Published in 1811, Undine is an early German fairytale novella by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. The story follows Undine, a water spirit who marries a human knight in order to gain an immortal soul.
The events of the story begin when Huldbrand, a knight on a quest to explore the local Enchanted Forest, stumbles upon a fisherman who invites him back to his hut. The fisherman introduces Huldbrand to his wife and foster daughter Undine, who appeared mysteriously on their doorstep the day after they lost their own infant daughter in the lake. The knight is immediately taken with the beautiful, tempestuous young woman.
Huldbrand seeks to depart the next day, but is prevented by a storm that floods the land around the hut, much to Undine's delight. The two grow closer over the course of the knight's stay and are married when a priest "conveniently" washes up on their shore. The next morning, Undine confesses to Huldbrand she is actually a water spirit: elemental embodiments of water who live carefree lives, but lack souls and thus cease to exist after they die. The only way for such beings to gain a soul is to marry a human. Knowing this, Undine's parents sent her to live among humans in the hopes she could marry one and be able to ascend to heaven when she died. Huldbrand is shocked by this revelation, but reaffirms his love for her.
The flood waters recede and Huldbrand, Undine, and the priest travel back to the city. Their return is met with celebration as Huldbrand was presumed dead. Bertalda, the woman Huldbrand was courting before, is intially disappointed he returned with a wife, but cannot help liking Undine. Undine's uncle pays her a visit and informs her Bertalda is the long-lost child of the fisherman and his wife. Bertalda is furious to learn her birth parents are lowly peasants, and behaves so poorly that both her noble foster parents and her birth parents disown her. In spite of her uncle's warnings, Undine invites her to live with them. Huldbrand slowly begins to shift his affection to Bertalda, and they both start treating Undine with contempt.
The three of them are taking a boat trip on the Danube river when Undine's uncle appears and torments the party with storms and waves. Undine magically calms each of the these attacks, but Huldbrand grows increasingly resentful of her. Ignoring Undine's previous warnings never to reproach her in the presence of water spirits, he accuses her of sorcery and demands she be gone. Undine's relatives reclaim her and she vanishes into the river. Huldbrand and Bertalda temporarily grieve her loss before deciding to get married to each other. On the night of the wedding, Bertalda has the seal Undine placed on the well removed. Compelled by her nature to kill the knight for his unfaithfulness, Undine enters the castle through the now unsealed well, finds Huldbrand, and kills him with a kiss. At the knight's funeral, a weeping woman in white follows the procession. She kneels at the knight's grave and disappears, leaving a spring of water in her place that encircles the burial plot before flowing down into the lake.
This probably sounds similar to other stories about magical water ladies seeking a soul by marrying human men. Undine served as inspiration for The Little Mermaid and also was followed-up on by "Herr Mannelig", The Unknown Sea, and The Fisherman and his Soul.
The title and titular character are references to mythological water nymphs of European tradition called undines or ondines. Many undine stories depict the water spirit in question seeking to gain a soul through marriage to a human man, with this novella serving as the Trope Codifier.
Originally written in German, Undine has been translated into multiple languages, including a 1909 English version translated by William Leonard Courtney and illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
The story has also been adapted into operas, ballets, plays, films, and depicted in numerous works of art.
It can be read online here
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Provides Examples Of
- Asshole Victim: Huldbrand, Undine's husband, and Bertalda, Undine's friend, both treat her cruelly and betray her by getting married to each other while Huldbrand is still married to Undine. Given how much they made her suffer, it feels like justified retribution when Undine kills Huldbrand and makes Bertalda a widow. The fisherman, Bertalda's biological father, comments the knight's death was an act of divine judgement.
- Awesome Underwater World: The water spirits all live in beautiful Underwater Ruins filled with treasure.
- Awful Wedded Life: After Bertalda comes to live with them, Undine's and Huldbrand's marriage devolves into this. Bertalda and Huldbrand start to view Undine as a strange, other worldly creature and Huldbrand begins to shift his affections to Bertalda as a result. They both begin to treat Undine with contempt.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: The fisherman assumes this when Huldbrand first comes riding up. He comforts himself that "no evil could come to him from so much beauty".
- Betty and Veronica: Even though he is already married to Undine, a sweet, kind-hearted Proper Lady, Huldbrand still allows himself to harbor feelings for Bertalda, the Proud Beauty and former Rich Bitch he was questing for when he met Undine.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Undine's parents think nothing of kidnapping a human child and swapping her for their own daughter. Similarly, Undine's uncle has no moral qualms about killing Huldbrand for abandoning Undine (though it might be more justified here).
