THE LITTLE MERMAID (Dan. Den Lille Havfrue) - the heroine of the fairy tale by H.K. Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" (1836-1837). The origins of the plot are in the folklore theme of the love of a mermaid for a person (for example, Melusine in Celtic mythology). Several of Andersen's poetic works were devoted to this topic. R. is one of the six daughters of the widowed sea king, of course, the youngest, as befits the heroine of Andersen’s fairy tale: the smallest and weakest. Upon reaching the age of 15, the mermaid sisters received permission to go up, to the shore, to the ground, to look at the world of people. This journey marked the coming of age of the daughters of the sea king. When R.'s turn came, she realized that she wanted to live among people. The heroine saw and fell in love with a handsome prince, she decided to live a short human life(mermaids live for three hundred years) in order to later gain an immortal soul (mermaids, when they die, turn into sea foam). She managed, by paying an exorbitantly high price to the sea witch, to find herself among the people. She lost her magical voice, and every step of her lovely legs, which grew in place of her tail, caused her acute pain. But the main condition for achieving immortality was the love of the prince. When he fell in love and married someone else, R. died. She did not use the only chance for her salvation: by piercing the prince’s heart, she could, by sprinkling his legs with his blood, become a mermaid again. Of course, R. spared her beloved and died herself. R. is one of Andersen’s rare tragic heroines, among whom she stands out for her special melancholy charm. But she is close to such heroines as Gerda from “ Snow Queen" and Eliza from "Wild Swans", with their courage, perseverance, generosity. The image of R. became a symbol of Denmark. Created in 1913 by sculptor E. Eriksen, “The Little Mermaid” is installed in the Copenhagen port.

Lit.: Braude L. Hans Christian Andersen and his collections “Fairy Tales Told to Children” and “New Fairy Tales” // Andersen H.K. Fairy tales told to children. New fairy tales. M., 1983. P.279-321; Braude L. Creation of a literary fairy tale // Braude L. Scandinavian literary fairy tale. M., 1979. P.44-98.

The Little Mermaid is one of the most beloved fairy-tale characters in the whole world, including mine. Andersen wrote a beautiful fairy tale about selfless love with a sad ending.

Quiet and thoughtful, the Little Mermaid with a kind heart was different from her sisters from the very beginning. She had many talents: in the underwater kingdom she sang magnificently, and in the human world she was known as a wonderful dancer, despite the fact that every movement caused her incredible pain.

For the sake of the prince’s love, the Little Mermaid went through terrible suffering: her steps were “as if sharp knives"; she gave the witch her wonderful voice and gave up her long life (300 years) in order to live a short human one. The prince became attached to her, but loved her like a child. The girl accompanied him on all his horseback rides, but he never dreamed of making her his wife.

The prince fell in love with the princess of a neighboring country and proposed to her. On the last day of her life, the Little Mermaid could not express her melancholy in words, but she had never danced so wonderfully. Her “legs no longer felt pain—her heart felt more pain.”

When asked by her sisters to kill the prince to save her life, she refuses and dies, turning into sea foam. After all true love can't be evil.

