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The Little Mermaid

© Roxanne Nelson

In the early hours of January 6, 1998, a famous lady lost her head. In fact, she is so famous, that millions come to gaze upon her, as she demurely sits upon a rock. The mysterious lady is not really a lady at all, but a mermaid--a combination of fish and human cast in bronze and known to the world as theLittle Mermaid. Since 1913 she has sat on her rock in Copenhagen's harbor, as a tribute to beloved Danish writer and storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, and now the most photographed landmark in all of Denmark. But it seems that not everyone is so enthralled with the little lady of the harbor; for the second time in 34 years, she has been decapitated.

It was done as a protest against sexism, announced the Radical Feminist Faction, a previously unknown group, shortly after the vandalism took place. "We have sawed off the head of the Little Mermaid, which is a symbol of hostility to women and of men's sexually obsessed dreams in which women only are bodies with no head," the statement said, which had been received by Danish television stations.

Combining the Little Mermaid with sexism is a rather odd idea, considering that this is Denmark, one of the most tolerant and least sexist nations on earth, as well as one with the least number of rules and regulations inhibiting sexual freedom. The Danes are immensely proud of having led the world in abolishing pornography laws almost 30 years ago, and many will find a visit to their Museum of Erotica far more fascinating that a trip to the Little Mermaid. The museum boasts:"Now it is legal to study the love life of Homo sapiens, an experience you will never forget." There is even an exhibit detailing the sex life of Hans Christian Andersen.

I can understand the fuss over the Mermaid's decapitation; Denmark is not a violent country and vandalism is rare. Especially vandalism of an historic site. But quite honestly, aside from childhood nostalgia and memories of reading Andersen's fairy tales, the statue is a disappointment and certainly not the highlight of a trip to Copenhagen. She is elegant enough but hardly strides the harbor like the Colossus at Rhodes,being no more than a few feet high; she is quite easy to miss unless you keep your eyes open. And in a city as old and rich in history as Copenhagen, she is a relative newcomer.