Mermaids do not have immorta souls, indeed. But is not the soul of a man mortal, eirther? If so, what is the thing, except the geographical aptitude, that can define the merfolk as lower than huamn beings? If there is nothing, then why should we understand the antagonism as class struggle, instead of the rivalry of two powers, as they are similar, and even parallel in so many aspects?
Well, according to the story, men have immortal souls. " Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. " This is what the grandmother tells the little mermaid.
To understand the relationship between the two realms as a class struggle is only one way of interpreting the story. It is true that the narrative deliberately tones down the antagonism between the sea folk and the humans. The sea world seems to be as grand and beautiful as the human world. That's probably because Andersen does not want his readers to focus on the class struggle. He intends to shift their attention away from it actually and instead think about the afterlife. It may also be because he wants to eulogize the dominated class, to make it appear as worthy as the wealthy and powered class, because he after all used to be one of the "underdogs".
Well, according to the story, men have immortal souls. " Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul which lives forever, lives after the body has been turned to dust. " This is what the grandmother tells the little mermaid.
To understand the relationship between the two realms as a class struggle is only one way of interpreting the story. It is true that the narrative deliberately tones down the antagonism between the sea folk and the humans. The sea world seems to be as grand and beautiful as the human world. That's probably because Andersen does not want his readers to focus on the class struggle. He intends to shift their attention away from it actually and instead think about the afterlife. It may also be because he wants to eulogize the dominated class, to make it appear as worthy as the wealthy and powered class, because he after all used to be one of the "underdogs".