Destructively attractive, bewitching with languid melodies, now pale and sad, now laughing uncontrollably, a sea maiden who turns into sea foam after her death... The romantic dreams and aspirations for the ideal of many generations of men were embodied in the legends of mermaids - dreams of an inaccessible woman, unlike an ordinary daughter Eve. Modern psychologists claim that this image symbolizes sexual desire leading to self-destruction. The mermaid is a symbol of the mixture of sexual desire and death, a man’s desire to completely forget himself, even realizing that this sweet oblivion leads to self-destruction. Sexy and voluptuous, and at the same time - cold and elusive, an unattainable seductress, whose eternal youth and beauty, magical voice and art of seduction attract helpless sailors to death. But belief in sea maidens was not the prerogative of sailors who went crazy from boredom and abstinence on long ocean voyages. In world folklore, there are many stories about seductive inhabitants of the depths of the sea - half-women, half-fish. The roots of mermaid legends go back to powerful Babylonian deities associated with the Sun and Moon. The sun god Oannes had the body of a man, his crown was made from the head of a fish, and his mantle was made from fish scales. Gradually Oannes was supplanted by the god Ea, already half-fish, half-man, and it can be assumed that the emergence in Greek mythology myths about newts causing calms and storms are associated precisely with him. And the moon goddess Atargatis, half-woman, half-fish, was the predecessor of mermaids. The Babylonians believed that the Sun and Moon, finishing their daily journey across the firmament, plunged into the sea. And, naturally, the gods who symbolized them had to have suitable bodies for life both under water and on land. The unusual image of these gods - the symbiosis of fish and man brought to the absolute level - and the ability to dive to uncharted ocean depths added to their mystery. Mermaids inherited these qualities. And perhaps the mirror with which sea maidens are often depicted symbolizes the ancient night luminary that commands the tides, and thereby expands the magical power of mermaids.

