Yesterday, we met Ursula, the infamous sea witch and nemesis of Disney's The Little Mermaid. As you may have noticed, she's remarkably different from the version Hans Christian Anderson created in his original story, "The Little Mermaid" (216-32 of our Norton Critical Edition: The Classic Fairy Tales).
Today, I want you to consider the encounter on pages 225-27 in which Ariel makes a deal with Ursula.
Discussion questions:
1) How is the deal the sea witch makes with the little mermaid similar/different to the one depicted in the Disney film? (You may wish to consider Ursula's motives and her message. You may also wish to consider the details surrounding how the little mermaid looses her fin.)
2) In the Disney version, what does Ursula mean when she describes "those poor unfortunate souls?"
3) In the Hans Christian Anderson version, does the term "poor unfortunate souls" still apply? Why or why not?
