Since The Little Mermaid is not a fairy tale from the oral tradition, this page doesn't offer alternate versions of the tale from various cultures. However, Hans Christian Andersen did not exist in a vacuum and was certainly influenced by the popularity of mermaid tales and other stories of his time when he wrote his tale. Below I have provided bibliographic information and links to other stories and books which come from the mermaid tradition or are thought to have influenced Andersen. We start with the one which assuredly influenced Andersen's tale the most, Undine.
Influenced The Little Mermaid
de La Motte Fouque, Friedrich. Undine and Other Tales. Fanny Elizabeth Bunnett, translator. [Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz. ] London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1867.
Read the story on SurLaLune at Undine.
Interpretations of Melusine include:
Mendelssohn's Die shöne Melusine (The Fair Melusina) (1833)
Grillparzer play
Jean d'Arras legend
A Danish ballad
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Influenced by The Little Mermaid
Wilde, Oscar. "The Fisherman and His Soul." The Happy Prince: And Other Tales. London: David Nutt, 1888.
Read the story on SurLaLune at The Fisherman and His Soul.
About 50 years after the Little Mermaid was published, Oscar Wilde published his own mermaid story, The Fisherman and His Soul. In this tale, a fisherman falls in love with a mermaid and seeks to give up his soul so she will accept him as a lover. Wilde's story incorporates mermaid lore and also appears to be somewhat of a reaction to Andersen's tale.
More Mermaid Tales
A web version of this tale can be found at The Golden Mermaid.
This tale comes from Germany.
An English language version is available in:
Lang, Andrew, ed. The Green Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1965. (Original published 1892.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale can be found at Hans, The Mermaid's Son.
This tale comes from Denmark.
An English language version is available in:
Lang, Andrew, ed. The Pink Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1967. (Original published 1897.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
A web version of this tale can be found at Mermaid and Boy.
This tale comes from Lappland.
An English language version is available in:
Lang, Andrew, ed. The Brown Fairy Book. New York: Dover, 1965. (Original published 1904.)
Amazon.com: Buy the book in paperback.