Mermaids are mentioned in folklore of all countries of the world, and if a country does not have a sea, a river or lake becomes its home. Indian river nymphs have a human appearance, skillfully play the lute, and are extremely beautiful and seductive. Fickle and looking for new victories, they, unlike their European friends, never destroy men, but, on the contrary, please them in every possible way. In Slavic mythology, dead girls and unbaptized children turn into mermaids. They live under water in wonderful crystal chambers, and in the week following Trinity, they come out of the water, run through the fields, swing in the trees, and can tickle people they meet to death or drag them into the water. They are especially dangerous on Thursday - the mermaid's Great Day. Therefore, you cannot swim in the rusal for a week, and in order to scare away the scoundrels, you need to carry wormwood with you, which they are supposedly afraid of. Compassionate women, feeling sorry for the unfortunate mermaids, hang clothes, towels, threads for them on trees, and girls hang elegant wreaths for them. And mermaids always return kindness for kindness. If you cover the naked mermaid (mermaid baby) with your clothes, the mermaid mother will reward you, if desired, with health, money, the gift of a healer and a skilled healer. But their Western European sisters are quite insidious and bloodthirsty creatures. According to some legends, these are fallen angels whose food is living flesh. With singing and wonderful music they lure sailors into their nets. If (which happens quite rarely) this method of attraction does not work, mermaids rely on the unique smell of their body, which no man can resist. (It turns out that sea beauties since ancient times have taken into account the magical power of pheromones - hormones that stimulate the physiological and behavioral reactions of the opposite sex - in their love games). Having caught and tranquilized their prey, they tore it into pieces with sharp green teeth. Less cruel ones took the victims to their underwater kingdom full of treasures. Therefore, for sailors the mermaid was bad omen. Anyone who saw her would soon drown in the sea. But, having fallen in love with a person, these insidious creatures lived for a long time on the shore. Only, in order to marry a mermaid, it was necessary to steal and hide her crown, without which the captive could not return to the sea. If the sea maiden ever found the crown, she immediately disappeared with it into the depths of the sea. In order to keep the mermaid on the shore forever, it was also necessary to steal her second skin - seal. Graceful seals with their sleek bodies have long been associated with mermaids. And many folklorists believe that stories about mermaids are based on impressions from fleeting encounters with these marine mammals. In legends, the seal usually appears as the constant companion of sea maidens. They say that one day a fisherman stunned and skinned a seal, and then threw it, still alive, back into the sea. Taking pity on the animal, the mermaid went in search of leather. But, captured by people, she died, having spent too long in the scorching air element. In gratitude for her courage and dedication, the seals began to always accompany and protect the mermaids. In Asia Minor, an entire people traced their ancestry to mermaids and seals. IN ancient legend The sea nymph turned into a seal to avoid the obsessive attention of the son of Zeus. However, he was persistent, and soon the nymph gave birth to a son. They called him Focus - “Seal”. The descendants of Phocus - the Phocians - were proud of their descent from a sea nymph and decorated their coins with the image of a seal. With the advent of Christianity, legends about mermaids appeared new topic: They were described as beings who passionately desired to obtain an immortal soul. And the mermaids could only find it by promising to settle on land, leaving the sea and all dreams of returning there someday. With such a cruel prospect of an inevitable choice, the modern Little Mermaid should run to a psychoanalyst. But in the 6th century, psychoanalysis was practiced only in the confessionals of priests. And the restless mermaid, who lived near a small island not far from Scotland, visited a monk from the holy brotherhood of Jonah every day. She prayed for a soul, and the monk prayed with her to give her strength to leave the sea. The mermaid passionately fell in love with the monk and really wanted to have a soul, but she was unable to betray the sea element either. In the end, crying bitterly, she left the island forever. They say that the tears she shed turned into pebbles and have since been called “the tears of a mermaid.” In Holland, at the beginning of the 15th century, one mermaid was nevertheless sent on the righteous path. She penetrated through a destroyed dam into the river, where she was caught. She lived among people for 15 years. I learned to spin and listen to my mistress. After her death, she was buried according to Christian customs. And the residents of the Welsh port of Milford Harbor are still late XIX For centuries, it has been believed that mermaids regularly visit the city's weekly fair via an underwater road to buy much-needed tortoiseshell combs and disappear until the next fair day. For famous travelers and sailors such as Christopher Columbus and Henry Hudson, encounters with mermaids on the high seas were quite commonplace. But sailing ships were gradually replaced by steamships, sea ​​travel became much shorter, and sailors talked less and less about how sea sirens seduced and teased them. Perhaps the last such exciting encounter occurred in 1957 during the voyage of Eric de Bishop on his model of a reconstructed ancient Polynesian raft