the prince]].
** ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' had a happy ending years before Disney's. In this version, the little mermaid still fails to win the prince's heart, but as she is ready to accept her fate, Neptune steps in at the last minute, allowing the little mermaid to live and return home to the sea as a reward for her selflessness.
* LighterAndSofter: Various adaptations, especially ones made for children, omit the Sea Witch cutting off the mermaid's tongue.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: Most adaptations do this due to the story being a NamelessNarrative, but the 1968 animated Russian short film and the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairyTailer'' preserve the fact that none of the characters had names.
* RaceLift: In the original story, the Prince is described in a way that has had him interpreted as Middle Eastern. Most adaptations portray him as being Western European, no doubt based on the assumption the story is set in Denmark, which a careful examination of the text shows to not be the case.
* SettingUpdate:
** A careful examination of the original story indicates a Mediterranean setting, but clues in the 1976 Russian film such as the Prince being from Normandy, the mention of the Duke of Norfolk, the Witch pretending to be the Duchess of Cornwall, the mention of a Duke of Navarre (which is definitely not Mediterranean) indicate a Western European setting. In addition, opposed to some vague time period that may have been Anderson's own 19th century, the film is set in the 13th.
** The episode from ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' keeps the Mediterranean setting, but has the story set in ancient times with the prince's kingdom being Greco-Roman and the princess seemingly coming from a Mesopotamian state, going by her father's attire.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: The storybook by Van Gool features the Mermaid's mother as still being alive, though her grandmother is nowhere to be seen.
* SwordAndSandal: The episode from ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' has the setting being Bronze or Iron age with the prince's kingdom being Greco-Roman and the princess' Mesopotamian with the god Neptune even playing a role.
* UnscaledMerfolk: Many versions have the Sea Witch half sea animal that is not a traditional scaled fish.
** One illustration shows her half-octopus or cecaelia.
* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: The 1976 Russian film features green-haired mermaids.

The story has been adapted several times, from ballets, to musicals, to the [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 1989 Disney animated musical]]. The film changed the BittersweetEnding to a HappilyEverAfter, and several [[LostInImitation adaptations]] have followed suit.

* AndIMustScream: [[CuteMute Without her tongue]], the mermaid cannot tell anyone what she is suffering.

Published in 1837, ''The Little Mermaid'' ("Den lille havfrue" in the original Danish) is a classic FairyTale written by Creator/HansChristianAndersen, about a mermaid who seeks to become human.

* HappyEnding: Following the release of the Disney adaptation, [[LostInImitation many versions that followed have the mermaid marry the prince]].
** Interestingly, ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' had their own happy ending years before Disney's. In this version, the little mermaid still fails to win the prince's heart and kill him but as she is ready to accept her fate, Neptune steps in at the last minute, allowing the little mermaid to live and return home to the sea as a result of her selflessness.

* SettingUpdate: A careful examination of the original story indicates a Mediterranean setting, but clues in the 1976 Russian film such as the Prince being from Normandy, the mention of the Duke of Norfolk, the Witch pretending to be the Duchess of Cornwall, the mention of a Duke of Navarre (which is definitely not Mediterranean) indicate a Western European setting. In addition, opposed to some vague time period that may have been Anderson's own 19th century, the film is set in the 13th.

* GratuitousAnimalSidekick: Many adaptations give the mermaid a sea animal sidekick. Usually, it is a dolphin.

* SettingUpdate: A careful examination of the original story indicates a Mediterranean setting, but clues in the 1976 Russian film such as the Prince being from Normandy, the mention of the Duke of Norfolk, the Witch Pretending to be the Duchess of Cornwall, the mention of a Duke of Navarre (which is definitely not Mediterranean) indicate a Western European setting. In addition, opposed to some vague time period that may have been Anderson's own 19th century, the film is set in the 13th.

* NamedByTheAdaptation: Most adaptations do this due to the story being a NamelessNarrative, but the 1968 animated Russian short film and the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairyTailer'' preserves the fact that none of the characters had names.

* SettingUpdate: A careful examination of the original story indicates a Mediterranean setting, but clues in the 1976 Russian film such as the Prince being from Normandy, the mention of the Duke of Norfolk, the Witch Pretending to be the Duchess of Cornwall, the mention of a Duke of Navarre (which is definitely not Mediterranean) indicate a Western European setting.

* SettingUpdate: A careful examination of the original story indicates a Mediterranean setting, but clues in the 1976 Russian film such as the Prince being from Normandy, the mention of the Duke of Norfolk and the Witch Pretending to be the Duchess of Cornwall indicate a Western European setting.