So far in this month’s series on symbols from The Little Mermaid, we’ve talked about the dagger and sea foam. Today we’ll continue that grim trend by talking about witches!
Many of us today know her by her Disney name, Ursula, but in the original story, the sea witch had no name. Aside from that detail, she is almost exactly as Disney pictured her–alone in a cave surrounded by polyps (or should that be poor unfortunate souls?), powerful and terrifying. And even in the original, when the Little Mermaid asks how she’ll get the prince to fall in love with her if she doesn’t have a voice, the sea witch replies with the same sentiment she did in the Disney song: you’ll have your looks/your pretty face/and don’t underestimate the importance of body language!
All of these qualities–violence, power, and a certain allure–are traditionally associated with witches, be they underwater or living in huts on the outskirts of town. This is no mistake. Back in the 1400s, when European ideas of “witchcraft” were formed, witches were thought to get their magic directly from the devil. In a way, a witch was a kind of demon. This is the subtext behind the sea witch, and an association that we can see today, too, with witches joining devils and ghouls in Halloween decorations. 😉
Of course, that idea of witchcraft is very Christian, and it’s very dated. By at least the 1500s in Europe, there was a defined idea that maybe not all magic came from the devil; some magic, called “natural magic,” was inherent in the world (the way today people talk about the properties of crystals or herbs). As more distinctions in the folklore surrounding magic emerged, being labeled a “witch” became less about flying on broomsticks or cursing cows and more about being a woman who didn’t fit within society’s norms.
That said, the sea witch in The Little Mermaid is essentially a means to an end: a way to get the mermaid on land, and to highlight the danger of the sacrifice the mermaid is making. By the end, I’d argue the sea witch is also a shadowy reflection of the mermaid, because they’ve both made choices that put them outside of their society. The sea witch is the “bad” side of that, while the mermaid is pure and good.
In my own twist on The Little Mermaid, the sea witch is an integral–if mysterious–character. We get to learn her backstory . . . and also to wonder if perhaps her powers extend to murder! 😉 I’m also finishing up the last touches on a story featuring a fearless witch that will be revealed next week. Stay tuned!
Selected Sources
Today’s brief history of witchcraft was based on Medieval Folklore: A Guide to Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs, an encyclopedia compiled by Carl Lindhal, John McNamara, and John Lindow (Oxford University Press, 2002).