- The Cassandra:
- Undine's uncle warns her not to bring Bertalda back to the castle to stay with them. Undine disregards his warnings and suffers the consequences when Huldbrand and Bertalda's feelings for one another are reignited.
- The priest who married Huldbrand and Undine warns the knight not to marry Bertalda as Undine is still alive.
- Cessation of Existence: Water spirits simply cease to exist when they die, unlike humans who possess immortal souls.
- Changeling Tale: Undine's parents steal the baby of a human couple and send them Undine to raise as a replacement.
- Chivalric Romance: Undine is the story of a water spirit who falls in love with and marries a knight out on a quest, becoming an Unrequited Tragic Maiden when her husband abandons her for another woman.
- Connected All Along: Bertalda, Undine's rival for Huldbrand's affections, is the biological daughter of Undine's foster parents.
- Don't Go Into the Woods: The woods where the fisherman and his wife live are infamous throughout the land as haunted and dangerous. To even enter them is considered an act of bravery and valor.
- Downer Ending: Huldbrand betrays Undine by marrying Bertalda, Undine kills him and then turns into a stream that encircles his grave, eternally embracing him.
- Enchanted Forest: The woods where Undine's human parents live are dark, foreboding, and populated with dangerous magical creatures. The fisherman can traverse it safely because of his Incorruptible Pure Pureness.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The fisherman and his wife are never named and are simply referred to as "the fisherman" and "the fisherman's wife".
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Undine is an undine, a kind of mythological water nymph.
- The Fair Folk: Mischievous nature spirits haunt the woods where the fisherman and his wife, Undine's foster parents, live. Undine comes from a family of water spirits who embody typical fey traits like swapping babies and playing tricks.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: We don't know exactly how long the flood lasted that kept Huldbrand at the cottage, but it likely wasn't longer than a few weeks or months at most.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Kuhleborn, Undine's uncle, tells Huldbrand he will forfeit his life if he is ever unfaithful to Undine. Since Undine and her family are powerful nature spirits with control over water, this proves to be no idle threat.
- Ignored Epiphany: Huldbrand has a dream where Undine warns him she is still alive and will be compelled to kill him if he ever leaves the castle and travels near water or unseals the well in the courtyard. Additionally, the priest who first married Huldbrand and Undine refuses to perform the ceremony for Huldbrand and Bertalda, but stays in the area. When asked why, the priest responds he will be performing funeral rites soon. The dream and the priest's ominous words give Huldbrand pause, but he continues with the wedding to Bertalda anyway.
- Inhumanly Beautiful Race: Undine is a water spirit, a race of fair folk known for their ethereal beauty.
- Kiss of Death: How Undine kills Huldbrand.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Huldbrand is introduced riding in on a white horse wearing a red cape over golden armor. He fits the archetype too at first, until he abandons Undine for another woman while they are still married.
- The Lady's Favour: Bertalda unintentionally kicks off the plot when she makes Huldbrand explore the dark, ominous woods before she will give him her glove as a token of her favor.
- The Lost Lenore: Undine becomes this to Huldbrand who genuinely morns her death. He marries Bertalda more out of fear of being alone than love.
- Love Triangle: One forms between Hulbrand, Bertalda, and Undine when Bertalda comes to live with them and Huldbrand begins to shift his attention from his wife to her.
- Making a Splash: All water spirits are elemental embodiments of water and thus have some degree of control over it.
- Nature Spirit: The Fair Folk in the story are all physical, sentient manifestations of the element they were born from such as fire, earth, or water. Undine is specifically a water spirit.
- Non Human Lover Reveal: The day after their wedding, Undine reveals to Huldbrand that she is a water spirit. Huldbrand is intially accepting of this, but grows to resent and even fear Undine's power and the power of her family.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: The text uses the term mermaid to refer to Undine and her family several times. Mermaids in the story are water spirits who live carefree lives but lack souls.
- Portal Pool: Water spirits can move between bodies of water. Undine tries to magically seal the well in the courtyard to prevent any vengeful water spirits from accessing the castle. This works until Bertalda, desiring water from the well, has it unsealed.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Inverted with Bertalda, the foster daughter of a duke, who is none too pleased to learn she is actually the daughter of a humble fisherman and his wife.
- The Soulless: Water spirits do not have immortal souls and thus simply cease to exist once they die.
- Unrequited Tragic Maiden: Interestingly, Undine is already married to the man she loves. She becomes this when he abandons her for another woman. Once Huldbrand is laid in the ground, she turns into a spring of water encircling his grave.
