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Myths and Legends

Undine (1811)

Cover of Undine, Told to the Children by Mary Macgregor, illustrated by Katharine Cameron (London: T. C. & E. C. Jack)

     Undine or Ondine is a dark fairy tale novella, written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, that was published in German in 1811. The novella was such a big success, that it was eventually translated into other languages.

     The story begins with Knight Huldbrand is in the woods and comes across a cabin. He’s welcomed by the fisherman and his wife and is treated as a guest in their home. Knight Hulbrand meets their vivacious eighteen-year old foster daughter, Undine. Then the fisherman tells Knight Hulbrand the story of how his daughter had drowned and that very same day, Undine had appeared on their doorstep. And how the fisherman and his wife, had raised Undine as their own. 

     Undine is intrigued why Hulbrand was in the woods, so he tells her how he was smitten with the Duke’s foster daughter, Bertalda. While Bertalda and Hulbrand flirted, she gives him her glove and dares him to explore the dark forest. Hulbrand agrees and ventures into the forest, where he encounters dark spirits and creatures, and eventually finds himself at the Fisherman’s cottage. 

Illustration of Undine by Arthur Rackham (1909)

Everyone is stranded inside the house, after a violent storm and flood occurs. During this chaotic time, Hulbrand and Undine fall in love. Undine has a very precocious personality and at times, appears to have control over the weather. A priest named Father Heilmann is thrown overboard and finds himself at the fisherman’s house. Soon after, Hulbrand asks the priest to marry him and Undine immediately. Father Heilmann agrees to marry the young couple.

The day after the wedding, and Undine’s demeanor is different than it was before. She’s softer, kind, and gentle. Undine explains to her new husband, Hulbrand, that elemental beings exist and that she is in fact, a water spirit. She then goes on to explain that water spirits do not have souls, and can only obtain a soul by marrying a human. Undine further explains, that her parent’s sent her to go live among humans, in the hopes that she can gain a soul that way and that her marriage to Hulbrand has fulfilled that promise. Undine fears that Hulbrand will abandon her, once he learns the truth about her, but instead, he promises to never leave her. 

The flood begins to recede, so Hulbrand and Undine decide to depart to Hulbrand’s home. During their journey, they come across Kuhleborn, a shape-shifting water spirit and Undine’s uncle. Undine becomes frightened and begs her uncle to leave them alone, so they can proceed on their journey. Hulbrand attempts to attack Kuhleborn, but Kuhleborn vanishes into the waterfall. 

Illustration of Undine by Arthur Rackham (1909)

When Hulbrand arrives home, he’s greeted with a warm welcome and so is Undine. Bertalda is deeply upset to discover that Hulbrand is married to another woman and decides to become friends with Undine. One day, Kuhleborn comes to visit Undine and tells her that Bertalda real parents are her foster parents, the fisherman and his wife. Bertalda is the child, that they had believed to have drowned, but had not. Bertalda is devastated and humiliated to learn that her real family is poor and that she isn’t of noble descent. She publicly humiliates Undine, by calling her a witch. Undine’s theory is proven correct by Bertalda birthmarks. 

After learning of Bertalda’s horrible behavior towards Undine, both her foster parents and her biological parents disown her, leaving her destitute and desperate. Bertalda goes to Undine and begs for forgiveness. Undine accepts her apology and allows her to be remain a guest at her home, where sparks fly once more between Bertalda and Hulbrand, leading to tensions and drama amongst Undine, Bertalda, and Hulbrand. 

It doesn’t take long, for Undine to order the servants to seal the fountain in the castle’s courtyard. Bertalda is upset by this order, since she uses the fountain to gaze at her reflection and complains to Hulbrand. Hulbrand demands that Undine gives him an explanation as to why she’s closing off the fountain. Undine explains that she’s protecting the family from Kuhleborn and warns Hulbrand that he should never anger her near water or her family will take her away from him. Hulbrand reluctantly agrees to follow Undine’s commands. 

