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The Little Mermaid is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, that is, it does not have an oral tradition but was written as a part of a collection of original Fairy Tales by the famous Danish author. I find it one of the most moving of his stories and also very beautiful in description.

The Little Mermaid is the daughter of the King of the Sea :fish: literally a sea-princess. Her castle is of pearl and shells and rests deep beneath the waves. She is an interesting character, instead of being rescued by her Prince she rescues him. She also has a great curiousity about the land above the waves and goes to amazing lengths to try to earn the love of her Prince, giving up her beautiful voice and spending each day in pain caused by her new legs and feet.

I can understand how she could be seen as a rather bad role-model for women, in that she gives up everything for and is solely devoted to her Prince, even when he does not return her affection. However I don’t think the story is meant to teach us to be that way, but rather expresses the anguish that is unrequited love or yearning for something we can not attain. It is such a sad, beautiful tale and I think any one who has loved or desired something out of their reach could easily relate to the Mermaid’s choices. :fish: For losing that dream, can almost feel like dissolving in to sea foam, in to nothing, when a part of us dies.

You can find the original version of the tale here. I read it again today, for I haven’t in quite a long time, and was moved near to tears. I always wondered if she wasn’t given a name, because she didn’t have a soul and what her name would have been when she aquired one.

Eugénie, the Last Empress of France was born in 1826 to the impressive name of Doña María Eugenia Ignatia Augustina Palafox de Guzmán Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick. The daughter of a Spanish Count and his half Scottish wife, Eugénie became the 9th Countess of Teba and later, the Empress of France. She was a beautiful, charming and elegant Lady who was both a leader of fashion, and an intelligent and capable Empress. She had political influence over her husband and was Regent during his absences.

Eugénie was educated in Paris at the famous Sacré Cœur (Sacred Heart) Convent and brought up among fashionable society, where she met Prince Louis Napoléon, to whom she made a very controversial marriage a year after his coronation. As a wedding gift he gave her a beautiful diamond, now known as the Empress Eugénie Diamond.

The Empress was said to be an admirer of Marie Antoinette, certainly she had a similar love for exquisite clothing and jewels. Her fashion choices influenced the silhouettes of womens costume for several decades and she was looked to by many as a paragon of beauty and elegance. She was a close friend of Princess Pauline de Metternich.

It is perhaps no coincidence that her reign very nearly ended in the same manner as Marie Antoinette’s. After the battle of Sedan, in which her husband was captured, she was forced to flee rioting in Paris and go in to exile in England. Napoléon III later joined her there and the pair spent the rest of their lives in England.

I would like to read a biography on Eugénie and learn more about her fascinating life and vibrant character. I have always admired the paintings of her, for she has such a serene and regal composure.

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One of the most well known and oldest of our fairy tale Princesses is Cinderella. I have always found her story enchanting, I think many girls might have day-dreamed at some point of meeting their Fairy Godmother and having their wishes granted. Cinderella is really inspiring though, in her attitude to life. In most versions of the tale, while she is so poorly treated by her step-family, she still remains a kind, sweet natured soul and is in the end, very forgiving of their flaws. To meet such bitter treatment and cruelty with forgiveness and kindness (In the Perrault version she even finds her sisters rich husbands!) is truly admirable.

Fairy tales have a habit of travelling, and the earliest written version of Cinderella is Chinese, dated to the middle of the ninth century A.D. In this version there is no Fairy Godmother but instead a magical fish, and her slipper is not glass but gold. The heroine’s name is Yeh-shen.

From then there are references, and most likely an oral tradition of the tale until the appearance of what it probably the most well known (and my favourite) version, published in 1697 by Charles Perrault. Many of the motifs we now associate with Cinderella such as a pumpkin carriage and midnight deadline come from this version. It is also rather more of a moral tale then some others, emphasizing Cinderella’s good nature and kind behaviour. In typical Perrault style it is very descriptive with lovely references to the clothing and decor of the period.

Aschenputtel is the German name for the tale, recorded by the Grimm Brothers in their collection. Interestingly, in this version the Stepsisters are also beautiful and it is their inner qualities that set them apart from the heroine. My favourite part of the Grimm version is that Cinderella recieves help from birds throughout the tale, both with the tasks set for her by her Stepmother and in recieving the gifts needed to attend the ball. A white bird perched in the tree over her Mother’s grave serves the purpose of ‘Fairy Godmother’ when she calles out “Shiver and quiver, little tree. Silver and gold throw down over me.” In a less forgiving ending to the story the two Stepsisters are punished for their cruelty with blindness, perhaps a reference to their vanity.

The main themes of Cinderella seem to be popular in many cultures and different versions of the story appear all over the world.

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One of my favourite british princesses is Princess Louise, she was born in 1848 as the sixth child of Queen Victoria. Considered the prettiest of Victoria’s daughters she was also very accomplished, being tutored in art by a well known sculpturess, she was also accounted by all as very bright and good tempered. Being rather liberal minded she was forward thinking on the issues of poverty and women’s rights.

What is unusual about Princess Louise was her marriage. Although the Queen had intended her for a Prussian prince, she had no desire to be shipped off to a foreign court and instead married the Marquis of Lorne, who was not of royal blood. The Marquis was a bright intelligent man, a member of parliament and the perfect match for her artistic temperament. Although in those times it was frowned apon for a Princess to marry below her rank, Louise made her choice and was respected for it by both her family and the public.

As a married woman, who later became Duchess of Argyll when her husband succeeded the Duke, she did not settle down to a life of motherhood and managing house. Rather she surrounded herself with artists and philanthropists and became involved in many organisations, including those that benefitted poor women. In 1872 she became the president of the National Union for the Higher Education of Women, eagerly promoting this cause. Her artistic achievements were highly regarded, she could paint, write and sculpt with great skill and some of her works survive today. She died at the age of 91, having survived World War I and the loss of her husband.

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