Story Line
(Warning: Description may include spoilers.)
Confined by a life underwater, Ariel, a mermaid princess, always dreamed to explore places beyond her ocean-oriented life. Fascinated by her collection of human objects she strives to know everything and anything about the human world. Out of curiousity and despite what her father, King Triton, forbids, one night Ariel travels to the ocean surface when she sees a boat and witnesses a celebration for the birthday of a prince. She is stricken with love over him and awe over the bizzare human culture. Shortly after a fire is set to the ship which forces everyone aboard into a frenzy.
In an attempt to save his Old English Sheep Dog who is still on the boat, the prince, Eric ends up drowning and is saved by Ariel. Positive that he was saved by a beautiful girl with a pleasant voice he is intent on finding the one who rescued him. Ariel sets out to find a way to join Eric after a falling out with her father. She pays a visit to a sea witch, Ursula, whom she thinks can help. She ends up making a deal with the witch, where she is allowed three days as a human and must receive “true love’s kiss” in order to remain human in exchange for her beautiful voice.
Through her attempts to let Eric know she was the one who saved him, without a voice she fails. She is tricked by the witch who uses Ariel’s voice and magic to fool Prince Eric into thinking it was her that saved him. He then sets out to marry the sea witch but is stopped in doing so when Ursula’s magical necklace is destroyed which returns Ariel’s voice back. Eric rushes to kiss Ariel before sundown but is too late. Ariel is then taken by the sea witch and King Triton sacrifices himself for the sake of his daughter. Ursula’s intention of becoming ruler of the sea was becoming reality and just as she tries to destroy Ariel with her father’s triton, Eric stabs Ursula with the bow of the ship resulting in her death. Everything goes back to normal and King Triton allows Ariel to be human with her true love. (Synopsis of The Little Mermaid)
The “New Damsel in Distress”
From the synopsis, it is plain to see that since the first Disney Animated full-length film, Snow White And the Seven Dwarves, some of the same underlying notions about gender persist but there has been a change in the characteristics of our Damsel. Compared to Snow White, who was described as meek, weak, and the most defenseless and dependent depiction of a woman, Ariel is courageous, curious, and steadfast. We are seeing actions and hearing our heroine speak out against being constricted to one place and seeking out what she wants out of life thus breaking the barriers and limitations that women were once expected to stay within . These ideas are portrayed in the song , “Part of Your World”. Here she is unafraid and longs to be somewhere that is unknown to her.
In this movie we still have certain themes of being beautiful, wanting marriage/love, having a true love’s kiss, and being saved and dependent upon a male figure. However, this film does offer scenes where the “gallant” prince is in need of saving. England and Descartes, have noted this trend generally among more recent Disney films by stating that, “Over time, the princesses’ roles have changed from being completely passive or asleep (Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) during the final rescue to assisting the prince.” And this can be seen in this film, when Ariel saves Prince Eric from drowning, when she helps break the spell on Eric, and when she helps save her father. These are positive depictions of a woman completing a stereotypical “male” act which we would not have found in Disney animated films prior to this and these essentially help break preconceived stereotypes.
Although, bravery and “male” acts like going on adventures and saving people would not have been common for women to do in older Disney films there are still signs of dependence upon men to fulfill your wishes or have your life saved if you happen to be female. This is apparent in this film, during the scene where Eric saves Ariel by stabbing Ursula with the bow of his boat. It is also seen from the conclusion of the film where Ariel needs her father’s power to fulfill her dreams to become a human. This is only granted by approval of the father and for purposes of love (May).
Like Snow White and its subsequent films, there are similar trends to The Little Mermaid that (are seen in the women characters’ attributes and the plot of the story) among other Disney animated films that precede it. For example:
Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991) who is characterized by being curious, resilient, intellectual, and unafraid. This is also a woman who wants “more to her provincial life”, is a rescuer, and is rescued.
Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin (1992) who wants to marry for love, affirming that she is “not a prize to be won”, is eager to know what is beyond the palace walls, helps assist Aladdin in saving the day but is still saved in numerous occasions by her male savior reclaiming the title of “damsel in distress”.
Through Disney’s Hercules (1997), with the character, Megara who is a self-reliant, self-proclaimed damsel in distress who isn’t interested in being saved by a man but ends up being saved anyway. (Note: she is also Hercules’ savior.)
And lastly, Mulan (1998) who is unorthodox, strong, and courageous for straying away from her planned life to fight for her father in the war against the Huns. However, once again she is both a hero and a damsel.
These are just a few examples of Disney animated films that represent the altered, newer version of the “damsel in distress” in the late 80’s into the late 90’s. It is important to note that all of the women fall back to love in the endings of the movies and all of the women are never solely a hero which is characteristic of a “damsel in distress” at this point in time. As you can see, we haven’t entirely broken through since we do not get a female character who is entirely independent and doesn’t need a man to save her or to have a fulfilled life. This idea is a representation of the time period. The events that led up to this time period changed the view of women drastically. We went from a society that banned the use of contraceptives in married couples, that didn’t give a woman the right to abortion, and a society that restricted women from having the opportunity to serve their country in combat to a society that eliminated all of these things (Suffrage and Feminism Timeline). These achievements in women’s rights and the consequential shift in perception about women is clearly represented through media like this.
The Evolution of Disney : Gender Edition 