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In this story, the main character we will be discussing is Princess Ariel from the Little Mermaid! The setting is set in an undisclosed Caribbean sea (and later, an island) where other characters inhabit. This includes, Ariel's father King Triton, her aunt, Ursula, her three friends, Flounder, Scuttle and Sebastian, and her soon to be husband Prince Eric.

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"The Little Mermaid" is a classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, first published in 1837. The story revolves around a young and beautiful mermaid princess named Ariel who lives in an underwater kingdom with her father, King Triton, and her sisters. Ariel is fascinated by the human world and is particularly enchanted by the world above the water's surface.

Ariel's curiosity about the human world grows when she rescues a prince named Eric from a shipwreck and falls in love with him. Desperate to be with Eric and live amongst humans, she makes a deal with the sea witch, Ursula, who gives her legs in exchange for her voice. Due to Ursula's conniving manner, she states that Ariel has no choice but to be her servant is she is unable to kiss Prince Eric in three days. To add to her sneakiness, she also makes Ariel forget that she has to obtain a kiss from him, making the odds nearly impossible for Ariel.

Ariel's quest to win Eric's heart is fraught with challenges as she navigates the unfamiliar human world without the ability to speak. However, although she is faced with several obstacles, she is successfully earning the Eric's approval and love, due to her vibrant and curious personality. Ursula beings to observe this, and immediately tries to sabotage their union by coming on shore herself, pretending to be the woman that saved Prince Eric!

Using Ariel's siren voice, Ursula gets the Prince to ask for her hand in marriage, much to Ariel's dismay. Luckily, Scuttle, Flounder and Sebastian see right through the Sea Witch's plan, and help Ariel warn Eric about the Ursula's true identity.

When Ariel gets to the ship were Ursula and Eric are to be wed, she is met with absolute chaos (thanks to Scuttle and Sebastian). The necklace Ursula was wearing to control Ariel's voice is broken during the scuffle, and it's finally returned back to Ariel. Eric finally realizes that Ariel was the woman that saved him, but it's too late. The sun has set on the third day, meaning Ursula has won, and Ariel was to be her servant for the rest of her days.

Ursula snatches Ariel off the ship, and they fall into the water. Prince Eric jumps in immediately to save her. King Triton blocks Ursula from taking Ariel, but after realizing that Ariel had signed a contract, he willingly took Ariel's place. Once he dies, Ursula is now the new ruler of the sea.

After an endless battle with the Sea Witch, Ariel and Eric successfully kill Ursula, giving the crown back to King Triton, and restoring the souls of all the mermaids and mermen that were under Ursula's rule.

Ariel has successfully regain her voice, and her place in the underwater kingdom. Her and Prince Eric are happily united.

"The Little Mermaid" is a timeless tale of love, sacrifice, and the pursuit of one's dreams.

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Erik Erikson was a German American psychoanalyst. He was born on June 15th, 1902 and died in May of 1994. He was most known for his theory on psychological development of human beings.

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The stage of Trust vs Mistrust arises from birth the 18 months. During this period of time, children are heavily dependent on their caretaker, and if the proper amount of love, warmth, food, and safety are not successfully met, the child will develop a sense of mistrust and dependence in adulthood.

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The second stage of Erikson's psychoanalysis is called Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt. This normally occurs during infancy when a child is 2-3 years old. During this stage the child feels a sense of personal control. The child is beginning to gain independence, and they perform basic actions according to their own preference. Potty training is very critical in this stage, if the child learns how to properly potty train itself, it can form a greater sense of independence.

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In the stage titles, Initiative vs Guilt, a child will have the range of ages from 3-5 years old. Children begin to assert their power and control over the world through direct play and other social interactions. If a child fails to become assertive, or are overly passive or aggressive, the child will feel a sense of guilt when met with negative remarks based on their behavior, and will carry it into their adult life.

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The fourth stage is called Industry vs Inferiority. In this stage, children are considered to be of school age (6-11 years old). During this period of time, children develop pride for their accomplishments and abilities. They are often encouraged and commended by parents and teachers, developing a feeling of competence for their skills. Of course, if parents, teachers, and even peers do not praise students, they will feel a sense of failure or inferiority for the world around them.