from Tahiti to Chile. The sailor on watch proved to everyone that he had seen an incomprehensible creature with hair like the finest algae jumping out of the water onto the deck. Having touched the uninvited guest (guest?), the sailor received such a blow in response that he sprawled on the deck, and the creature disappeared into the waves. The sailor's hands were left with sparkling fish scales... Slavic mythology Let's remember that Rusal Week was from June 19 to 24, right before the Kupala holiday. The beautiful girls took off their bracelets and unraveled their long sleeves, turning into “birds.” Either like birds or like little mermaids. During the holiday, they danced a smooth dance, waving their long sleeves like wings and sang: During the dirty week, the Mermaids sat. Oh early! The mermaids were sitting, asking for shirts: Hey girls-friends, Give me the shirts. Give the shirts, Curl the wreaths, Curl the wreaths on the holy horns. Oh early! On to the brass! It turns out that you need to curl a wreath, and also buy clothes, that is, give them to the mermaid. And they curled the wreath so that the boys would greet them, and this is a marriage spell, they always curled a red love flower into the wreath - they asked the goddess Lelya to help them find their betrothed. They were also responsible for the fertility of the little mermaid. They were very fond of dew; wherever a mermaid runs or flies, there is a better harvest. And where there is fertility, there is a wedding, and prosperity, and children will be born. People of old say that mermaids are connected with water, just like swans. During mermaid week, they hung threads, yarn, towels, and shirts on “crying” branches, bent toward the water, that is. That is why the fish tail came in handy for some of them. Swimming is more fun with a tail. They were called Beregins and helped to get to the shore. And the shore is called the shore because they escaped from the water on it. Oh, those little mermaids were beautiful! Only their hair is unusual - long, long, and green, too. However, it is not clear why this is so, sometimes with the wings of a little mermaid, like a bird of God, sometimes with a fish’s tail? Yes, that's why. The Slavs called Nebushko the heavenly okiyan, which means they called it. The little mermaids flew from heaven to the sinful earth. Everything is covered in feathers, but when they moved to the oceans, rivers, and seas of the earth, they threw off their feathers and acquired a fish tail. It still is today. Which of them remained in the sky - those with feathers, with wings, all fluttering. And which mermaids looked at rivers and forest lakes for their homes - they became half-fish. Vasilisa the Wise - the daughter of the King of the Sea, was also a mermaid, however, when she got married, she hid the swan's wings for the time being... And the Princess - the Frog of the same family - tribe. Just not for everyone the maiden of heaven or sea will go, she deserves it. Little mermaids love to listen to music. Yes, and the craftswomen sing like the Greek sirens, but they are not as evil as those non-humans. “After the rain on Thursday,” they say, and for good reason. Maundy Thursday , they say, and also not for nothing. This day is dedicated to earthly and heavenly water. The ancient Slavic god Perun is responsible for this day. Perun is the god of thunder and rain, as well as the daring army and the just prince. He rules this during the day. And not only him. Beautiful girls have their own hope on this day. These are the little mermaids. On this day, at the red dawn, the girls plunged into the water three times, then rolled on the damp earth three times, on the healing dew of the river. Yes, they did it with intelligence and cunning - they rode from east to west, following the course of the red sun, adding its strength to their beauty. And then they climbed up to the roofs of the huts in the corners, got closer to the sun and glorified the red spring with a song. And the old people also say that the breadwinner should be born better, a mermaid, all in flowers and a wreath, and dress up the most beautiful girl. They led her to the field with songs and pushed her into the rye. She then ran out of there and caught everyone who came to hand. And they ran away laughing. And it’s boring for the little mermaid to run around the field alone. And the rye became thick after this ritual. In the Slavic rusalia, wise men discover features reminiscent of the cult of Dionysus in Thrace, the Euclesinian mysteries in Athens, rituals in which initiated mystics and priests participated. The dance of “swords” among the Germans and the dance of the “Maruts” - the thunder gods among the Hindus - came from the same place, from the Rusalia. This holiday is ancient and revered in all cities and towns. As we said before, the little mermaids were different. They will be born, like the Pitchforks (the mermaids of our southern brothers the Slavs), from rain, illuminated by the sun, from dew. They live differently. Those who have their eye on a place in reservoirs live in crystal palaces; heavenly mermaids - they built castles in the clouds (“bungled” is a heavenly construction. “Sva” is the sky in ancient Indian, and our wedding originates from there, i.e., sanctified by the sky). But that's another story. Little mermaids - noondays - run through the rye, across the field. In the spring they will water Mother Earth with rain, there will be prosperity in the homes of the farmers, but they may also become angry, then they will send a storm. I also know that the little mermaid has a magical comb. She decorates and combs her green hair with it. With the comb of those, the nets of too greedy fishermen are torn, or a millstone, riding on it in the moonlight, can be