Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" and Disney's 1989 film adaptation differ in a multitude of notable ways, since the key elements of the plot to those of the character. Perhaps the clearest difference, apart from the very contrasting endings, is the characterization of the protagonists, the little mermaids themselves. Disney's version introduces its viewers to a wild and adventurous 16-year-old girl named Ariel, while Andersen's original story features a pensive and quiet 15-year-old girl who remains anonymous throughout the tale. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Due to her rebellious and outspoken nature, Ariel's character may initially appear to viewers as a more positive feminist role model for girls and young women. After all, the Disney film was released approximately 150 years after the first publication of Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," during which the women's rights movement made countless advances in the Western world and beyond. Beyond that - and perhaps most notably - women in the United States have grown in popularity. the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. However, despite this very different cultural climate, Disney's Ariel ultimately turns out to still be under patriarchal rule, in some ways even more so than Andersen's original Little Mermaid. note that each mermaid exists in an entirely different cultural landscape. Andersen's well-known fairy tales were published during the Romantic period, during which a multitude of writers and other artists rejected the rational ideals of the Enlightenment in favor of the key principles of individualism, respect of nature and emotionality. Andersen's The Little Mermaid illustrates these new ideals. She is repeatedly described as a “calm and thoughtful” child who appreciates art and nature (150). Her personal garden, unlike those of her sisters, pays homage to natural elements rather than material ones; their gardens are “filled with all sorts of things they had salvaged from shipwrecks” while his contains only one unnatural object: “a marble statue” (150, emphasis added). This statue is not just a “thing” but a work of art, which the mermaid practically worships, “kissing” it even after noticing its resemblance to her beloved prince (157). Furthermore, when she is finally allowed to rise to the surface of the water, the first thing the little mermaid sees and admires is the sunset - a natural rather than artificial feature, like the ship, which she only notices after seeing the water. sun. Thus, Andersen's Little Mermaid seems to be a true romantic heroine, endowed with all the qualities that would have been considered ideal in Andersen's time. Disney's Ariel, on the other hand, represents an entirely new and different type of woman. Like the older sisters in Andersen's The Little Mermaid, she has a vast collection of "things", all of which are extremely important to her. In this sense, she is a true modern woman. His dearest desire is to live in a capitalist society where the ultimate goal is not to appreciate art and nature but only to acquire more and more things. Thus, Ariel and Andersen's Little Mermaid contrast sharply due to the values ​​of their respective societies. Another key difference between the societies in which Ariel and Andersen's Little Mermaid exist is their patriarchal and matriarchal nature, respectively. In both stories, the little mermaid has.