Jane Gardam The Pangs Of Love

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In the Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen illustrates the fulfillment of pure love where the protagonist does not expect anything in return from her beloved. Whereas, Jane Gardam’s Pangs of Love presents Numera Septima as a character whose love for the prince is falsified, and she is disappointed because the prince abandons her. As a result, she does not attain an immortal soul. Hence, the purity of desire is contingent upon sacrificing one’s life for the beloved, and that can only happen when a person has true feelings for the beloved. The impure love has to do with reducing love to a performance where we make it seem as though we truly love the person, but in reality we manipulate the beloved into loving us for the purposes of revenge. In my paper I will discuss the aspects of pure and impure love in The Little Mermaid and The Pangs of Love to show how love is complicated between the two very different species, the mermaids and the prince. For the Little Mermaid, attaining her beloved becomes her only objective. Her intention is pure to love the prince and this is the only thing she seeks from the prince. Unlike other typical love stories where the love is between a man and woman, this story deals with the selfless love of a mermaid with a human being. Andersen believes that love does not need to be voiced, and this is obvious from the outset of the story where the mermaid is seeking the love of the prince without ever having a chance to speak with him. Hence, love in action is more powerful versus having to voice ones love for the beloved with language affirmation such as “I love you.” The Little Mermaid attempts to find a way to be with the prince because she is lonely without him. Separation from her beloved becomes a cause for her suffering. She consults with her grandmother to confirm what happens when a human being does not drown. She says is it possible for a human being to live forever? (Andersen 7). Andersen presents the Little Mermaid as a naïve character, who is not willing to give up on love. We do not see any affirmations of love, but we are aware that the Little Mermaid has pure love for the prince without expecting anything in return. The desire of the Little Mermaid overtakes her emotions, and she inquires about the process as to how she can attain the prince by asking her grandmother for advice. The reason for loving the prince is a desire which controls the Little Mermaid.

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