damaged. So that he doesn’t muddy the waters in vain. With this comb the little mermaid can live in the forest without her beloved water. But woe to the guy who wants to spy on a mermaid like a village girl. It will tickle him to death. Here, either run away, or throw dry henbane-wormwood powder into her eyes - she really doesn’t like it. But if a mermaid takes pity on someone and falls in love, be it a boy or a girl, and if a cruel death happens to him, she will cry over him. And her tears are living water, giving life. The blue lights over the graves are the souls of people. Through the efforts of mermaids, these souls ascend to heaven. If someone sees such a light, it means that the mermaid carried the soul of the deceased to the heavenly garden of Iriy. At ancient wells, they say, the queen of mermaids stores living water. Any soul will not come to life, will not go to heaven without this magical drink, brought from heaven by a mermaid, just like that. Not only girls could get help from the mermaids, but they didn’t forget the guys either and didn’t ignore them. This was a difficult matter for the guys. The squad gathered like a mermaid, spent the night outside the house, could not speak, not a word. But for a whole week, if they come to a house and perform a round dance with jumping around a sick or ill person, he will be healthy with the power of a mermaid. Moreover, if they don’t forget to put a wreath on their head, as a sign of respect for the little mermaid. But the little mermaids loved the girls more. Any girl who accidentally dies before the wedding could be restored to life in human flesh during the mermaid week, although the villagers were afraid of such revived girls. And after the mermaid week, ritual funerals were organized for such “mermaids” so as not to embarrass the people. Effigies depicting them were burned or thrown into water, in different places in different ways. They were still afraid of mermaids, as well as knowledgeable and strong women. And they, the little mermaids, could go out and save a lost child, and if they help her in any way, she would thank her and give her a gift for life, and if they take care of her baby, then even more so. The little mermaid knew how to turn herself into a white swan. And sometimes she visited the Sea King as a daughter. They are relatives with swans. And let’s remember our children’s swings, and so, our ancestors swung on them on holidays, like mermaids on branches, in honor of the goodness bestowed by the mermaids, and through swinging they saw communion with heaven. Mermaids loved this fun. Even water mermaids loved to swing on the waves. At the mermaid festival, beautiful girls looked for suitors for themselves, and, sometimes, in our opinion, they “committed sin” with their betrothed-mummer. It was not the boys who chose the girls at this festival, but the girls who chose the boys. It's a mermaid week for girls. It was customary to throw water on everyone. Do a round dance around the wells. They made a straw horse, it meant the sun. The guys carried this horse around the village and pretended that it was charging at everyone who passed by. Whoever this horse touches will have good luck in all matters. Old people or crippled people were hovered like “evil” roots in the bathhouse, and carried to the bathhouse on nettles. Let them be patient. But the little mermaid will give you strength and health. A sacred drink was also brewed from young grass. They cooked it, changing it three times, seasoned it with honey, hops, and dry raisins. On the third day they bottled it and served it on the table for Trinity. The drink was 7-8 degrees, but it took away no worse than other fortified wine, and it treated well. And if the beautiful girls were deceived by their groom or betrothed, they knew what to do. They went to a spring or a forest lake and cried and complained about the offender to the little mermaid. That husband or fiancé was miserable later. Until now, there is such a sorcery: to reproach your insult with water, throw into that water the ring given by the adversary and throw it. Then he, the offender, will have no fun. Only the little mermaid kind words need to remember. It’s better not to complain in winter, but in summer, spring or autumn. Old women say that mermaids sleep in winter and wake up on Christmas, when “the lads are chasing Kaladino Kolo.” If you tell fortunes on a river, or ask what a girl wants from the flowing water, let her throw a feather into the water and let it float. And then he asks what he wants for his female part. A feather is a gift for the little mermaid. You can hang beautiful threads on the bushes and quietly sing a song to the joy of the mermaid: At the gate there was a green birch tree, Zelena stood waving a branch, On that birch tree the Mermaid sat, The mermaid sat, she asked for a shirt: “Young girls, give me shirts! - thin, but white-white!" And after singing, say three times: “Take, little mermaid, a gift, give me a gift.” Yes, and express your request by hanging shreds or threads on a bush or tree, and if you don’t feel sorry for it, then even a white shirt. From green melancholy, if it’s stuck, you also need to whisper to the little mermaid: “Water, you are water, spring water! As you, water, wash away the steep banks, stumps, roots, so wash away the sad melancholy from white face, with a zealous heart. Be my words light and strong (you need to read the water with which you wash your face). "They also say that a mermaid is called a mermaid because in ancient times the river was called blond, the word "bed" from the river "lo" - bed comes from. Isn't that where is the Rus tribe called? Maybe our ancestors understood themselves as people connected with rivers, with the power and magic of water, women.”

