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OM ANDERSEN The Merciless Tragedy of Desire [...]

- "An Interpretation of H.C. Andersens 'Den lille Havfrue'" is the rest of the title of professor Jørgen Dines Johansens analysis of the much discusses ending of the famous fairytale The Little Mermaid.


The  article describes the differing analyses of the ending of The Little Mermaid and the authors own reading of the fairytale from a psycho-analytical point of view.
According to this interpretation the fairytale is about the individuals transition from nature to culture and the ending is linked to the renunciation- and victimproblematics which is more common for the religious- and instinctwise dimension of the fairytale.The ending of The Little Mermaid is interpreted as a reason for prohibition and command in the potentially fatal transitional fase.

Bibliografical info:
Johansen, Jørgen Dines: ?The Merciless Tragedy of Desire. An Interpretation af H.C. Andersen's 'Den lille Havfrue'". Scandinavian Studies, volume 68, number 1. Provo, UT: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies 1996, pp. 203-241.

The article will be available as soon as possible autumn 2004, when we have gained permission from the copyright holders.


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