The Mermaid, by Christina Henry.
This story starts out like a fairy tale. A lonely fisherman catches a mermaid in his net. Out of pity, he lets her go. But she is drawn by his loneliness, and later seeks him out, taking on human form and living with him on land as his wife. But human life is short, while mermaids live long. As Jack ages, “Amelia” (we never learn her real name, which we are told would be unpronounceable by humans) retains her youth and beauty. This leads to rumors in the nearby villages. One day, Jack does not come back from a fishing trip. Amelia waits, of course, but finally it is clear that the sea has taken him. She has been changed by her life on land, and her love for a human, and instinctively knows that she could never resume an underwater life with her own people, so she lingers on in his cottage for the next decade.
Then one day, P. T. Barnum sends one of his associates, to lure Amelia to New York as one of his attractions. Barnum, of course, is sure that she is NOT a mermaid—after all, there are no mermaids—but he figures he can use the rumors about her and some of his own sleight of hand and general dazzle-dazzle in order to fool people into believing. He is equally sure that he can make a fortune exhibiting her. The man he sends, Levi Lyman, at once knows the truth that she IS a mermaid; there is something about her, even in her land form, that speaks of wonders to those who have the eyes to see. At first Amelia refuses to leave her home, but then, finally accepting that her husband will never return, and remembering her early wish to see all the wonders of the human world (which is how she became careless enough to be caught in Jack’s net in the first place), she decides to follow Levi back to New York, and accept Barnum’s offer—but on her own terms.
This is where the story loses it’s fairy tale feel, and concentrates on mundane things: crowded human cities, greed, prejudice, racism, cruelty to animals (this is relevant, because in her natural form Amelia doesn’t resemble a human woman at all—more of a sea-monster, beautiful in its own way, but terrifying, too—and an argument could be made that human rights and human laws don’t apply to her—especially in an era where the majority of humans don't have that many rights to begin with), male dominance over women, etc. etc. Amelia, who was born wild and free, resists the famous showman’s attempts to control her. She does give in on some points, but when Barnum asks too much, when he becomes too controlling, she resists, and generally there is some sort of compromise worked out. The struggle between these two strong individuals becomes the heart of the story. Often she feels like an animal in a cage, but continues to fight for her dignity. Levi Lyman, Barnum's wife, Charity, and Barnum's young daughter, Caroline, become her allies.
Though deeper matters, such as a slavery, the subjugation of women, and religious bigotry do come into the story, they are touched on lightly, just long enough to remind us what may be at stake here if Amelia allows Barnum to get the upper hand. Though Amelia’s transformations from sea-monster to woman and back again are amazing at first, there is nothing else of magic in this story. (I suppose this novel might qualify as magical realism, although for me it didn’t quite have that flavor, and not just because of the American setting.) I’d have liked to see more of the lives of the other performers and exhibits at Barnum’s museum, which could have been enlightening, but we hardly see them at all. For instance, Charles Stratton (aka General Tom Thumb) only meets Barnum at the end of the penultimate chapter. But I did enjoy the book, and I think it does have some important things to say. It might have been a better book if the author had gone into some of those things in greater depth, but obviously she chose to focus on Amelia’s story, and I don’t mean to suggest that was a bad choice. It does make for a shorter, tighter book.
This story starts out like a fairy tale. A lonely fisherman catches a mermaid in his net. Out of pity, he lets her go. But she is drawn by his loneliness, and later seeks him out, taking on human form and living with him on land as his wife. But human life is short, while mermaids live long. As Jack ages, “Amelia” (we never learn her real name, which we are told would be unpronounceable by humans) retains her youth and beauty. This leads to rumors in the nearby villages. One day, Jack does not come back from a fishing trip. Amelia waits, of course, but finally it is clear that the sea has taken him. She has been changed by her life on land, and her love for a human, and instinctively knows that she could never resume an underwater life with her own people, so she lingers on in his cottage for the next decade.
Then one day, P. T. Barnum sends one of his associates, to lure Amelia to New York as one of his attractions. Barnum, of course, is sure that she is NOT a mermaid—after all, there are no mermaids—but he figures he can use the rumors about her and some of his own sleight of hand and general dazzle-dazzle in order to fool people into believing. He is equally sure that he can make a fortune exhibiting her. The man he sends, Levi Lyman, at once knows the truth that she IS a mermaid; there is something about her, even in her land form, that speaks of wonders to those who have the eyes to see. At first Amelia refuses to leave her home, but then, finally accepting that her husband will never return, and remembering her early wish to see all the wonders of the human world (which is how she became careless enough to be caught in Jack’s net in the first place), she decides to follow Levi back to New York, and accept Barnum’s offer—but on her own terms.
This is where the story loses it’s fairy tale feel, and concentrates on mundane things: crowded human cities, greed, prejudice, racism, cruelty to animals (this is relevant, because in her natural form Amelia doesn’t resemble a human woman at all—more of a sea-monster, beautiful in its own way, but terrifying, too—and an argument could be made that human rights and human laws don’t apply to her—especially in an era where the majority of humans don't have that many rights to begin with), male dominance over women, etc. etc. Amelia, who was born wild and free, resists the famous showman’s attempts to control her. She does give in on some points, but when Barnum asks too much, when he becomes too controlling, she resists, and generally there is some sort of compromise worked out. The struggle between these two strong individuals becomes the heart of the story. Often she feels like an animal in a cage, but continues to fight for her dignity. Levi Lyman, Barnum's wife, Charity, and Barnum's young daughter, Caroline, become her allies.
Though deeper matters, such as a slavery, the subjugation of women, and religious bigotry do come into the story, they are touched on lightly, just long enough to remind us what may be at stake here if Amelia allows Barnum to get the upper hand. Though Amelia’s transformations from sea-monster to woman and back again are amazing at first, there is nothing else of magic in this story. (I suppose this novel might qualify as magical realism, although for me it didn’t quite have that flavor, and not just because of the American setting.) I’d have liked to see more of the lives of the other performers and exhibits at Barnum’s museum, which could have been enlightening, but we hardly see them at all. For instance, Charles Stratton (aka General Tom Thumb) only meets Barnum at the end of the penultimate chapter. But I did enjoy the book, and I think it does have some important things to say. It might have been a better book if the author had gone into some of those things in greater depth, but obviously she chose to focus on Amelia’s story, and I don’t mean to suggest that was a bad choice. It does make for a shorter, tighter book.
