Author Interview: What Was She Thinking?
(On writing 'Til Death Do Us Part)
What were you thinking when you created this retelling?
"To be honest, I was thinking about nothing. I was in an angry place because my two and a half year old daughter had been injured (as kids often are), and there was no one to blame because it was one of those accidents that just happen. But I also felt that I needed to blame someone or something, leading to a lot of pent up anger. Essentially, I just needed to find a way to free that up, so I started to write, and this story is what was created."
Have you always wanted to rewrite The Little Mermaid?
"I didn't know that I did. But I guess I did. I first read the story (an English translation of the original one with the tragic ending -- there was also a rewrite shortly after the original with an alternate ending) when I was around six or seven years old, and it ruined me for days. I was so upset at the mermaid's fate, I think that back then I would've rewritten it if I could. The fact that I did so now, I feel was the direct result of my daughter's injury, and not wanting my little girl to feel disillusioned with life and the pain that comes with it. It touched my own inner-child, and the little girl that felt so sad after reading The Little Mermaid, finally decided it was time to write her own version."
An entry in Wikipedia states: The story has been interpreted as the difficult liminal passage of the girl into the order of speech and social symbolism (power, politics and agency) which is symbolically understood as masculine. Did you interpret it this way?
"Definitely not. To me, the story of The Little Mermaid, has always been about the exact opposite of that. I've always seen the mermaid as being the feminine, and the mer-world that she is bound to as being utterly masculine. She is femininity personified, from her instinctive nature, to her jealous streak, to her love of new things, to her yearning to be free. Her journey is one of [learning and discovering] unconditional love, and through this feminine journey, she finds true freedom (whatever your preferred ending, it is still true freedom). Rightly or wrongly, that is the way I've always seen the story, even when I was a child."
Your ending can also be seen as unconventional, can't it?
Yes, to some it will be. But the mermaid was never in a conventional situation in the first place, and remember that the theme for the story (in my mind) was the humanity of love, specifically unconditional love. So, in my own head, I never saw my ending as unconventional, per se, but the result of what she's learnt and the culmination of the sacrifices she was willing to make.
Will you be rewriting any more fairy tales?
"I'm not planning to, but you never know ... maybe when the next bout of pent up anger hits me...."
"To be honest, I was thinking about nothing. I was in an angry place because my two and a half year old daughter had been injured (as kids often are), and there was no one to blame because it was one of those accidents that just happen. But I also felt that I needed to blame someone or something, leading to a lot of pent up anger. Essentially, I just needed to find a way to free that up, so I started to write, and this story is what was created."
Have you always wanted to rewrite The Little Mermaid?
"I didn't know that I did. But I guess I did. I first read the story (an English translation of the original one with the tragic ending -- there was also a rewrite shortly after the original with an alternate ending) when I was around six or seven years old, and it ruined me for days. I was so upset at the mermaid's fate, I think that back then I would've rewritten it if I could. The fact that I did so now, I feel was the direct result of my daughter's injury, and not wanting my little girl to feel disillusioned with life and the pain that comes with it. It touched my own inner-child, and the little girl that felt so sad after reading The Little Mermaid, finally decided it was time to write her own version."
An entry in Wikipedia states: The story has been interpreted as the difficult liminal passage of the girl into the order of speech and social symbolism (power, politics and agency) which is symbolically understood as masculine. Did you interpret it this way?
"Definitely not. To me, the story of The Little Mermaid, has always been about the exact opposite of that. I've always seen the mermaid as being the feminine, and the mer-world that she is bound to as being utterly masculine. She is femininity personified, from her instinctive nature, to her jealous streak, to her love of new things, to her yearning to be free. Her journey is one of [learning and discovering] unconditional love, and through this feminine journey, she finds true freedom (whatever your preferred ending, it is still true freedom). Rightly or wrongly, that is the way I've always seen the story, even when I was a child."
Your ending can also be seen as unconventional, can't it?
Yes, to some it will be. But the mermaid was never in a conventional situation in the first place, and remember that the theme for the story (in my mind) was the humanity of love, specifically unconditional love. So, in my own head, I never saw my ending as unconventional, per se, but the result of what she's learnt and the culmination of the sacrifices she was willing to make.
Will you be rewriting any more fairy tales?
"I'm not planning to, but you never know ... maybe when the next bout of pent up anger hits me...."
About the original story
Den lille Havfrue was written by Hans Christian Anderson in 1836, and published in 1837, the best English translation is thought to be that by Jean Hersholt, which can be read in its full here - http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheLittleMermaid_e.html
This English translation works out at just under 10,000 words; 'Til Death Do Us Part works out at just over 10,000 words.
Further sources of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid
http://www.littleariel.com (who doesn't love the Disney movie?)
This English translation works out at just under 10,000 words; 'Til Death Do Us Part works out at just over 10,000 words.
Further sources of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid
http://www.littleariel.com (who doesn't love the Disney movie?)