Title: The Sea Hag
Author: Melissa Lee Shaw
In: Silver Birch, Blood Moon (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Fairy tales, Mermaids, Retellings
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Short story
Year: 1999

I absolutely, completely, totally and utterly freaking loved this Little Mermaid retelling. Particularly since it mostly borrows elements from the Disney version, not the original… it just made this all that much more potent and loveable. I love that the Sea Hag is the mother of the mermaids, and at the end of the day, everything she has done is in an attempt to help her beautiful children. The love of a mother is intense and irreplaceable, and I love that this is featured in this tale.

Although I really liked reading about this redemption arc and recovery, I really want to read about the battle that first put the Sea Hag in her horrible position. Or the one that I’m sure is about to take place now that she’s freed from the father’s evil clutches. I mean, she’s going to seriously kick butt for being taken from her children…

As much as I loved this short story, this was a great reminder of how femininity and womanhood tend to be vilified. How if you are old and no longer attractive, you are a hag and something to be feared. And how easy it can be to turn woman against each other with bad intentions and evilly whispered words.

Image source: Wikipedia