In Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” what does the mermaid become after death?
Answer
A daughter of the air
In Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” the mermaid becomes a daughter of the air after death.
Andersen’s original ending differs sharply from Disney’s romantic conclusion. After failing to win the prince’s love and refusing to kill him, the mermaid dies and her body dissolves into sea foam. She then joins the spirits known as the daughters of the air.
These spirits explain that they can work toward gaining an immortal soul through good deeds. The ending is therefore a spiritual transformation, not a return to ordinary human life and not the happy marriage depicted in Disney adaptations.