Angered and humiliated by Undine, Bertalda runs away and Hulbrand chases after her. Kuhleborn shape shifts and plays tricks on them. He is almost successful in drowning them, until Undine swoops in to the save the day, by calming the water and carries them home. 

The three of them live in peace for awhile with no drama or near death experiences. They decide to take a vacation along the Danube to Vienna, where Kuhleborn torments them continuously out at river with storms, waves, and treacherous apparitions. The servants begin to suspect that there is something magical about Undine, since she’s able to stop the attacks. Hulbrand becomes resentful and scared of Undine. When a water spirit steals Bertalda gold necklace, Undine goes into the water and gives Bertalda a necklace made of coral to replace the one she’s lost. Hulbrand is disgusted with the gift and tosses it into the sea, believing that Undine is colluding with evil spirits and that she is sorceress. Undine knew that Hulbrand would never love her as a water spirit, so she disappears into the river and warns him to remain faithful to her. 

Hulbrand grieves the loss of losing Undine, and is comforted by Bertalda, who he decides to marry. Hulbrand goes to Father Heilmann and asks him to marry him and Bertalda. Meanwhile, Father Heilmann is receiving messages from Undine and begs Hulbrand not to take another wife. Hulbrand begins to have dreams of Undine and Kuhleborn under the sea, as they discuss Hulbrand taking another wife and that Undine will him if he does. Undine tells Kuhleborn that she has sealed that fountain of the castle, so she cannot reenter the home. Kuhleborn reassures her, that if Hulbrand ever decides to unseal the fountain or leave the castle, he will be doomed. 

Undine by John William Waterhouse (1872)

Hulbrand ignores the warnings in his dreams and decides to marry Bertalda anyways. On the day of the wedding, Bertalda demands that the fountain be reopened again for her own pleasure. The servants do as they are told and unseal the fountain, only to find a weeping Undine rise up from it. Undine enters the castle and kisses Hulbrand. He dies in Undine’s arms. Undine attends his funeral and transforms into a stream, encircling his grave, so she is with him for all eternity.  

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Disney's The Little Mermaid Hans Christian Andersen Myths and Legends Pop Culture

Who is Hans Christian Andersen?

1836 Portrait of Hans Christian Andersen by Christian Albrecht Jensen (H.C. Andersen Museum, Odense, Denmark)

Hans Christian Andersen captured the world’s attention, with his fairy tale of The Little Mermaid in 1837.

But who is Hans Christian Andersen?

Hans was born on April 2nd, 1805 in Odense, Denmark and was the only child. At an early age, Hans father exposed to literature as a child, most notably Arabian Nights. Which had a lifelong impact on him, considering Hans father had an elementary school education, while his mother was illiterate washerwoman.

His father passed away in 1816, when he was 11 years old. His mother, remarried in 1818 and sent Hans to the local elementary school, so he could receive a basic education and have a career.

Before he became an author, he was an weaver’s apprentice, and even became a tailor.

Portrait of Hans Christian Andersen (1869)

When Hans was fourteen years old, he moved to Copenhagen to become an actor. He was enrolled in the Royal Danish Theatre as a soprano, but had to stop, because his voice changed. A colleague at the theatre had advised Hans to become a poet. Hans took this advice seriously and started to write.

A director at the Royal Danish Theatre had sent Hans to a grammar school in Slagelse, and had persuaded King Frederick VI, to fund part of Hans education.

In 1822, Hans had published his first story titled The Ghost at Palnatoke’s Grave. 

In 1829, he would publish his first successful short story, A Journey on Foot from Holmen’s Canal to the East Point of Amager. From there, Hans Christian Andersen, began to write for the local theatre and wrote, Love on St. Nicholas Church Tower. 

Hans later went on to receive a small travel grant from the King in 1833. This allowed Hans to travel through Europe and meet some very prosperous and influential people of his day.

