The Little Mermaid Study Guide

What is the Little Mermaid’s primary motivation for wanting to become human?

She wants an immortal soul so she can live in heaven after death, instead of turning into sea foam.

Who raises the mermaid princesses and explains the differences between humans and merfolks?

The Grandmother, who teaches them about human souls and sea life rules.

How does the Prince view and treat the Little Mermaid on land?

He loves her like a cherished, mute child or pet, but never considers marrying her.

Why does the Prince marry the Temple Princess instead of the Little Mermaid?

He mistakenly believes the Temple Princess saved his life after the shipwreck.

What event triggers the Little Mermaid's obsession with the human world?

Her 15th birthday surface visit, where she witnesses and saves the Prince from a shipwreck.

What exact price does the Sea Witch demand in exchange for the human potion?

The Little Mermaid's voice, which the witch takes by cutting out her tongue.

What physical pain must the Little Mermaid endure with every human step she takes?

The feeling of walking on sharp knives and treading on razor blades until her feet bleed.

What is the strict ultimatum the Sea Witch gives regarding the Prince?

If the Prince marries someone else, the Little Mermaid will die and turn into sea foam the very next morning.

What do the Mermaid Sisters trade to the Sea Witch to help save their sister?

They trade all of their long hair for a magical weapon.

What must the Little Mermaid do with the Witch's magical dagger to save her own life?

She must kill the Prince and let his warm blood drip onto her feet to turn them back into a tail.

What does the Little Mermaid do with the dagger on the morning after the Prince's wedding?

She throws the dagger into the sea and leaps into the water, refusing to harm him.

Instead of dissolving into sea foam forever, what does the Little Mermaid transform into?

A Daughter of the Air, a spiritual being of the sky.

How long do mermaids live in this story, and what happens when they die?

They live for 300 years, and then they dissolve into sea foam with no afterlife.

How can a Daughter of the Air eventually earn a human soul?

By performing good deeds for 300 years.

How do human children affect the Little Mermaid's 300-year trial at the very end of the book?

Good children shorten her trial by a year, while bad children make her cry, adding days to her time.

How did the little mermaid die?

The Prince married another Princess instead, killing the little mermaid