ON THE MANDSDRAGT WITH A FAIRYTALE AUTHOR

 CASSANDRA SOLON PARRY (the fairytale author): 'The Little Mermaid' is, of course, a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen which first appeared in print in 1837.

There are any number of interpretations of the original tale. The one I find most compelling is that the story expresses a love the author had for his friend, a man named Edvard Collin. Andersen's love was unrequited but he did (like The Little Mermaid) take the risk of expressing it.

'I languish for you as for a pretty Calabrian wench...' he wrote in a letter to his friend, 'My sentiments for you are those of a woman. The femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a mystery."

Collin later wrote in his memoir, "I found myself unable to respond to this love, and this caused the author much suffering."
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I'd love to hear if any part of the fairy tale resonates with you. What moment in the many versions of the tale of 'The Little Mermaid ' touches your heart?

SANDRA DERMARK: The fact that the prince had breeches sewn for her so she could ride on horseback like him and follow him mountaineering is my favourite part/moment. Male critics like Jacob Bøggild say he is doing it to protect himself as a betrothed straight male from sexual temptation (seeing her as a boy means friendzoning), while female feminists like Maria Tatar and yours truly focus on the freedom that this gender transgression gives the little maid in page's breeches when horseback riding and mountaineering. What is your humble opinion on this aspect of the tale?

CASSANDRA: Thanks for this interesting question. I actually see this moment in the story as signalling both of these things: the little mermaid's expanded personal freedom and the Prince's refusal to treat her as a romantic interest (similar to the earlier moment where he allows her to sleep on a silk pillow outside his doorstep). It's interesting to me because it also relates to the story's theme of transformation, hinting at a gender fluidity which has been noted as part of the story's subtext - a fluidity which was appealing to the author but would not have been accepted by the readers of the time if put in more explicit terms. Without writing an essay on the subject, that is my take. 

SANDRA: thanks for you seeing both sides of the story across the binary and even the gender fluidity/queering. Also if we take the Little Mermaid to be an avatar for bisexual Andersen himself and the Human Prince as a counterpart to his patron's son and unrequited love Edward Collin, who married a society girl for power and friendzoned Andersen, this detail of the breeches in the Little Mermaid original tale can be understood even through a queer lens!