![]() ![]() ![]() Invariably, these tropes focus on the ‘maid’ as opposed to the ‘man’, as a symbol of heterosexual desire as filtered through the male gaze. Both films uphold the fantasy of a physically powerful or supernatural woman who is unaware of her desirability, and who is vulnerable without the presence of a male protector. It was compounded by Daryl Hannah’s role as a blonde, tanned lady-of-the-deep in Splash (1984), where she appears on land completely naked in search of her beloved. In more recent history, Disney’s 1989 animated version of Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish fairytale, The Little Mermaid (1837) further perpetuated the stereotype. It was further consolidated by an 19 th-century obsession with the perceived virginal beauty of sea maidens, as seen in the works of pre-Raphaelites such as John William Waterhouse and Evelyn de Morgan. This is the prevailing image of the mermaid in much of popular culture, which has its roots in European depictions that gained popularity during the so-called ‘Age of Discovery’, as these nations set sail and sought to map the world and its oceans. Her mane of hair, and a pair of strategically placed scallop shells, shield her naked torso and preserve her dignity, while her narrow hips descend into an iridescent, scaly fishtail. Artists and novelists are reclaiming the mermaid as a symbol of female agency and emancipation amid a culture of growing repression and environmental destructionĪ young woman sits on a rock, the ocean waves lapping against the shore. ![]()
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