Book recommendation: a new, brutally feminist take on The Little Mermaid
25.5.2023
Translation: Katherine Martin
Gaia the mermaid lives under a merciless patriarchy, where there’s no room for feelings. When she falls in love with a human being, of all creatures, she slips into a dark vortex of despair – a spiral she endeavours to fight her way out of.
The live-action version of my all-time favourite Disney classic The Little Mermaid hits cinemas today. To emotionally prepare myself for this momentous day, I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to get into the mood by reading literature in keeping with the mermaid theme. In doing so, I stumbled across a gem: The Surface Breaks by Irish author Louise O’Neill. Her masterpiece is a depressing, at times brutal reinterpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s world-famous fairy tale The Little Mermaid.
Disney’s animated version of the tale certainly doesn’t give feminists anything to cheer about. However, using a healthy dose of mature common sense, as well as the ability to view the story’s questionable elements (giving up your voice for the sake of a man, for example) from a distance, I still enjoy the overly optimistic storyline to this day. O’Neill’s approach – shining an unapologetically feminist light on the story from all angles – struck me as all the more unexpected.
Source: Natalie Hemengül
The plot
The author spins the story of 15-year-old mermaid Gaia, who lives near the Irish coast with her sisters in their father’s underwater kingdom. The open ocean, however, doesn’t hold any trace of freedom. She might as well live in a cramped fish tank. Women, after all, have no say in things. Their job is to please, to entertain and to obey – most of all, to obey the king, Gaia’s father. Gaia and her sisters are put on display at every opportunity like pieces of meat fish and tossed to the mermen to feast upon. At least in a figurative sense.
One day, Gaia falls in love with a young man she saves from drowning – Oliver. Her love for a stranger compels her to strike a bloody deal with a powerful, outcast sea creature (I’m deliberately avoiding the word «witch» here to do justice to the book and its message). On land, she not only strives to win the favour of her beloved, but also sets out to discover the truth about what happened to her reportedly dead mother.
Recommended for any grown-up fans of The Little Mermaid
O’Neill expands the The Little Mermaid universe to include not only new, critical perspectives, but also complex dynamics and a tense relationship between two sea peoples, which blurs the line between good and evil. The patriarchal setting as a breeding ground for competitive struggles between the sisters brings the story to an unusually sharp point. After just a few pages, the gritty perspective swept the rose-coloured glasses off my nose. The practically never-ending string of disappointments that Gaia obediently endures in the book is described in such a hard-hitting way that you can literally feel the words.
Trigger warning: This book contains themes of sexual violence, rape, suicide, and homophobia and is not suitable for young readers.
The book is in English, and is not currently available in German.
Header image: Natalie Hemengül
Natalie Hemengül
Senior Editor
Natalie.Hemenguel@digitecgalaxus.chAs a massive Disney fan, I see the world through rose-tinted glasses. I worship series from the 90s and consider mermaids a religion. When I’m not dancing in glitter rain, I’m either hanging out at pyjama parties or sitting at my make-up table. P.S. I love you, bacon, garlic and onions.
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