.the princess portal.

This morning I was looking at poor Tami-chan :keitai: who has lost several of her crystals and decided to make an order from Strapya to replace them. I also got some cute new charms and I can’t wait until they arrive! I have been thinking of getting this Wabi-sabi Hello Kitty charm for quite some time and finally gave in. I want to do some cell phone charms for Petit Miel as well with little strawberries and cream cookies and pearls :cake:

I had a fairly quiet day, staying cool in my air-conditioned chambers and reading. In the evening I went in to the City to see An Li and Laura before they head back to their new home with their kittens! :cat: It was nice to see them again and catch up with Clara and Cyndy too. We took lots of purikura and played in the arcade before heading out for late night Gelato. :icecream:

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.