2007 - Sold

Over the years, there have been many representations of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid, but not many portraits of the Princess who marries the Prince. She is not even given a name in the story. We only know her as a fair princess who shares a resemblance to the Little Mermaid.

As a child, I often wondered how this nameless Princess perceived her fiancé’s tender relationship with his beautiful, mute companion, who would follow him like a shadow and cry whenever she danced. Did his bride think the girl was his protégé, or his mistress? Did she feel threatened by this mysterious woman when she observed her Prince’s obvious attachment to her during court festivities and in private moments? Or did it even matter to the royal bride, who was equally beautiful yet considerably more powerful than this strange mute girl? After all, a mistress is a mistress, but a wife is always a wife.

And finally, I wonder if the Princess felt sad, or relieved, or both, when her new husband wept openly over his missing companion when she disappeared from the ship on their wedding night, never to be seen again.