Maidens of the Deep
The Fisherman and His Soul
“For her body I would give my soul, and for her love I would surrender heaven”[1] ~ The Fisherman to the Priest
That quote sums up the story (almost) perfectly. It seems the antithesis of the other two “modern” mermaid tales we’ve looked at. Using Undine and The Little Mermaid as a springboard, it twists them in an entirely unforeseen fashion. At first, it is cause for indignation. But you’ll soon see the mournful need of it.
The story begins with a young Fisherman catching a mermaid and falling in love with her. She tells him “If only thou would’st send away thy soul, then could I love thee.”[2] So, the Young Fisherman goes on a quest to rid himself of his soul.
When I first read this, I was outraged at Oscar Wilde. I felt he was purposefully belittling the previous stories. Where Undine and the Little Mermaid desperately want souls, the fisherman desperately wishes to derive himself of his. It was like a slap in the face to all those poor, lovely sea maidens who longed for salvation.
But it’s not. It does deliver a slap in the face, but not to mermaids.
Where Undine and The Little Mermaid say even mermaids can be saved, this story says they cannot – but only because Christians will not stoop to bring the Gospel to the forsaken.
Yes, it is a slap in the face to Christians. And honestly, we need it…