"The Little Mermaid" by Valentin Nadezhdin, summary

Valentin Nadezhdin’s poetic fairy tale was written in 2018 and offers a fresh take on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic plot. While preserving the original seascape, the author radically alters the ending. The tragic death of the main character gives way to a long, nightmarish dream followed by a happy awakening.

Underwater Kingdom

The exhibition unfolds deep underwater. There lies the coral castle of the ruler of the seas. The palace’s windows are made of transparent amber. The roof is assembled from massive pearl oysters. Inside each shell lies a perfect pearl. The seabed is strewn with blue sand. Flexible seaweed grows around it. Nimble silvery fish dart between the stems.

The Tsar has long been widowed. His strict mother manages the palace. His grandmother is a strict observer of etiquette. She proudly wears twelve oysters on her tail. Courtiers are allowed to carry only six. Six young daughters are growing up with the ruler. The girls spend time in bright halls. Exotic plants bloom everywhere. The youngest princess is distinguished by her special beauty. The mermaid’s skin is as soft as rose petals. Her eyes beckon with the blue of the ocean.

The princess loves solitude and silence. She has her own circular flowerbed. Near it, the girl planted a pink willow. Nearby stands a marble statue of an Earth boy. The figurine fell from a sunken ship. The young heroine treasures this rare object.

Grandmother often tells her granddaughters amazing stories about people. Land dwellers live in large cities. They ride in rumbling carriages. Earthly flowers have a fragrance. Birds on the ground sing in the tree branches. The old woman calls the birds forest fish for ease of understanding. There is a strict law. Every princess turns fifteen and is allowed to rise to the surface of the ocean. The young mermaids are consumed with curiosity.

Getting to know the world of people

The older sisters reach their cherished age one by one. The first princess sees a sparkling city, hears music, bells, and loud street noise. The second admires the sunset and a flock of swans. The birds fly high toward the sun. The third swims to the mouth of a green river. She notices hills, castles, and farmsteads. A mermaid wants to play with children in the shallows. The children are frightened, and a black dog chases away the intruder with a bark. The fourth enjoys the open space, watching pods of dolphins and whales. The fifth reaches the surface in the harsh winter. She sits on a floating ice floe. Cold icy mountains sparkle around her.

Over time, the older sisters lose their former interest in land. Long walks become routine. The princesses prefer to stay at home. Sometimes they sail out before a strong storm. The sisters hold hands and sing sweet songs to the perishing sailors. People don’t understand these life-saving melodies at all. The sounds seem to them like the howling of a fierce wind.

The youngest mermaid can hardly bear the anticipation. Finally, the day of her fifteenth birthday arrives. Her grandmother places a crown of pearls on her head. She ceremoniously attaches eight heavy oysters to her maiden tail to maintain her courtly rank. The princess endures the pain in silence. She waves to her family and quickly ascends.

Shipwreck and rescue

The surface of the water is completely calm. The young princess sees a huge brig. Garlands glow on the masts. The sailors are celebrating the birthday of the heir to the throne. The young man bears a striking resemblance to the figurine of the boy from the Little Mermaid’s garden. Fireworks light up the sky. The heroine watches the noisy celebration, mesmerized. She quietly peers into the cabin windows.

Soon the weather turns bad. A thunderstorm approaches, and a violent gale begins. Waves crash against the ship in high walls. The wind snaps the ship’s masts in half. The vessel lists to one side, a leak develops, and the brig slowly sinks. The Little Mermaid searches for the young man among the jagged pieces of wood. Flashes of lightning cut through the darkness. She finds the prince unconscious.

The princess realizes a simple truth. A person cannot breathe seawater. The heroine dives beneath the giant waves. She supports the young man’s head above the raging elements. In the morning, a raging current carries the survivors to a cozy bay. Mountain peaks rise above the surface. Nearby stands a building surrounded by palm trees, orange trees, and tall lemon trees. The girl pulls the prince onto the warm sand. She leaves him to bask in the sun’s rays. The heroine herself collapses, completely exhausted.

The beginning of a long nightmare

From this point on, the narrative plunges the reader into a series of dark events. A sense of internal focalization occurs — the exhausted little mermaid loses consciousness and begins to dream a very realistic dream.

In this dream, a loud bell rings. The princess is frightened and hides in the foam. Temple maidens run up to the prostrate prince. The rescued youth opens his eyes. He smiles at the strangers. The prince is completely unaware of his savior. The little mermaid returns to the bottom in tears. She withdraws into herself and abandons the garden. The sea flowers grow into a dense wall.

In a dream, the heroine suffers greatly. A friend shows her the way to her lover’s palace. The heroine swims to the marble terrace at night. The princess asks an old grandmother about eternal life. It turns out that people are endowed with an immortal soul. Mermaids disintegrate into foam after death. For the sake of her soul, a man must love a mermaid more than his parents and marry her.

The princess decides to take a dangerous step. She swims to the sea witch for help. The journey leads through whirlpools, dead sand, and a forest of voracious polyps. The witch lays down harsh conditions. The heroine will be given her legs, but will suffer torment with every step. There is no turning back. If the young man marries another woman, the little mermaid’s heart will break. As a terrible payment, the sorceress cuts out the princess’s tongue. The witch mixes a boiling potion with her black blood.

The Trials of the Silent Princess

The dream continues with a series of torments. The girl drinks a potion on the steps of the castle. Her tail turns into legs. Pain pierces her body. In the morning, the prince notices the mute beauty. He takes her to the royal chambers. The young man affectionately calls the heroine his "foundling." The little mermaid dances for the ruler, hiding her unbearable suffering. At night, she cools her feet in the sea. Relatives swim to her from the depths.

The prince cherishes the princess like a small child. He is obliged to marry the daughter of a neighboring king. The young man secretly hopes to find a novice from the temple. The protagonists sail to a foreign land. The neighbor’s daughter turns out to be that very novice. The heir to the throne is overjoyed.

A gala wedding is celebrated on a ship. A mute mermaid humbly holds her long train. The girl knows of her impending death. That night, her sisters appear on the surface. They no longer have hair. The girls traded their locks for a magic knife. The princess must take the prince’s life. The blood of youth will restore her scales. The heroine enters a velvet tent. She kisses the sleeping ruler. The blade flies into the water. A new storm begins. The ship falls apart, and the little mermaid prepares to disappear.

Happy awakening in reality

At this point, the twists and turns of the fictional plot come to an end. A bright climax arrives. The resounding ringing of bells is heard. The Little Mermaid awakens. She is still lying on the safe beach. The prince stands alive and well nearby. The sun blazes brightly in the sky.

The prince leans lovingly over the princess. The heroine slept long and soundly. After battling the elements, she slept for half a day. The temple nuns, the swamp witch, the loss of her voice, and the wedding on board — all were an empty illusion. In reality, no one had harmed her. The prince had been sitting on the beach the entire time. The young man thanked his savior and confidently declared, "Now nothing in the world can stop us!"

A magical event occurs. The heir to the throne kisses the mermaid. Out of genuine love, the mermaid’s tail transforms into human legs. The transformation is smooth and completely natural. The mermaid feels no pain. Soon, they celebrate a joyful wedding. The lovers live happily in a large castle by the sea for many years. The fairy tale reaches a bright conclusion.