| The Sea Witch | |
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Real Name |
Unknown |
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First Appearance |
Eventyr, fortalte for Børn, Første Samling, Tredie Hefte (1837) |
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Original Publisher |
C. A. Reitzel |
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Created by |
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Origin[]
The Sea Witch is a sorceress who lives under the sea. Her abode is in a slimy creepy underwater forest, protected by raging whirlpools. The sea witch lives in a house made of human bones, and allows large sea snakes to writhe over her, and in the mire that surrounds her house. Around her house are hideous half-plant and half animal polypi, which grasp anything they can. Many of these polypi hold the bones of humans and animals that drowned. Some hold ship fragments, and some hold the remains of mermaids that they have strangled.
The extent of her powers is unknown, but they do seem considerable. For her help, she demanded a price, which was often a body part such as a tongue or hair. She mixes potions in a cauldron.
Drinking the potion will make the Little Mermaid feel as if a sword is being passed through her, yet when she recovers she will have two beautiful legs, and will be able to dance like no human has ever danced before. However, it will constantly feel like she is walking on sharp swords hard enough to make her feet bleed most terribly.
In addition, she will only obtain a soul if she finds true love's kiss and if the prince loves her and marries her, for then a part of his soul will flow into her. Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after he marries another woman, the Little Mermaid will die brokenhearted and disintegrate into sea foam.
She later gives the sisters of the Little Mermaid a knife that in exchange for their long hair. If the Little Mermaid slays the prince with the knife and lets his blood drip on her feet, she will become a mermaid again, all her suffering will end, and she will live out her full life.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Eventyr, fortalte for Børn, Første Samling, Tredie Hefte (1837)
- Bentley’s Miscellany (1846)
- Danish Fairy Legends and Tales (1846)
- The Ugly Duck, and Other Tales (1854)
- The Little Mermaid and Other Stories (1893)
- Three Tales of Hans Andersen (1910)
- The Garden of Paradise (1914)
- The Green Book Magazine (1915)
“The Little Mermaid Visits the Old Witch of the Sea,” illustration by John Leech for “The Mermaid,” Bentley’s Miscellany, Apr. 1846.
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Fairy Tale Parade #7