Book Review

The Little Mermaid and Other Tales
by Hans Christian Anderson
Hippocrene Books 1998
Reviewed by Ally-Karen D. Miller

Very Refreshing! Anderson would be proud! After researching classic fairy tales in translated form for nearly twenty years, I studied them in their native languages and cultural references to find the differences between the two types of tales. Beyond studying the classic tales as a hobby, I majored in Literature in college to understand the methods behind the fairy tales and how they were translated. Children and adults alike have no understanding of what the true meaning of the tales were when they read most of the translated versions of the tales that are in print today. Most of those translations are so far off the original written text that there is little to compare. After having studied Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales in their native language, I have often wondered where the English versions of these tales have come from. Most English versions have the classic "Once upon a time" beginning and the classic "happily ever after" ending which is not the way the Anderson wrote his tales. Some of his tales were never intended to have a happy ending and when you change a tale to add that happy ending the whole moral of the tale is changed.

Take for example "The Little Mermaid" tale that the book is titled after. Anderson wrote this tale so that the mermaid would sacrifice everything for her love, even her life. Then along come modern translators, for example, who give her a name, which does not really change the tale that much. In the end they supply a "happily ever after" ending by allowing the mermaid to wed the prince she fell in love with. What happened to her sacrifice? Anderson’s moral for most of the tale was that people should be willing to sacrifice everything for love including their life. I strongly believe that if Anderson were to read many of the English translations in print today he would be horrified. However, I feel he would accept this translation as being the most accurate to his intend tale.

Another example "The Ugly Duckling" Tale which is now considered to be one of the classic fairy tales that most children can tell you the basic plot. The problem is that most children do not realize the real moral behind this classic tale. That moral is that simply not everything is what it appears to be in the beginning. The way this tale was translated shows this brilliantly and when I read this version to the children, at the Child Care Facility where I work, they were able to get much more out of the tale then from the other versions that they have heard. Instead of being about a duck that changes into a swan, the older school age children took the moral as a statement against racism in today’s society. After we discussed this aspect of the tale, they wanted to hear more of Anderson’s tales to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

—published in WIP Summer 1999