Illustration by Christian Birmingham for The Little Mermaid

Between 1835-1837, Hans Christian Andersen had written his collection of fairy tales, titled Fairy Tales told for Children, that were published in three installments. The first installment that was released in May 1835 contained these stories: The Tinderbox, The Princess and the Pea, Little Claus and Big Claus, and Little Ida’s Flowers. Ida Thiele, was who Hans had created these stories for, she was the daughter of an early benefactor. Her father, folklorist Just Mathias Thiele, had paid Andersen thirty rixdollars for the manuscript, and the booklet was priced at twenty-three shillings.

His second installment, that was released in December 1835, contained the following fairy tales: Thumbelina, The Traveling Companion, and  The Naughty Boy. Thumbelina was based off the story of Tom Thumb about miniature people.

The third and final booklet, which was released on April 7th, 1837, contained The Little Mermaid and The Emperor’s New Clothes. It would be The Little Mermaid that would propel Hans to stardom, cementing his career as a writer.

Illustration by Christian Birmingham for The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid was written for his homosexual lover, Edvard Collin, who was the son of his benefactor and official guardian Jonas Collin. Hans was known to flirt with both males and females, and was known to fall in love quickly. He and Edvard had formed a fast friendship and Hans was smitten.

Unfortunately, Edvard didn’t feel the same romantic sentiments as Hans. When Edvard announced he was marrying a woman, Hans was devastated and felt utterly betrayed. So, he poured his heart into his work and wrote The Little Mermaid as a love letter for unrequited love for Edvard.

It is also known, that Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid was loosely based and inspired by De la Motte Fouqué‘s novella Undine that was released in 1811. Undine and The Little Mermaid have very similar themes. Most notably,  a mermaid who must marry a human prince (knight) to retain a human soul.

The Little Mermaid wouldn’t be the only story, that Hans would write for an unrequited love. In 1843, he wrote The Nightingale for Jenny Lind, a famous singer, who was nicknamed ‘Swedish Nightingale’ to express his love for her.

In 1849, Thomas Vilhelm Pedersen was the first illustrator to illustrate Hans Christian Andersen’s legendary fairy tales

In 1845, his folklores and fairy tales, were translated in English and his audience grew worldwide.

An interesting fact about Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, is that they were originally published without any illustrations.  That is until 1849, when Thomas Vilhelm Pedersen, a Danish artist became the first artist to illustrate the fairy tales.

In 1872, Hans Christian Andersen, would pass away, a lifelong bachelor, who yearned for nothing more in life than to be love and to be loved in return. In his lifetime, he had written over 100 children’s stories.

Over a century has passed, since the death of Hans Christian Andersen, and his life and his beloved fairy tales are immortalized in our culture. His classic children’s fairy tales have been adapted to films, ballets, operas, tv series, songs, etc.

His stories have withstood the test of time and will for centuries to come. We shall always remember the man who captured our hearts with The Little Mermaid.

“But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.” – Hans Christian Andersen

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Hans Christian Andersen Myths and Legends

The Myth of Ondine

Undine illustration by Arthur Rackham. The illustration is featured in Baro Friedrich De La Motte Fouque romance novella “Undine” that was published in 1811.

The myth of Ondine or Undine has been around for centuries, as far back as the Ancient Greece. Unda is Latin for “wave” or “water”.

The story of Ondine has been adapted and changed throughout the centuries, yet, astonishingly, key elements of the story has remained the same.

The story is of a young water nymph named Ondine who is beautiful and has an enchanting singing voice. Ondine is immortal, but doesn’t have a soul. The only way for Ondine to obtain one, is to marry a human, which would  then shorten her life, but she would gain a human soul.

Ondine falls in love with a human, and becomes human to be with him. If Ondine’s husband was to be unfaithful to her, he will die. She soon marries him, and bears him a mixed-breed child. Her child is born with a soul and has many aquatic attributes.

Ondine finds her husband with another woman and he soon dies.

This legendary story, would later inspire French author Baron Friedrich De La Motte Fouque and his novella of  Undine that was published in 1811. Years later, his version of the story,  would inspire the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen and his story, Den Lille Havfrue or The Little Mermaid and was published in 1837.

It’s truly incredible, that these mermaid myths and legends, never die. They adapt and change with the times. They are immortal and live on forever in our hearts and our minds.