Fairy tale G-H Andersen"The Little Mermaid"

The main characters of the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" and their characteristics

1. The Little Mermaid, the youngest daughter of the sea king, who fell in love with the handsome Prince and gave her voice for the opportunity to see him and be with him.
2. The prince whom the Little Mermaid saved from death and with whom she fell in love. A handsome and honest young man who fell in love with another.
3. The Sea Witch, a terrible monster who gave the Little Mermaid the opportunity to be human, but took away her voice.
4. Princess, a sweet creature whom the prince mistook for his savior
5. The Little Mermaid's grandmother, a wise and experienced woman
6. Sisters of the Little Mermaid, five beautiful daughters of the Sea King.
7. Daughters of the air, magical creatures.

Plan for retelling the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid"

1. Sea Palace
2. Six mermaid sisters
3. Boy statue
4. The sisters visit the surface of the sea.
5. The Little Mermaid turns fifteen
6. The little mermaid saves the prince
7. The little mermaid goes to the sea witch
8. The little mermaid turns into a human
9. Prince meets princess
10. The little mermaid cannot kill the prince
11. Daughters of the air.

The shortest summary of the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" for reader's diary in 6 sentences

1. The Little Mermaid plays in her garden and waits for her fifteenth birthday to surface.
2. The Little Mermaid sees the ship and saves the prince after the storm
3. The Little Mermaid gives her voice to the sea witch's legs
4. The prince finds the little mermaid and treats her like a sister
5. The prince marries the princess of a neighboring kingdom
6. The Little Mermaid says goodbye to the prince and becomes the daughter of the air

The main idea of ​​the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid"

For his love, for his loved ones and for their happiness, a person is ready to give everything to the road, even his life.

What does the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" teach?

This fairy tale teaches us to love and never betray those we love. Teaches us to sacrifice our interests for the sake of the happiness of those we love. Teaches that even the saddest ending leaves us hope for the best.

Review of the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid"

The fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" tells about the great feeling that awakened in the chest of the little Mermaid. About how much she gave just for the opportunity to be close to the one she loved. This is a beautiful and touching story that I really enjoyed. This story has a tragic ending, but last words fairy tales leave us with hope that the Little Mermaid will still be happy.

Proverb for the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid".

One heart suffers, and the other does not know.

True love neither burns in fire nor drowns in water.
You won't be nice by force.
Love is a great torment.
Love is a ring, and a ring has no end.

Summary, brief retelling fairy tales "The Little Mermaid"

Deep under the water stood the beautiful palace of the Sea King, in which the King himself, his mother and six sisters of the little mermaids lived.

The youngest Little Mermaid was the most beautiful, she loved the statue of a marble boy, which she placed in the garden.

When the little mermaids turned fifteen years old, they received the right to rise to the surface of the sea. Each of the mermaids was very pleased with this event. They talked about the wonderful sand, sunset, wide river, ice, and the Little Mermaid was looking forward to the moment when she too could rise to the surface.

And now the Little Mermaid turned fifteen years old. She saw huge ship, on which music was playing. And she saw a handsome prince who looked like her marble boy.

In the evening a storm broke out and the ship sank. The little mermaid saved the prince and pulled him ashore.

The little mermaid was sad and told her sisters about everything. They showed her the prince's palace and the Little Mermaid began to sail there often to look at the prince.

The little mermaid fell in love with people very much and regretted that she did not have an immortal soul. When a ball was being played in the palace, the Little Mermaid secretly went to the Sea Witch. The path to the witch was dangerous and scary, but the Little Mermaid got to the Witch.

The witch knew what the Little Mermaid needed. She agreed to make the Little Mermaid a human, but warned that she would have to give up her vote, and she would walk on knives. And if the prince marries someone else, then the Little Mermaid will become sea foam.

The little mermaid agreed to everything and the witch cut out her tongue and handed her a magic drink.

The little mermaid drank the drink and lost consciousness on the shore. The Prince found her there.

The prince fell in love with the Little Mermaid very much, and everyone around rejoiced at her sweet face and gliding gait. The Prince called the Little Mermaid "The Foundling".