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The next stage is called Identity vs Confusion. In this stage of development, the child is now a teenager, ages ranging from 12-18 years old. In this stage, teenagers feels the need to develop a sense of self and personal identity. They often explore independence during this period of time. If they are socially praised for their independence and sense of self, it will positively reflect on their sense of identity in the future. If not, they can be met with a feeling of confusion about their own identity.

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The 6th stage of Erikson's psychoanalysis is called Intimacy vs Isolation. The age range being from 19-40 years old. In this stage of development, people feel the need to form close, intimate relationships with people outside of their immediate circles. The main conflict at this point is relationships. Success in this stage leads to strong relationships, failure to create this will cause a feeling of isolation.

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The 7th stage of Erikson's theory is called Generatively vs Stagnation. In this stage of psychoanalysis, adults normally range from ages 40-65 years old. They often feel the need to create or nurture things that will outlast them. Many times this means having kids, or making a positive impact on the world. If this has been successfully accomplished, adults will have feelings of usefulness and accomplishment. During this stage it's very normal for adults to be focused on their careers or building a family.

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The final stage of this psychoanalysis is called Integrity vs Despair. The age range for this stage is 65 years old-death. In this period of time, elders are normally reflecting on their life and their life choices. Old people are either happy about their life, or regretful. Successfully overcoming this stage means feeling great fulfillment, the latter being despair.

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Erikson's theory can be applied to boys/men, more than girls/non-gender affirming people. His theory also focuses more on infancy and childhood, even though this a model of an entire life span. Lastly, it assumes that in order to move on to the next stage, you must complete the one before it, which is not necessarily the case.

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How Erikson's Stages Apply: Identity vs Confusion

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How Erikson's Stages Apply: Identity vs Confusion

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For this stage, teenagers are beginning to form a sense of independence and are beginning to form their own sense of self identity. Ariel making the deal with Ursula to go to the human world, despite her father's wishes, is a display of this stage. She wanted to see the world for herself and base her own opinions and ideologies off it. She successfully stayed true to herself despite the negative feedback she was receiving.

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Ariel makes a deal with Ursula despite being told not to.

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Melissa McCarthy - Poor Unfortunate Souls (From "The Little Mermaid")

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How Erikson's Stages Apply: Intimacy vs Isolation

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How Erikson's Stages Apply: Intimacy vs Isolation

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In this stage, people feel the need to form close/intimate relationships with people outside their immediate circle. Ariel displays this when she falls in love with Prince Eric. She was willing to put multiple things in jeopardy to ensure that she would be able to build a relationship with Eric and the outside world.

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In this stage, people feel the need to create something that will outlast them. In this instance, Ariel wanted to create a world where both mermaids and humans could get along, and live peacefully amongst one another. Both her marriage to Prince Eric, and her blessing from her father King Triton, was symbolic of this.

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Does This Truly Apply to the Character Ariel?

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Does This Truly Apply to the Character Ariel?

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These stages were able to capture a good amount of Ariel's journey. It successfully explained her need for independence and self identity, intimacy within relationships and the need to create something that will outlast her. However, she experienced these three stages at the age of 16, which changes the timeline of Erikson's theory.

These theories can definitely be used, and The Little Mermaids helps the validity of these stages. However, because it's a film for children, the themes and conflicts tend to be "black and white" so it's pretty easy for Erikson's theory to apply here rather than in real life. But it does give a good depiction of adolescence.

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What Traumas Did Ariel Face Throughout the Film?

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What Traumas Did Ariel Face Throughout the Film?

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Ariel's first interaction with negativity was when King Triton refused to allow her to contact the human world, and destroyed her hideout where she kept all the things she found from the human world.

Next, she lost the ability to speak, although she now had the option to be a human, she wasn't able to fully interact with them the way she wanted to, making the experience more traumatic than comforting/affirming.

Ariel had her first stroke of heartbreak when Prince Eric decided to marry Ursula rather than her. She felt defeated, and upset about her choices.

When she finally was able to be reunited with Eric (after getting her voice back) it was too late, and she was considered a slave to Ursula for the rest of her life.

Lastly, she saw her father "killed" in front of her because of her decisions.

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In conclusion, Erikson's stages of psychological development could definitely be applied to both the Little Mermaid and real life. There are a few flaws in the theory, especially when it comes to life after adolescence and difference in genders, but overall this is a solid psychological theory that can be used in real time.