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One can wonder, though, are these features still present in retellings, or is there a reason for the author to write the retelling in order to make a statement about the original story?

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The fairy tale genre is vague and all-encompassing, dating back hundreds of years. As language and writing has evolved and grown, so have the number of published fairy tales. Now, one can find fairy tales both in their original form, as well as modern retellings which are adapted to current events, trends, or to appeal to new audiences. It is important that fairy tales are retold and updated often because, as critics such as Karen Rowe and Marica Lieberman argue, the plot of romantic fairy tales are often revolve around anti-feminist features, such as women’s dependence and reliance on men for happiness and fulfillment.

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Why is this important?

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Donoghue succeeds in retelling "The Little Mermaid" from a feminist perspective because the woman's ultimate happiness is only reliant on herself, a stark difference from the original, in which the woman's happiness and entire life is reliant on a man.

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The purpose of "The Tale of the Voice" is to propose a feminist retelling of "The Little Mermaid" and to critique the gender roles and expectations often portrayed and endorsed in fairy tales.

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Restate thesis

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Lieberman argues that women are seen for their beauty and nothing else and must wait to be chosen by the man; use Lieberman to emphasize the difference between his claim and the events in "The Tale of the Voice" to prove that this is a feminist retelling.

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Use Rowe to point out instances of anti-feminism within fairy tales, and juxtapose these features with the feminist writing in "The Tale of the Voice"

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Use Rowe to emphasize the anti-feminist features in "The Little Mermaid"

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Additional commentary

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In "The Little Mermaid," the woman's happiness is reliant on the man, while in "The Tale of the Voice," the woman's happiness is reliant on herself only, reimagining the original in a feminist view.

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Although critics may argue that fairy tales are anti-feminist for endorsing the role of women to be reliant on men, marriage, and motherhood, and that fairy retellings offer no new insight, I argue that “The Tale of the Voice,” is an important retelling of “The Little Mermaid” because it is reimagined to critique as a feminist story to critique gender roles.

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Both Rowe and Lieberman agree that romantic fairy tales often emphasize women’s dependence on men for happiness and social status, as well as that the culmination of a woman’s life occurs with marriage and motherhood.

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Her happiness comes from being herself again (critiquing original), and she finds additional happiness when she marries a fisherman who loves to hear her speak (reliant on only her voice, not the lack of her voice in order to obtain a man)

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Realizes that she can have everything she seeks if she does it on her own - she is only reliant on herself

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“Yet another year went by, and I married a fisherman with green eyes who liked to hear me sing, but preferred to hear me talk” (Donoghue 204).

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Additional commentary

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Woman is passive because she has no voice, but she doesn’t wait around to be chosen once she realizes that she won’t be chosen

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“Since the heroines are chosen for the beauty (en soi), not for anything they do (pour soi), they seem to exist passively until they are seen by the hero, or described to him. They wait, are chosen, and are rewarded” (Lieberman 189).

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Additional commentary

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She learns that she can only rely on herself for her happiness - critiquing original where happiness still relies on man

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“I said you’d catch him, she remarked, leaning on her stick as if we were resuming an interrupted conversation. I never said you’d keep him. There’s no spell long enough for that” (Donoghue 201).

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Doesn’t realize that marriage isn’t an end-all (critiquing fairy-tale happily ever after)

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Wants the man because it’s expected that she finds marriage at this age

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“Romantic tales thus transmit to young women an alarming prophecy that marriage is an enchantment which will shield her against harsh realities outside the domestic realm and guarantee everlasting happiness” (Rowe 250).

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Additional commentary

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Mermaid emphasizes passivity (no voice), self-sacrifice (voice, giving up the chance to gain a soul by killing the prince, sacrificing own happiness), dependency (happiness depends on the prince being happy with the princess)

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“The little mermaid’s hand trembled as it squeezed the handle of the knife, then she threw the weapon out into the sea… She threw herself into the sea and felt her body changing into foam” (Andersen 161)

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Commentary

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“These tales which glorify passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a heroine’s cardinal virtues suggest that culture’s very survival depends upon a woman’s acceptance of roles which relegate her to motherhood and domesticity” (Rowe 239).

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Rowe claims that in fairy tales, woman are reliant on men (anti-feminist)

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Prince is not key to happiness in “Tale of the Voice,” and she finds happiness in valuing herself and her voice -> her happiness depends only on herself

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“I would never again leave this harbor that smelt like home. At the end of a week my feet had healed” (Donoghue 203).

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Reinforces gender roles with man’s happiness> women’s happiness

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Finds happiness by sacrificing herself in order for the prince to be happy with his princess (so her happiness only comes because he is happy)

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Prince is not key to happiness in “the Little Mermaid,” but she is still reliant on him for her happiness

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Wants the prince to obtain a human soul, so she believes that the prince is the key to her happiness

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“‘Why do I not have an immortal soul!” sighed the little mermaid unhappily. “I would give all my three hundred years of life for only one day as a human being if, afterward, I should be allowed to live in the heavenly world”’ (Andersen 153).

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Body 4 - Lieberman and "Tale of the Voice"

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Body 4 - Lieberman and "Tale of the Voice"

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Body 1 - "The Little Mermaid" and "Tale of the Voice"

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Body 1 - "The Little Mermaid" and "Tale of the Voice"